Domestic worker  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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A domestic worker, domestic, or servant is one who works, and often also lives, within the employer's household. They are distinguishable from serfs or slaves in that they are compensated, that is, they must receive payment (and, following labour reforms in the 20th Century, benefits) for their work. They are also free to leave their employment at any time, although foreign workers may find these freedoms restricted by, for example, visa regulations. In large households, there can be a large number of domestic workers doing different jobs, often as part of an elaborate hierarchy. However, most such employees work in middle class households, where they are the only servant.

Domestic workers take care of the household and its dependent members. They perform domestic chores such as washing, ironing, buying foods and drinks, accompanying the head of the household for grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning the house. They may also run errands and walk the family dog. For many domestic workers, a large part of their job is taking care of the children. If there are elderly or disabled people in the household, domestic workers may care for them as well.

Domestic workers in cinema

• The Remains of the Day de James Ivory : avec Anthony Hopkins (le majordome M. Stevens) et Emma Thompson (la gouvernante Miss Kenton).
• The Servant, film de Joseph Losey (1963) qui décrit les relation inquiétantes entre un aristocrate et son valet interprété par Dirk Bogarde.
• Le Journal d'une femme de chambre de Luis Buñuel — adaptation du célèbre roman d'Octave Mirbeau, Le Journal d'une femme de chambre – avec Jeanne Moreau dans le rôle de la femme de chambre Célestine.
• La Cérémonie, de Claude Chabrol (1995) avec Sandrine Bonnaire dans le rôle d'une bonne à tout faire manipulée.
• Les Blessures assassines avec Sylvie Testud dans le rôle d'une des sœurs Papin.
• Jane Eyre de Franco Zeffirelli (adaptation du roman de Charlotte Brontë) : avec Charlotte Gainsbourg dans le rôle de la gouvernante Jane Eyre.
• Gosford Park de Robert Altman : avec Helen Mirren dans le rôle de l'intendante Mrs. Wilson.

See also

• The Papin sisters
• Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?
• Servant (disambiguation)