By Governess
liviaarbuthnot1@gmail.com
Copyright 2025 by Governess, all rights reserved
[2,295 words]´
* * * * *Chapter 76
Diana nodded.
“You are quite right, James. So what do you think of our
proposal?”
“Well, I would not reject it out of hand. And I do accept
your
criticism that I have been less than understanding of
Cordelia’s
position.”
He turned to her.
“And I hope you will accept my apology,”
“Of course I accept it. And I understand your wish to ensure
that the
boys are punished adequately. And that is certainly shared by me and
Diana. And I agree that we need to establish exactly how we are to
handle the boys’ punishment. Perhaps we can discuss it stage
by stage.”
“Then first, when do we administer it, recognising that it is
on a
Sunday? I believe originally the intention was after lunch, but there
are arguments for doing it either before or after chapel.”
“I
agree, James. That would provide an opportunity for you or the rector
to preach on the need for chastity, followed swiftly by an example of
just how immorality and impurity are punished. . That should have a
powerful impact on the boys.”
“Thank you, Diana. That is an
excellent idea. Of course I would be more than happy to give such an
address, although less happy for the Rector to do so.”
He paused.
“But I wonder whether our Matron might not be the best person
to take on that role.”
Cordelia looked startled.
“That hardly seems appropriate, James.”
“On the contrary, it seems highly appropriate. The place
where most
impurity and immorality occurs is in the dormitories, and they are your
domain.”
“I’m not sure that the Rector would be happy for a
woman to be preaching, James.”
“You’re probably right. But the matter is for me to
decide, not the
Rector. If I want Cordelia to address the boys, then, if she agrees,
that is what she will do. I will, of course, say a few introductory
words, but she plays an important role in the discipline of this place.
Her speaking about the need for chastity seems to me as appropriate as
her flogging the two boys.”
Cordelia still looked hesitant, but within she knew she was comfortable
with the idea.
“Well, if you are happy that I should do that, James, then I
will.”
“Excellent. So, Clough and Graham will attend chapel with the
rest of
the school, and Immediately afterwards will be taken by Cordelia to the
infirmary, stripped of their clothes and wearing only a shirt be led at
ten o’clock into the hall where all the boys will have
assembled.”
“And then?”
“They will be flogged."
“And you agree that that both the birch and the tawse should
be used on this occasion?”
“After your chiding, Diana, I am” .
Diana smiled.
“And the strokes will be shared between us as agreed. I would
handle
the birch and Cordelia the tawse; each stroke of the birch would be
followed by a stroke of the tawse until two dozen strokes of each had
been given. To each boy.”
James raised his eyebrows.
“Given at a slow and steady pace, I trust. Well, that should
provide an
impressive punishment both for the boys being flogged and for those
witnessing it. This punishment is being given to serve as a deterrent
and a warning to the other boys that behaviour such as that of Clough
and Graham will not be tolerated.”
He pursed his lips.
“And how are the boys to be positioned for this
punishment?”
“I assumed, as I think did Diana, that they would be secured
over the leather gymnasium buck.”
“Indeed, but the alternative is to drape the boy over the
buck with
someone standing behind holding him by the wrists. In many ways that is
to be preferred given the difficulty of running a strap around the buck
and over the body. And I recall from my own boyhood that being held by
the wrists, naked and wriggling , in my case over the back of an
armchair, was particularly shaming and demeaning.”
Cordelia frowned. Already an idea was beginning to form in her mind.
“Personally, I would not wish to see a member of staff
filling that
role. Nor would I think it right for another of the boys to be given
the job. In both cases it undermines the sense of community and
camaraderie. But it occurs to me that if we wish to add even further to
the boys’ shame, perhaps one of the girls could be chosen to
hold the
boy in position. And to avoid the selection being invidious and a cause
of argument, the natural choice might be for Elizabeth, as the daughter
of the Matron to do it.”
James looked pleased.
“That the boy should be held and restrained by a member of
the opposite
sex who additionally would witness his humiliation is an excellent
idea. And who better to do it than the daughter of the matron who plays
such an important role in the boys’ discipline.
He nodded.
“As I said, my own governess had a boy on her hands who
needed to be
broken. Who had to learn to accept her strict and exacting rule over
him.”
He took a deep breath.
“A boy can fight pain
and exert his will against his tormentress He can strive to hold back
his tears and outlast her. And if that is achieved, he swells inwardly
with pride even if he is careful not to show it. But an experienced
governess will never allow that. An experienced governess will ensure
that he is torn with sobbing, that the pain she inflicts is sufficient
to force him to capitulate and to accept her rule. But there are times
when she judges that pain alone is Insufficient. Then, she may turn to
other ways of shaming and humiliating him, adding these to the birching
that he so sorely needs.”
Again, he breathed deeply
“Although I lived in a cottage with my governess, we had a
housekeeper,
Mrs Cranborne, who came in regularly to cook and clean for us. From
time to time, Miss Ravenscourt would drape me over the back of an
armchair and instruct Mrs Cranborne to hold me by the wrists. I found
this deeply shaming, both from being held by a woman and by one who as
much under authority as myself. And she not only held me but witnessed
my being slowly broken by the pain and being reduced to a small,
sobbing, boy, shivering in shameful nakedness.”
He turned to Diana.
“So, what do you think, my dear?”
“My only concern is how Elizabeth’s participation
would be viewed by
the other girls in her class. I recall Dostoevsky’s account
of his time
in a prison camp where convicts who wielded the lash for the prison
authorities were deeply despised by their fellows. So, I do worry
whether it would make life difficult for Elizabeth.”
She paused.
“But on balance, I doubt whether it would. Strangely, it
might even be a help rather than a hindrance.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I told you about my Archimedes moment. When I suddenly saw
how much
better it would be if I punished a girl in class by making her kneel
and present a bare bottom for the tawse rather than extend her hands.
There was nothing unusual about this, I said. Indeed, there is a girl
in this class who is routinely punished in this way. And I called
Elizabeth to the front and questioned her. A real frisson of horror and
interest rippled round the room. And from then on, Elizabeth was
treated with a sort of respectful notoriety. Most of the staff whose
girls are educated here are of a far too liberal disposition. They may
administer half-hearted corporal punishment to their sons, and not all
of them do that. But for reasons that are inexplicable to me, girls are
in most cases spared such discipline. Although the girls in my class
have little contact with Matron, her reputation and methods are
well-known; and most are aware of boys she has chastised. So, Elizabeth
who has her as a mother, and who is regularly chastised by her at home,
and who shares her brothers’ discipline, is regarded with a
strange
respect, even revered. And also because she is kind and thoughtful and
greatly liked.”
Cordelia smiled.
“And that can be put
down to the spankings she received from an early age, and the severer
discipline that has been meted out to her in recent years.”
“Yes, what the girls are revering without being aware of it
are the
qualities that a strict upbringing confers. And which within the
restrictions of an institutional setting, we aim to replicate here. But
how do you think Elizabeth would feel about your proposal?”
“Well, she has helped to restrain or hold down her brothers
for
punishment from time to time, so I doubt that she think it odd. And as
you have observed, Diana, Elizabeth is not a girl who shies away from
the realities of corporal punishment or is upset by it. She already has
a quite developed mothering instinct and acceptance of a
child’s need
for discipline, including her own. But let me call her down and we can
ask her.”
When Elizabeth entered the room, she looked
surprised to find Mr and Mrs Fairclough there. And it became swiftly
apparent to her that she had been summoned for some purpose and was the
centre of their interest.
“Elizabeth, tomorrow morning, I have been asked by Mr
Fairclough to flog two boys before the whole school.”
“Are those the two boys who have been wearing placards around
their necks?”
“Yes, Elizabeth. And they are each to be turned over a small
vaulting
horse from the gym, and each are to receive four dozen strokes of the
birch and tawse.”
Elizabeth listened unblinkingly, biting her lower lip as she
concentrated on her mother’s words.
“And someone will need to hold them firmly by the wrists as
they are flogged.”
Cordelia paused.
“And we would like you to be the one holding each boy in
position.”
Elizabeth felt her whole body blushing with a delicious guilty shame.
She found the mere question arousing, flooding her with a strange
excitement. And Cordelia smiled at the girl’s flushed cheeks
and bright
eyes.
“I am quite confident that you will be able to do that
without difficulty. After all, you have assisted me at home when your
brothers were being disciplined. And I hope you are willing to do the
same here? Mrs Fairclough will be sharing the boys' discipline with me
and you will assisting her, too.”
Elizabeth blinked.
“Yes, I am sure i could do that, Mother.”
She gave a little smile.
“I’d really like to.”
“Good. I’m pleased. Later we’ll go across
when the vaulting horse is in
place and discuss the practicalities in more detail. For now, please
return to your room.”
James smiled
“That is excellent. And Elizabeth was clearly eager to
assist.”
“Yes, James. I am not surprised. She always watches the
punishments I
give in class with rapt attention. But is there anything else to
discuss?”
Cordelia frowned.
“The last time there was
a public flogging, when Burgess was flogged for absconding, only the
boys were present to witness it. Given that one of their number is to
assist with the punishment, is there a case for the girls to be
present, this time?”
James turned to Diana.
“What do you think, my dear?”
“Well, many would consider it improper for girls to witness a
boy being
whipped on his bare buttocks.. But in what the impropriety consists,
I’m not sure. I certainly think that children should be
shielded from
witnessing sexual contact. But the punishment of a naughty
boy’s not a
sexual act. And it’s certainly not unusual for girls in a
family to
witness a brother receiving a bare bottom spanking. That’s
both shaming
for the boy and a warning to his sisters of what will befall them
should they misbehave in the same way. “
“Except that girls here are not open to the same temptations
to impurity as the boys who sleep here in dormitories.”
“True but that doesn’t mean that a girl witnessing
the consequences of
serious wrongdoing will not benefit from that, even if it is a boy
being punished. Girls are subject to the same moral law. In that
respect, they are equal even if different. We need to respect the
distinctive female virtues and nurture them, but in matters of
discipline and punishment there should be treated in exactly the same
way: strict rules and consistent and severe corporal punishment when
they depart from the standard set. Allowing the idea to grow that girls
are subject to a less demanding set of requirements for their moral and
academic development is to be abhorred.”
“Well said, James. To
treat girls as lesser beings of which less is demanded is demeaning and
as you rightly say, to be shunned. Cordelia and I, and Laura
Ravenscourt, are testimony to what can be achieved when girls are
subject to the same expectations as boys, reinforced by the same scale
and intensity of punishment when they fall short. So let them witness
Clough's and Graham's punishment tomorrow.”
Both Cordelia and James nodded in agreement.
“Well, that has been a most productive discussion. Thank you
both for
your contribution and for finding a way forward that we can all accept
and that will undoubtedly be of benefit to the boys and to all
witnessing their punishment. I suggest we meet in the hall at five
o’clock when the flogging horse has been put in place. Just
to make
sure that nothing has been overlooked.”