Thackeray's German Governesses, Real and Imagined

Abstract

ABSTRACT: As a father of two daughters educated at home, William Makepeace Thackeray knew something about German governesses: he interviewed many, employed several, and counted one among his acquaintances. In his fiction, he satirized the type in two burlesques: Miss Wirt ( The Book of Snobs , 1848) and Mlle Wallfisch ( The Adventures of Philip , 1862)—ludicrous characters intended to amuse English middle-class readers, whose bigotry he also targets. But these imaginary renderings contradicted Thackeray's real opinion of German people and culture, which was complimentary and admiring, albeit tempered by disquiet about their perceived tendency toward violence. This analysis considers the ambiguity of Thackeray's attitudes toward German culture, both real and imagined, in the context of mid-century, English middle-class values.