Some answers about servants
Posted by Linden on July 08, 1998 at 22:34:06:
In response to Another servant question, written by Gayle on July 08, 1998 at 19:55:00
] Hi, I am fairly new to RoP - been here about 6 wks and love this site.
Welcome - it is a lovely site, isn't it?
] I'm wondering, what happened to all those servants as the size of the household decreased and less servants were needed? Did they just move on?
That was certainly an option. There was a fair amount of mobility, especially among younger servants: that's why the "old family retainer" was so valuable - he/she was fairly rare.
] More particularly, was it ever a practice for say a young woman's maid to go with her to her new home when she married?
Yes, if it suited both the young lady and the maid. A good "upper" servant, such as a ladies' maid (or, even more so, a cook) would have their pick of jobs. She could choose whether to go with the young lady to her new home.
] I don't know if the Bennets were well-off enough for each of their daughters to have their own maid,
They weren't - remember the scene where Mr Bingley is arriving and Mrs Bennet is frantically trying to get Jane ready?
Hope this helps
Linden
- Thanks for the info! Gayle 21:29:48 7/09/98
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