"Matmazels" nell'harem. Le governanti europee nell'Impero ottomano

Autore: Barbara Petzen
In: Genesis. I/1, 2002
doi:10.1400/78224
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Abstract

“Matmazels” in the harem. European Governesses in the Ottoman Empire
This paper examines the experiences of European governesses living and working in the Ottoman Empire. Called murebbiye or enstütris, these were women hired by upper and upper-middle class families associated with the new bureaucratic apparatus to teach their children foreign languages and the new (European) social graces. Governesses also filled a need for social Summaries 296 Summaries capital, prestige, and conspicuous consumption; that is, for this particular class of Ottomans, a governess was not only necessary for preparing one’s children for their future roles, but was in and of herself a marker of the family’s social position, wealth and Westernizing world view.