The Perfect Nanny

Myriam Massé is the wife of Paul Massé, the mother of Adam and Mila, and the driving force behind Louise’s employment. Myriam, a career-focused woman eager to return to work, maintains a close relationship with Louise that gradually turns sinister as Louise further embeds herself in the Massé household. By the time Louise begins blatantly crossing inappropriate boundaries, Myriam is too dependent on Louise and can’t figure out how to cut her out of their lives.

Myriam inhabits the complicated intersection of motherhood and careerwoman. She cares for her children, and fears for their safety, but she struggles as a stay-at-home mom. Myriam lacks many of the standard maternal qualities for which mothers are praised. This makes her seem inadequate compared to Louise, which is ironic, since The Perfect Nanny opens with clear evidence that Louise should not be around children. Initially, Myriam doesn’t want a person of color for her nanny, fearing her inability to maintain distance from them as a woman of color herself. This, too, results in twisted irony when Louise becomes unforgivably invasive.

Myriam’s character is primarily used to explore questions of motherhood and the harsh judgment society casts on moms. When she stays home with the children, she fears the people “who innocently asked what she did for a living and who looked away when she said she was a stay-at-home mother” (9). She loves her job and wants to return to work, desperate for an identity outside of the home. But when she returns to work, she is still judged. Mila’s teacher blames Myriam, and other mothers like her, for the poor behavior of their children, citing a lack of parental attention. She is even judged after her children are murdered. Louise’s defense lawyer tries to pin the blame for Louise’s mental break on Myriam, calling her “an ‘absent mother,’ an ‘abusive employer’ [...] selfish and indifferent to the point where she pushed poor Louise too far” (81). Myriam can’t win, whatever she does, crystallizing just how harshly mothers in modern society are judged. Whether they decide to work or to stay at home, either option may be met with derision.

With his first words, Paul Massé immediately shows his racist, classist, and sexist views. He shows disdain for Myriam’s desire to return to work. He marks almost every community outside of his own as “other”, from immigrants to the elderly to veiled religious practitioners (who are often women of color). While he seems care about his children, he does so from the perspective of someone who doesn't care for them. He takes for granted that the bulk of childcare is the mother’s job, or at least a woman’s. Throughout the book, Paul's character—an upper middle-class, white, native French male—is used to explore these themes of racism, classism, and sexism in the narrative.

Paul’s views of fatherhood are examined in detail only once within the book, and they aren't positive. Although there are a few occasions where he seems to care about Adam and Mila, Paul mostly feels “trapped” by parenthood, cut off from his former life and the person he once was. Despite that, Paul doesn't respect for Myriam’s struggles as a mother and criticizes her desire to work. While he acknowledges Louise's usefulness, he does so by objectifying her, and he grows irritated or angry whenever Louise challenges his authority. He laughs off the idea of Louise as a threat. Paul treats Louise as less than human, speaking to the power he holds in his position within oppressive class hierarchies. Louise looks and speaks like him and Myriam, though Paul “[considers] Louise as part of the world of children or the world of employees” (71). He not only forgets their class difference, but he forgets that Louise is a person at all, and he openly dislikes any reminders. Only when he physically touches her during their swim lesson does Paul acknowledge Louise's humanity—otherwise, she is invisible.

Stéphanie is Louise’s daughter, portrayed as a rebellious teenager who ran away and never returned. Stéphanie’s character is used to further the narrative’s argument of classist power hierarchies and how the people in power leverage them to maintain their authoritative status. This is best seen when Stéphanie joins Louise on the holiday with the Rouvier family. Although Stéphanie is only a child, she is ostracized as the daughter of “the help” and not allowed to enjoy the simple pleasures of the Rouvier children, like going in the swimming pool. Stéphanie isn’t invited to the Rouvier household to bond with their children; instead, “she [is] there […] because no one knew what else to do with her” (49). Stéphanie isn’t even allowed to watch TV with the other kids. The Rouviers insist on essentially putting her to work, thereby putting Stéphanie in her place and reminding her that she is below them, not an equal.

Stéphanie’s character further exemplifies how difficult it is to challenge, change, or break free of society’s deeply ingrained social and class hierarchies. For example, when she has the opportunity to go to a better school, thanks to one of Louise’s employers, she struggles to integrate into the new environment. Ultimately, she’s expelled. The school administration uses this opportunity to put Stéphanie in her place, similar to the Rouviers, as they suggest that “Stéphanie would be more comfortable in […] an environment more suited to her, where she would have more points of reference” (180). Louise and Stéphanie both are surrounded by forces that repeatedly push them back, pigeonholing them in the lower class or socioeconomic status.