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In the light of our white good woes this month, I've been thinking about housework. I don’t like doing housework and I’m sure I’m not alone. I do enjoy doing the laundry and
the ironing, yet my husband will agree to doing almost any other
domestic task just to avoid that. Any household has a range of domestic chores
that need to be done and different people like or dislike different tasks.
When I started creating the environment in which my main
characters lived, I wanted it to be a place where, if I lived there, I
wouldn’t have to do the chores I don’t like (it’s my world, after all). Strand of Faith
is set in the Great House St Peter, and the community includes the monks and nuns who live in the
monastery as well as the immediate household of the High Lord.
They also run a college, hospital, and extensive farms with any
number of people who attend or work at these, but those people aren’t
part of the household. Those people might eat with the household, or
live under its roof as many of the students do, but they aren’t
committed to it in the same way that household members are.
Everyone who is part of the household has their everyday needs –
accommodation, food, clothing, etc – provided. But they all have to
contribute to the household too, not only in what we would call ‘the day
job’ but also in the domestic chores necessary for the household to
function. Andrew, one of the monks, explains it to Leonie one day when he, she, and Brother Prospero are in the
gardens.
Andrew was amused by Leonie’s surprise at Prospero’s detailed
knowledge of the wide range of flowers and greenery used to decorate
hospital, House and Abbey.
“While everyone in the House has a job – you’re a
student, we’re doctors, Pedro’s the chef,” he said. “We’ve all got a
domestic role, too, to keep everything functioning. You work in the
kitchens, I work in the stables, but Prospero works in the gardens, so
naturally he knows about the plants.”
Leonie frowned. “How can the kitchen be Pedro’s job and my domestic role? Aren’t they different things?”
Andrew agreed, “Yes, they are different. But everywhere,
gardens, kitchen, stables, the workers will be a mix of those for whom
it’s their job and those for whom it’s their domestic role. But those
for whom it’s their job tend to be more senior, and in charge in each
area.”
That satisfied her and she went charging off to look at another plant that had caught her eye.
I’d be happy to work in the kitchen, laundry, or gardens – just so long as I don’t have to do the cleaning! Which household chores do you enjoy - and which do you try to avoid?
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