No Occupation for a Lady: The Plight of Ladies Without Means in the 18th Century By Jenna Jaxon

For centuries women of the upper classes have lived precariously on the wealth of their families or their husband’s families. Lower and middle class women, especially in the 18th century, were allowed a variety of occupations, including “spinners, tailoresses, milliners, and washerwomen.” Other possible occupations were domestic service, midwives, and milkmaids. They have also been recorded as working as apothecaries, barbers, blacksmiths, seamstresses, and printers. Many of these were family-run businesses and the women of the family would learn the family trade and work there until they married, at which point they would take care of their own family and children or go into their husband’s family business. Not so for women of the upper classes. The occupation most young ladies of the aristocracy were trained for was marriage. It was the duty of each young woman to marry and afterwards take care of her husband’s house, bear and raise his children, and take over his duties with his estate should he be called away from it for any amount of time. This was the primary job opportunity for ladies, and should they not make a marriage, their life became extremely perilous.

A daughter who, after three Seasons found herself still unmarried, was deemed a spinster or “on the shelf” and usually was relegated to remaining in her father’s house to take care of her parents, or any of her brothers and sisters with families who needed assistance. At the death of her father, she might stay on in her brother’s household, helping as best she could, but could be sent away if she did not get along with her brother’s wife. One of the few other permissible occupations for ladies was as a companion to a respectable member of the family or another family

of good reputation. This could be a good position for any lady left alone (through widowhood or simple fate) must have a companion with her at all times to preserve her reputation. If the companion and her employer suited one another, then the companion position could be a godsend. However, if the employer was difficult, it might not be a permanent solution. The third occupation that was respectable for ladies was that of governess. Every house with daughters employed a governess once they attained the age of six or so. The family wanted a woman of good family and reputation who could instruct their children not only in their studies, but in their deportment. Of course, governesses were hired for a finite period of time, until the girls were ready to go out into society. They would then go on to another family, hopefully with a good reference.

If a lady could not secure any of these positions she would have to find some other means of making ends meet. Occupations such as domestic servant or shopkeeper were not considered “genteel,” thus rendering her no longer part of the upper class.

In my romance Only A Mistress Will Do, the heroine, Violet Carlton, is one such woman whose circumstances have brought her terribly low. She has been unable to marry and has not been able to secure a position as either a companion or a governess. She has been brought so low, in fact, that in order for her to live, she must seek employment at a brothel and sell her body at the House of Pleasure. A circumstance that, unfortunately, happens both then and now.