Maids and Butlers

One might get the impression that maids and butlers do basically the same tasks, but in reality, they are quite different.

Butlers are usually labelled as the gentleman's gentleman. There are many famous butlers in fiction, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler in the fictional universe of Batman, Cadbury, from the world of Ritchie Rich, Nestor from the Tintin Universe, Barrymore from the Hound of the Baskervilles, and Bob, the Butler from the TV series that shares the same name. What do they have in common?

Butlers are more personal; they cater to a specific person, rather than service a house. When they clean, cook or make arrangements, it is because their masters require it, or because it serves the best interests of their masters. This is why they are the gentleman's gentleman, because as the British saying goes, behind every gentleman is his butler.

Maids, on the other hand, hold no such personal service to one person, and simply work to clean the house. They are the ones primarily concerned with menial labor in general, tailoring their services for the house they are working on, not the employer. They have employers, not masters and their work is defined by what they've made clean, and not by their master's approval.

In the U.S., maids and butlers may be hired on an occasional basis, for middle class people who cannot afford full-time household help. There are several listings in all the states, providing maids and butlers to those who are in need of one.