A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant.

Description

Bal des blanchisseuses au lavoir Popincourt 1872

As evidenced by the character of Nausicaa in the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

, in the social conventions depicted by

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and evidently taken for granted in Greek society of the time, there was nothing unusual or demeaning in a princess and her handmaidens personally washing laundry. However, in later times this was mostly considered as the work of women of low social status. The

Magdalene asylum Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house "fallen women". The term referred to femal ...

s chose laundering as a suitable occupation for the " fallen women" they accommodated. In between these two extremes, the various sub-divisions of laundry workers in 19th-century France (''blanchisseuse'', ''lavandière'', ''laveuse'', ''buandière'', ''repasseuse'', etc.) were respected for their trade. A festival in their honour was held at the end of winter (''Mi-Careme'', halfway through

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

, i.e. three weeks after Mardi Gras or

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten ...

). This festival has now been revived as Mi-Carême au Carnaval de Paris. The

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

to George III of the United Kingdom, who was born two months prematurely, was so valued by the king when he grew up that her daughter was appointed laundress to the Royal Household, "a sinecure place of great

emolument Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in addition ...

". In many cultures, laundry was seen as "women's work", so the village wash-house (

lavoir A lavoir (wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by laun ...

) acted as a space for women to gather and talk together as they washed clothes. While having a significant social function in various human cultures over thousands of years, the spread of

washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and i ...

and self-service laundries has rendered washerwomen unnecessary in much of the contemporary world.

In culture

The subject of laundresses or washerwomen was a popular one in art, especially in France, se
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In literature, the washerwoman may be a convenient disguise, as with Toad, one of the protagonists of ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

(1908),'' in order to escape from prison; and in '' The Penultimate Peril'' story of the

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...

book series ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After th ...

'', Kevin the Ambidextrous Man poses as a washerwoman who works in the laundry room at the Hotel Denouement. Also, washerwomen serve as characters depicting the working poor, as for example in '' A Christmas Carol'': when the

Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a vis ...

showed Ebenezer Scrooge his future where he is dead, the laundress assists the

charwoman A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...

Mrs. Dilber and the unnamed

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

into stealing some of Scrooge's belongings and selling them to a

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

named Old Joe. In ''

Power Rangers Beast Morphers ''Power Rangers Beast Morphers'' are the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh seasons of the American television program ''Power Rangers''. The first season premiered on Nickelodeon on March 2, 2019, while the second season premiered on February 22, 20 ...

'', the character Zoey Reeves started out as a washerwoman for Grid Battleforce.

References

{{Laundry navbox Laundry occupations Gendered occupations Domestic work Archaic English words and phrases

Description

In culture

See also

References