I should remember that we were not slaves, and being a servant was not a thing we were born to…it was just a job of work. She said it was the custom for young girls in this country to hire themselves out, in order to earn the money for their dowries; and then they would marry, and if their husbands prospered they would soon be hiring their own servants in their turn…one day I would be the mistress of a tidy farmhouse, and independent. (Atwood 157-158). …show more content…
This shows that Mary is willing to follow the roles of women and she ensures Grace conforms the role of being a servant so she does not become an outsider if she decides to try out new roles. In Canada, working as a domestic servant in the nineteenth century was a popular job for women and The Canadian Encyclopedia looks at women going into the domestic work force during that time period:
Domestic service became a distinctively female occupation in Canada during the 19th century…by the late 19th century over 90% of Canadian servants were female. Domestic service was the most common paid employment for Canadian women before 1900: in 1891 there were nearly 80 000 women servants in Canada. (The Canadian