Educando le figlie di Tat'jana: governanti vittoriane in Russia

• Main Author: Daria Parisi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Università degli Studi di Cagliari 2013-12-01
• Series: Between
• Subjects: Letteratura di viaggio; Victorian Governess Novels; Imperialismo; Educazione
• Online Access: http://ojs.unica.it/index.php/between/article/view/1014

In this article, after a short description of the phenomenon of British governesses’ emigration to Russia, three novels are analysed. These novels belong to the “governess abroad literature” and were published shortly after the Crimean War, due to the increasing interest of readers towards books about Russia. From the analysis of themes and techniques in the three texts, the importance of the British imperialist project in its relation with travel literature and fiction emerges, as well as the contribution to this project of the character of the British governess, represented as an educator of foreigners, an evangelist, a cultural mediator and a proud symbol of Englishness.