![White House Butlers Pantry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/White_House_Butlers_Pantry.jpg)
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a
domestic worker
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
in a large
household
A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
. In
great house
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...
s, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the
dining room
A dining room is a room (architecture), room for eating, consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically ...
,
wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...
, and
pantry
A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen.
Etymol ...
. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and
housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance.
A butler is usually male, and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were better paid and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also sometimes function as a
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
.
In older houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as ''
majordomo
A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...
'', ''butler administrator'', ''house manager'', ''manservant'', ''staff manager'', ''
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
'', ''staff captain'', ''estate manager'', and ''head of household staff'' are sometimes given. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given, but perhaps, more importantly in line with the requirements of the individual employer. In the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler. The butler can also be assisted by a head
footman or footboy called the under-butler.
Background
![Butler 1922](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Butler_1922.jpg)
The word "butler" comes from Anglo-Norman ''buteler'', variant form of Old Norman ''*butelier'', corresponding to
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
''botellier'' "officer in charge of the king's wine bottles", derived of ''boteille'' "bottle" (Modern French ''bouteille)'', itself from Gallo-Romance
BUTICULA "bottle". For centuries, the butler has been the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages, which in ancient times might have represented a considerable portion of the household's assets and led to the position becoming chief steward of a household.
In Britain, the butler was originally a middle-ranking member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the butler gradually became the senior, usually male, member of a household's staff in the very grandest households. However, there was sometimes a steward who ran the outside estate and financial affairs, rather than just the household, and who was senior to the butler in social status into the 19th century. Butlers used always to be attired in a special uniform, distinct from the
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
of junior servants, but today a butler is more likely to wear a
business suit
A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...
or business casual clothing and appear in uniform only on special occasions.
A ''silverman'' or ''silver butler'' has expertise and professional knowledge of the management, secure storage, use and cleaning of all
silverware
Silverware may refer to:
* Household silver including
**Tableware
**Cutlery
**Candlesticks
*The work of a silversmith
* Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achieveme ...
, associated tableware and other paraphernalia for use at military and other special functions.
Origin and history
The modern role of the butler has evolved from earlier roles that were generally concerned with the care and serving of alcoholic beverages.
Ancient through medieval eras
From ancient through medieval times, alcoholic beverages were chiefly stored first in earthenware vessels, then later in wooden barrels, rather than in glass bottles; these containers would have been an important part of a household's possessions. The care of these assets was therefore generally reserved for trusted slaves, although the job could also go to free persons because of heredity-based class lines or the inheritance of trades.
The biblical
book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...
contains a reference to a role precursive to modern butlers. The early Hebrew
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
interpreted a dream of Pharaoh's שקה (shaqah) (literally "to give to drink"), which is most often translated into English as "chief butler" or "chief
cup-bearer
A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...
."
In ancient Greece and Rome, it was nearly always slaves who were charged with the care and service of wine, while during the
Medieval Era
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the ''pincerna'' filled the role within the noble court. The English word "butler" itself comes from the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
word ''bo(u)teler'' (and several other forms), from Anglo-Norman ''buteler'', itself from Old Norman ''butelier'', corresponding to
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
''botellier'' ("bottle bearer"), Modern French ''bouteiller'', and before that from
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
''butticula''. The modern
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
"butler" thus relates both to bottles and
casks
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
.
Eventually the European butler emerged as a middle-ranking member of the servants of a great house, in charge of the ''buttery'' (originally a storeroom for "butts" of liquor, although the term later came to mean a general storeroom or pantry). While this is so for household butlers, those with the same title but in service to the Crown enjoyed a position of administrative power and were only minimally involved with various stores.
Elizabethan through Victorian eras
The ''Steward'' of the Elizabethan era was more akin to the butler that later emerged. Gradually, throughout the 19th century and particularly the Victorian era, as the number of butlers and other domestic servants greatly increased in various countries, the butler became a senior male servant of a household's staff. By this time he was in charge of the more modern ''wine cellar'', the "
buttery" or ''pantry'' (from French ''pain'' from Latin ''panis'', bread) as it came to be called, which supplied bread, butter, cheese, and other basic provisions, and the ''ewery'', which contained napkins and basins for washing and shaving.
In the very grandest households there was sometimes an Estate Steward or other senior steward who oversaw the butler and his duties.
''
Mrs Beeton
Isabella Mary Beeton ( Mayson; 14 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), known as Mrs Beeton, was an English journalist, editor and writer. Her name is particularly associated with her first book, the 1861 work ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household ...
's Book of Household Management'', a manual published in Britain in 1861, reported:
The number of the male domestics in a family varies according to the wealth and position of the master, from the owner of the ducal mansion, with a retinue of attendants, at the head of which is the chamberlain and house-steward, to the occupier of the humbler house, where a single footman, or even the odd man-of-all-work, is the only male retainer. The majority of gentlemen's establishments probably comprise a servant out of livery, or butler, a footman, and coachman, or coachman and groom, where the horses exceed two or three.
![Glanusk park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Glanusk_park.gif)
Butlers were head of a strict service hierarchy and therein held a position of power and respect. They were more managerial than "hands on"—more so than serving, they officiated in service. For example, although the butler was at the door to greet and announce the arrival of a formal guest, the door was actually ''opened'' by a footman, who would receive the guest's hat and coat. Even though the butler helped his employer into his coat, this had been handed to him by a footman. However, even the highest-ranking butler would "pitch in" when necessary, such as during a staff shortage, to ensure that the household ran smoothly, although some evidence suggests this was so even during normal times.
The household itself was generally divided into areas of responsibility. The butler was in charge of the dining room, the
wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...
, pantry, and sometimes the entire main floor. Directly under the butler was the ''first footman'' (or ''head footman''), although there could also be a ''deputy butler'' or ''under-butler'' who would fill in as butler during the butler's illness or absence. The ''
footman
A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage.
Etymology
Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
''‒there were frequently numerous young men in the role within a household‒ performed a range of duties including serving meals, attending doors, carrying or moving heavy items, and they often doubled as ''
valet
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
s''. Valets themselves performed a variety of personal duties for their employer. Butlers engaged and directed all these junior staff and each reported directly to him. The ''
housekeeper'' was in charge of the house as a whole and its appearance. In a household without an official head housekeeper, female servants and kitchen staff were also directly under the butler's management, while in smaller households, the butler usually doubled as valet. Employers and their children and guests addressed the butler (and under-butler, if there was one) by last name alone; fellow servants, retainers, and tradespersons as "Mr.
urname.
Butlers were typically hired by the master of the house but usually reported to its lady. Beeton in her manual suggested a GBP 25–50 (US$2,675‒5,350) per-year salary for butlers; room and board and livery clothing were additional benefits, and tipping known as ''vails'', were common.
The few butlers who were married had to make separate housing arrangements for their families, as did all other servants within the hierarchy.
In the early United States
From the beginning of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, in the early 17th century,
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
were put to task as domestic servants. Some eventually became butlers. Gary Puckrein, a social historian, argues that those used in particularly affluent homes authentically internalised the sorts of "refined" norms and personal attributes that would reflect highly upon the social stature of their masters or mistresses. One of the first books written and published through a commercial U.S. publisher by an African American was by a butler named
Robert Roberts. The book, ''The House Servant's Directory,'' first published in 1827, is essentially a manual for butlers and waiters, and is called by Puckrein "the most remarkable book by an African American in
antebellum United States
In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...
". The book generated such interest that a second edition was published in 1828, and a third in 1843.
European
indentured servants
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
formed a corps of domestic workers from which butlers were eventually drawn. Although not the victims of institutionalised slavery, many of them had not volunteered for domestic service, but were forced into it by indebtedness or coercion. As with African American slaves, they could rise in domestic service, and their happiness or misery depended greatly on the disposition of their masters.
The modern butler
Beginning around the early 1920s (following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
), employment in domestic service occupations began a sharp overall decline in western European countries, and even more markedly in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Even so, there were still around 30,000 butlers employed in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. As few as one hundred were estimated to remain by the mid-1980s.
Social historian
Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...
Barry Higman argues that a high number of domestic workers within a society correlates with a high level of socio-economic inequality. Conversely, as a society undergoes levelling among its
social class
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
es, the number employed in domestic service declines.
Following varied shifts and changes accompanying accelerated
globalisation
Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
beginning in the late 1980s, overall global demand for butlers since the turn of the millennium has risen dramatically. According to Charles MacPherson, President of Charles MacPherson Associates and owner of The Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers, the proximate cause is that the number of millionaires and billionaires has increased in recent years, and such people are finding that they desire assistance in managing their households. MacPherson emphasises that the number of wealthy people in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
has increased particularly, creating in that country a high demand for professional butlers who have been trained in the European butlering tradition.
There is also increasing demand for such butlers in other
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
n countries,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and the
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
-rich
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
.
Higman additionally argues that the inequality/equality levels of societies are a major determinant of the nature of the domestic servant/employer relationship. As the 21st century approached, many butlers began carrying out an increasing number of duties formerly reserved for more junior household servants. Butlers today may be called upon to do whatever household and personal duties their employers deem fitting, in the goal of freeing their employers to carry out their own personal and professional affairs. Professional butler and author Steven M. Ferry states that the image of tray-wielding butlers who specialise in serving tables and decanting wine is now anachronistic, and that employers may well be more interested in a butler who is capable of managing a full array of household affairs‒from providing the traditional dinner service, to acting as valet, to managing high-tech systems and multiple homes with complexes of staff. While in truly grand houses the modern butler may still function exclusively as a top-ranked household affairs manager,
in lesser homes, such as those of dual-income middle-class professionals,
they perform a full array of household and
personal assistant
A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...
duties,
including mundane
housekeeping
Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running an organised physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning, cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, ...
.
Butlers today may also be situated within corporate settings, embassies, cruise ships, yachts, or within their own small "Rent-a-Butler" business or similar agency.
Along with these changes of scope and context, butlering
attire
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
has changed. Whereas butlers have traditionally worn a special uniform that separated them from junior servants, and although this is still often the case, butlers today may wear more casual clothing geared for climate, while exchanging it for formal business attire only upon special service occasions. There are cultural distinctions, as well. In the United States, butlers may frequently don a polo shirt and slacks, while in Bali they typically wear
sarong
A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...
s.
In 2007, the number of butlers in Britain had risen to an estimated 5,000. That number rose to 10,000 by 2014, consistent with increased worldwide demand.
Training
Butlers traditionally learned their position while progressing their way up the service ladder. For example, in the documentary ''The Authenticity of Gosford Park'', retired butler Arthur Inch (born 1915) describes starting as a
hall boy
The hall boy or hallboy was a position held by a young male domestic worker on the staff of a great house, usually a young teenager. The name derives from the fact that the hall boy usually slept in the servants' hall.
Like his female counterp ...
. While this is still often the case, numerous private butlering schools exist today. Additionally, major up-market hotels such as the
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
offer traditional butler training, while some hotels have trained a sort of pseudo-butler for service in defined areas such as "
technology butler
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
s", who fix guests' computers and other electronic devices, and "bath butlers" who draw custom baths.
Gender and butlering
Butlers have traditionally been male, and this remains the norm. Probably the first mention of a female butler is in the 1892 book ''Interludes being Two Essays, a Story, and Some Verses'' by Horace Smith. In it Smith quotes the noted writer and Anglican clergyman
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric.
Early life and education
Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...
, who between 1809 and 1829 struggled to make ends meet in a poorly paid assignment to a rural parish in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
:
"I turned schoolmaster to educate my son, as I could not afford to send him to school. Mrs. Sydney turned schoolmistress to educate my girls as I could not afford a governess. I turned farmer as I could not let my land. A man servant was too expensive, so I caught up a little garden girl, made like a milestone, christened her Bunch, put a napkin in her hand, and made her my butler. The girls taught her to read, Mrs. Sydney to wait, and I undertook her morals. Bunch became the best butler in the country.
Today, female butlers are sometimes preferred,
especially for work within
West Asian
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes An ...
and
Southeast Asian
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
families where there may be religious objections for men to work closely with women in a household. Western female celebrities may also prefer a female butler, as may households where the wife is driving the decision to hire a butler.
Despite these trends, the Ivor Spencer School asserts that female butlers are not easily placed, on the whole.
In ancient times, the roles precursive to butlering were reserved for chattel or those confined within heredity-based class structures. With the advent of the medieval era, butlering became an opportunity for social advancement‒even more so during Victorian times. Although still based upon various antecedent roles as manifested during different eras, butlering today has frequently taken over many of the roles formerly reserved for lower-ranking domestic servants. At the same time it has become a potentially lucrative career option.
Notable butlers
*
Eugene Allen
Eugene Allen (July 14, 1919 – March 31, 2010) was an American waiter and butler who worked for the US government at the White House for 34 years until he retired as the head butler in 1986.
Allen's life was the inspiration for the 2013 film ' ...
, White House butler who served under seven U.S. presidents
*
Leslie Bartlett
Leslie Bartlett (died 2004) was a butler, toastmaster and founder of the London School of British Butlers. He also was an advisor to the 1995 film ''The Grotesque (film), The Grotesque''.
References
2004 deaths
Year of birth missing
Briti ...
, butler,
toastmaster
Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the mid-20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arrangin ...
; and founder of The London School of British Butlers
*
Paul Burrell
Paul Burrell (born 6 June 1958) is a former servant of the British Royal Household and latterly butler to Princess Diana.
Background and Royal Household career
Burrell was born and raised in Grassmoor, Derbyshire, a coal-mining village. His ...
, butler to
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
*
Alonzo Fields
Alonzo Fields (April 10, 1900 – March 22, 1994)Sam Stiegler, "When Speaking About Me, 'Don’t Talk too Long and Don’t Tell the Truth': A Biography of Mr. Alonzo Fields (1900–1994), West Medford Afro-American Remembrance Project, 2005Availa ...
, White House chief butler from 1932 to 1953
*
Grant Harrold
Grant William Veitch Harrold (born 1978 in Airdrie, Scotland) is a former butler to Charles III now a British etiquette expert, and broadcaster.
Career
He worked as a butler for Charles III from 2004 to 2011, when King Charles was Prince of ...
butler to
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
from 2004 to 2011
In visual art
![Hogarths-Servants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Hogarths-Servants.jpg)
Butlers have been occasionally depicted in visual art. A famous
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
, ''
Heads of Six of Hogarth's Servants
''Heads of Six of Hogarth's Servants'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by William Hogarth from c. 1750-5.''The Tate Gallery: An Illustrated Companion to the National Collections of British & Modern Foreign Art''. London: Tate Gallery, 1979, p. 14. ...
'' (c. 1758), is unique among such works. In it, the 18th-century English artist
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...
depicted his household servants, all surrounding the butler. In showing the group in a close-knit assemblage rather than in the performance of their routine household duties, Hogarth sought to humanise and dignify them in a manner akin to wealthy-class members, who were the normal subjects of such
portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
s. While this was a subversive act that certainly raised many eyebrows in his day‒Hogarth conspicuously displayed the work in his estate home in full view of guests‒at the same time he had painted his servants' facial expressions to convey the sincerity and deference expected of servant-class members.
In
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
, "The Butler's in Love" series by U.S. artist
Mark Stock
Mark Stock (August 4, 1951 – March 26, 2014) was an American painter. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1951. The son of an Army officer, Stock lived in many states across America before settling in St. Petersburg, Florida. He received h ...
is especially poignant. In the series, Stock portrays the butler as sick with love, but the possibility of fulfillment is hopeless: the love is a forbidden love, perhaps felt for the lady of the house, and so it must be suffered alone in silent concealment. In addition to the ongoing mannerisms and facial expressions of the butler, a seated lady once appearing in a curtained room and a recurring lipstick-stained
absinthe
Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historical ...
glass over which the butler obsesses provide the interpretive clues. In selecting a butler as his subject, Stock sought to provide a "universal character", a pathos-laden figure that could be widely related to and that could depict the universality of loneliness felt by someone who can only look in from the outside. Stock began the series in 1985 to express his difficult feelings during a personal experience of unrequited love. One of the paintings was inspiration for a
3-D short film, "The Butler's in Love" by actor/director
David Arquette
David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Enter ...
, shot in 2008 at
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
's historic
Westerfield Mansion
Westerfield is a village in Suffolk, England. It lies about two miles north of the centre of Ipswich in the East Suffolk District, and is served by Westerfield railway station on the Ipswich–Lowestoft East Suffolk Line.
Amenities
Westerfield ...
.
In fiction
The real-life modern butler attempts to be discreet and unobtrusive, friendly but not familiar, keenly anticipative of the needs of his or her employer, and graceful and precise in execution of duty. The butler of fiction, by contrast, often tends to be larger than life and has become a
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...
in
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and a traditional
role
A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, moral obligation, obligations, beliefs, and social norm, norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavi ...
in the
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
. Butlers may provide comic relief with wry comments, clues as to the perpetrators of various crimes, and are represented as at least as intelligent and moral as their “betters,” or even more so. They are often portrayed as being serious and expressionless and in the case that the wealthy hero is an orphan‒such as
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
Chrono Crusade
''Chrono Crusade'', originally known in Japan as , due to a typo, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama. It was originally published by Kadokawa Shoten in ''Comic Dragon'', then a special issue of the ''Drago ...
's Satella Harvenheit, or
Tomb Raider
''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
's
Lara Croft
Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...
‒may be a father figure to said hero. Regardless of the genre in which they are cast, butlers in fiction almost invariably follow the "British butler" model and are given an appropriate-sounding surname. The fictional butler tends to be given a typical Anglo-Celtic surname and have an English accent. The Asian, African American, or Caribbean houseboy is a variant, but even these major-domos are based on the British icon.
Today, butlers are usually portrayed as being refined and well-spoken. However, in 19th century fiction such as ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
'', butlers generally spoke with a strong
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
or other regional accent.
"The butler" is integral to the plot of countless
potboiler
A potboiler or pot-boiler is a novel, play, opera, film, or other creative work of dubious literary or artistic merit, whose main purpose was to pay for the creator's daily expenses—thus the imagery of "boil the pot", which means "to provide one ...
s and
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
s, whether or not the character has been given a name. Butlers figure so prominently in
period piece
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...
s and
whodunit
A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...
s that they can be considered
stock character
A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...
s in
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, where a
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
is "The butler did it!"
The best-known fictional manservant, and the archetype of the quintessential British butler, is himself not a butler at all.
Reginald Jeeves
Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...
, the iconic creation of author
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...
is a "
gentleman's gentleman
A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
" and general
factotum
Factotum may refer to:
*A handyman, employed as a servant
* ''Factotum'' (novel), a 1975 novel by Charles Bukowski
* ''Factotum'' (film), a 2005 film adaptation of the novel
*Factotum (arts organisation), an arts organisation based in Belfast
*fact ...
. Probably the best-known fictional butlers are
Alfred
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
from the ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' comic and films; Hudson of
Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to:
Television
*Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975
*Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...
television fame;
Mr Carson from the
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...
television series; and Crichton from
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
's ''
The Admirable Crichton
''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie.
Origins
Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest is p ...
''. Lesser-knowns include Mr. Belvedere from the novel ''Belvedere'', which was adapted into a feature film with sequels and later a
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
;
Lurch, from the television series ''
The Addams Family
''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...
'', based on Charles Addams' ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' cartoons; Beach, from the Wodehouse series about
Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth (Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth), home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tal ...
;
Niles, the butler at the Sheffield house in American sitcom ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...
'', Geoffrey from
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...
, Bailey (an English canine butler) from the children's animated television series ''
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
'' and Benson from the two series ''
Soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
'' and ''
Benson Benson may refer to:
Animals
*Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain
Places Geography
Canada
*Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality
*Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet
United Kingdom
* Benson, Oxfordshire ...
''.
Not all fictional butlers portray the "butler stereotype", however.
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...
, who played the butler Jennings in the film ''
Gosford Park
''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. It was influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic ''La Règle du jeu'' (''The Rules of the Game'').
The film stars an ...
'' was coached in brooding detail by Arthur Inch, a longtime real-life butler. Mr. Stevens, the butler played by
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
in the film ''
Remains of the Day'', was also acted with remarkable realism. A female butler, Sarah Stevens, is the principal character in
Linda Howard
Linda S. Howington (born August 3, 1950 in Alabama, United States) is an American best-selling romance/suspense author under her pseudonym Linda Howard.
Biography
She began to write at nine years old, and wrote for twenty years for her own en ...
's 2002 ''Dying to Please'', a murder/romance novel. Howard gives detailed and generally accurate descriptions of butlering in the work.
Examples
*
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...
,
Bruce Wayne
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
's butler from
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
*
Angus Hudson
Angus Hudson is a fictional character from the ITV drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', portrayed by actor Gordon Jackson from 1971 until 1975.
Biography
Hudson was the authoritarian Scottish butler of the Bellamy household at 165 Eaton Place, ...
, from the television show ''
Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to:
Television
*Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975
*Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...
''
* Austin, from the game
Gardenscapes
''Gardenscapes: New Acres'' is a casual match-3 game, released in 2016 for Android and iOS devices and also on Facebook.
Gameplay
The original version of ''Gardenscapes'', which was released for Microsoft Windows in October 2009, and was la ...
*
Benson DuBois
''Benson'' is an American sitcom television series that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986. The show stars Robert Guillaume in the title role of Benson DuBois, the head of the hou ...
, the Tate butler in the hit 1970's sitcom, ''
Soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
''
* Butler, the butler for Prince Salde Canarl Shellbrick III off of the puzzle game ''
Puyo Puyo Fever 2
is a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game was released as a sequel to the previous title, ''Puyo Pop Fever''. The gameplay remains relatively unchanged, but several new modes are introduced. The game features nine di ...
''
* Cadbury, butler to
Richie Rich
* Chadwick, from ''
Jamaica Inn
The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamle ...
''
*
Charles Carson, butler to the Crawley family in ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...
''
* Charley Raunce, who succeeds to the position from
footman
A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage.
Etymology
Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
when Eldon the Butler dies, in the novel ''
Loving'' by
Henry Green
Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels ''Party Going'', ''Living'' and '' Loving''. He published a total of nine novels between 1926 and 1952 ...
.
*
Cogman, a human-sized sociopathic Autobot Headmaster who acts as Sir Edmund Burton's butler.
* Domovoi Butler, butler/bodyguard to Artemis Fowl in Eoin Colfer's ''
Artemis Fowl
''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish people, Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, ''Artemis Fowl'', follows Elf (Artemis Fowl), elf LEP Reconna ...
'' book series.
*
Edmund Blackadder
Edmund Blackadder is the single name given to a collection of fictional characters who appear in the BBC mock-historical comedy series ''Blackadder'', each played by Rowan Atkinson. Although each series is set within a different period of Britis ...
, butler to Prince
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
the
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
, in the TV Series ''
Blackadder the Third
''Blackadder the Third'' is the third series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series is set during the Georgian Era, and sees the principal character, ...
''
*
Edwin Jarvis
Edwin Jarvis is a supporting character in the Marvel Comics titles ''Iron Man'' and ''Avengers (comics), The Avengers''. He is the loyal household butler of the Stark family. Since the 1990s, the character has appeared heavily in media adaptations ...
,
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
's butler from Iron Man
* Giles, the butler for ABC's ''Whodunnit? (2013 TV series), Whodunnit?'' TV series
* Hayate Ayasaki, The titular protagonist of ''Hayate the Combat Butler''
* Higgins, from the sitcom ''Our Man Higgins'' and the radio comedy on which it was based, ''It's Higgins, Sir''
* Hugh Edgar, a butler in ''The Edwardian Country House'', 2002 British historical recreation TV series
* John Lawless, a central character in the 1967 Sherman Brothers' musical movie ''The Happiest Millionaire'' played by 60 teen idol Tommy Steele.
* Nestor (comics), Nestor, the butler of Marlinspike Hall in ''The Adventures of Tintin''
*
Niles, the butler in the TV Series ''
The Nanny
''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...
''
* List of Umineko no Naku Koro ni characters, Ronove, the demon butler and highest-ranking furniture of the Golden Witch; List of Umineko no Naku Koro ni characters, Beatrice and the Endless Sorcerer, List of Umineko no Naku Koro ni characters, Battler from Umineko: When They Cry, ''Umineko no Naku Koro ni''
* Sebastian Beach, from the Blandings Castle stories by
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...
, frequently conspires with the clever Gally Threepwood
* List of Black Butler characters#Sebastian Michaelis, Sebastian Michaelis, a demon disguised as a man bound by contract to his master in the ''Black Butler'' manga and anime series
* Smithers, Veronica Lodge's fictional butler
* Spencer, butler in ''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive''
* Mr. Stevens, the protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize-winning novel, ''The Remains of the Day'' and movie of the same name
* Subaru Konoe, the female butler of Kanade Suzutsuki who is disguised as a male in the ''Mayo Chiki!'' anime, manga and light novel
* Underling, the butler in the 2006 Broadway Musical ''The Drowsy Chaperone''
* Wadsworth, the protagonist in the movie ''Clue (film), Clue''
* Ankh-Morpork City Watch#Willikins, Willikins, butler to Sam Vimes, Samuel Vimes in the ''Discworld'' series by Terry Pratchett.
See also
* Butler of Scotland
* Chauffeur
* Domestic worker
* Footman
* Household
* Housekeeper (domestic worker), Housekeeper
* Maid
* Valet
References
Notes
* ''This article is based on material from "" by Stephen Ewen, which is licensed under the WP:Text of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, Creative Common Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License''.
* ''The article there is a mirror copy of "A Brief History of Butlers and Butlering" by Stephen Ewen''.
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Domestic work
Gendered occupations