Abstract

The literary figure of the governess provides an example of burnout in the Victorian era, though caretakers in this era would not have described what they had experienced as burnout. The answer to this predicament, in today’s terms, is found in the phenomenon of self-care, as well as reliance on sustainable relationships with others. The experiences of Lucy Snowe, as found in Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, shed light on the mental health difficulties that people in caregiving professions have long faced. This article argues that the tragedies Snowe experienced, which were largely inspired by events in Brontë’s own life, illuminate the stresses caregivers faced in Victorian England and the effects of these stressors on the mental health of women in the profession, and how these facts have implications for the mental health of women in caregiving and teaching positions today.

Key words: Victorian literature, governess, Charlotte Brontë, Villette, British studies, mental health.