History Main / SculleryMaid

* In Myth/KingArthur legends, Sir Gareth of Orkney starts by getting a job as a kitchen boy.

* This was popular with [[{{Ninja}} Kunoichi]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichi See]] Wiki/ThatOtherWiki.

* Dick Whittington started out in London as a scullery boy. He is seriously tempted to ditch it because it's unpleasant and he gets only room and board.

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/fishring.html The Fish and the Ring]]'', this is the job the girl takes after the Baron throws her out.

** Nanny Ogg uses this as a highly successful infiltration technique. She's at home around people; knows their names, their family trees, and everyone's maladies after about half an hour, and knows that nobody ever questions a little old lady being helpful because it's a job you don't have to do and nobody cares if she doesn't get paid.

* [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Nanny Ogg]] uses this as a highly successful infiltration technique. She's at home around people; knows their names, their family trees, and everyone's maladies after about half an hour, and knows that nobody ever questions a little old lady being helpful because it's a job you don't have to do and nobody cares if she doesn't get paid.
** [[Literature/EqualRites Esk]] uses the classic SculleryMaid approach to infiltrate Unseen University, although her actual job is sweeping floors, not preparing food.

* Bridget from ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'', a Bergen maid whom Chef forces to work at the scullery while she prepares to cook the Trolls. She also harbors a crush on the Bergen king, Gristle Jr. [[spoiler:The Trolls help her win his love, and she frees them in return.]]

* Daisy from ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' is actually a scullery maid to start with (as in, that's her job title), but she's not spying on anyone and it's 20th-century Britain so the most nefarious things going on involve servants' jostling for better jobs. (She later gets promoted to Assistant Cook).

* One of the early game zones in KingdomOfLoathing is the Haunted Kitchen (the kitchen of a HauntedHouse), and one of the enemies there is a skeletal Skullery Maid.

Your less-developed fantasy worlds will contain no castle underlings save guards and kitchen staff. The guards lead a sad existence as {{Red Shirt}}s, but the latter option presents a marvelous opportunity for anyone willing to submit to [[CinderellaCircumstances a little drudgery]], if [[AlwaysFemale she]] can only get herself placed as a Scullery Maid.

If she's simply hiding out -- well, no one suspects that TheChosenOne [[CinderellaCircumstances is sweating over boiling potatoes]].

* Literature/CapORushes, having been thrown out by her father for saying she loved him like she loved salt, went for such a job.

* "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/allfur.html All-Kinds-of-Fur]]":

* "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/kingdaughter.html The King Who Wished Marry To His Daughter]]"

* In ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', this is how the heroes get inside the castle (including the male lieutenant, who is the most enthusiastic of them all). (They're actually laundry maids, but it's the same difference- and because the castle is occupied by an army, there's practically endless vacancies for those)

If she's simply hiding out -- believe me, no one suspects that TheChosenOne [[CinderellaCircumstances is sweating over boiling potatoes]].

If she's simply hiding out--believe me, no one suspects that TheChosenOne [[CinderellaCircumstances is sweating over boiling potatoes]].

The SpearCounterpart is also found, particularly in works more carefully based on the HighMiddleAges or earlier. Medieval households generally employed men (scullions) to work in the scullery, as women were considered too weak to do the heavy work. It was only during the Victorian era that the job were mostly given to maids, as female servants were more plentiful and cheaper to hire. Compare FarmBoy.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

* [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Nanny Ogg]] uses this as a highly successful infiltration technique. She's at home around people; knows their names, their family trees and everyone's maladies after about half an hour, and knows that nobody ever questions a little old lady being helpful, because it's a job you don't have to do and nobody cares if she doesn't get paid.

* In ''Literature/TheSecretGarden'', Mary's first relationship in her new home is with Martha, the young scullery maid who comes to clean the fireplace in her room. Mary can't do anything for herself (having always been waited on hand and foot) and Martha takes pity on her and helps her learn to be self sufficient.

[[folder:Myths And Legends]]

* In ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', this is how the heroes get inside the castle (including the male lieutenant, who is the most enthusiastic of them all). (They're actually laundry maids, but it's the same difference- and because the castle is occupied by an army, there's practically endless vacancies for those)

** [[Discworld/EqualRites Esk]] uses the classic SculleryMaid approach to infiltrate Unseen University, although her actual job is sweeping floors, not preparing food.

If she's in for infiltration, scullery {{maid}}s (or any other menial help staff) are [[BeneathNotice practically invisible]]. They don't get very much access to sensitive areas of the castle, true, but chances are someone will notice our heroine's talents and give her a promotion, or else that she'll have a knack for attracting ExactEavesdropping. If the infiltration has some sort of assassination in mind, kitchen staff have a perfect opportunity to poison people. If there's [[DancesAndBalls a ball]], [[RagsToRoyalty promotions can go quite high]]. It is, indeed [[FallenOnHardTimesJob the go-to job]] for runaway FairyTale {{Princess}}es.

* In an episode of''Series/LasVegas'' an office worker is marrying a dot-com billionaire. When it is remarked that "it's just like Cinderella" she, being sick of the comparison, says rather sharply "I was a secretary, not a scullery maid". [[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

For reference, the scullery is a small, hot, sweaty room behind the kitchen, where heavy, dirty, menial work, such as cleaning pots and pans, is carried out. As the lowest-ranking servant in the household, the pay of a scullery maid was below abysmal and she would often be pressed into service doing any unpleasant tasks around the house (like emptying chamber pots) and serving upon the rest of the servants. In RealLife, most non-enslaved scullery maids only stayed in the position for a year or two, just long enough to get the character reference required to move on to a better job, and would typically have little to no contact with the family members -- all in all, rather similar to the modern BurgerFool.