Master Or Mistress?

[Yukinara]

This is my story: a boy raised up by two girls. By the time the story happen, he is 16 and they are around 26-27. They teach him difference things and care for him. So I have him called them "Master" because their relationship is like Anakin and Obi-wan. But 2 beta readers suggested me to change to Mistress. When I look up the thesaurus, Mistress means lover, leader, tutor, etc. In the story, he cares about them but it's not love. And in my mind, the word "Mistress" tied to "Love".

What do you think? I don't know what is the proper way for him to address them.

 

[myrddin173]

While mistress is the term used for the woman a married man has an affair with, it is the feminine form of master. Since they are female it would seem odd for me to see them referred to by the masculine form.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Yeah in our history, wherever the word Master was used as in, "Good morrow, Master Smith," the word mistress was interchanged if it was a woman you were speaking to or about. "Is Mistress Anne coming to dinner?"
Master and Mistress were part of peoples' names as Mister and Miss are now. So in your world, if you have a sort of teacher/ student relationship and don't like the word mistress, then you could always change it, but to refer to them by the masculine form is unusual and sort of jarring. However, the student might not say, "That woman over there is my mistress..." He would say Mistress Catherine there is my teacher." I hope that helps you to sort out how you feel.

 

[Queshire]

Yeah, I suggest using Mistress, Master is the male form, Mistress the female. It's as simple as that.

 

[Shockley]

That's the way language evolves, and it can be unfortunate. Compare dominator/dominatrix for another example, as that was originally applied in the same way we now apply master/mistress.

Go with mistress.

 

[Steerpike]

Use whichever you like. The word Master is used with respect to females in certain instances in the real world, and I'm sure it shows up in fiction as well (Star Wars universe, for example). You have to decide whether it fits in the fantasy world you've created, or whether the older usage that draws a bright-line distinction is more appropriate.

 

[Devor]

In my mind, the answer is obvious. If Master is wrong for one reason, and Mistress for another, you need to find a third word, one that is less ambiguous about their relationship.

Also, in terms of titles, Master isn't always seen as being very high. In some scenarios the girls would be the ones calling him "Master," as it's sometimes used to refer to the boys of the house.

 

[ascanius]

Like others said mistress used for women and master for men. You could always use italian or latin though. Maestro for males and Maestra for females in Italian, or Magister for males, and Magistra for females in Latin though this technically means teacher/instructor/professor for both (in italian the word for profesor is Professoressa f and Professore m). But this could be overlooked by word similarities and association and that most don't know these two languages.

 

[Caged Maiden]

If you felt uncomfortable with the word mistress (I've done a lot of historical studies in my life and have absolutely no bias against the word) you might want to take the suggestion of using another similar word, and if that fails, make your own up. I pointed out that it is common title often (Master Smith), but in certain instances used for someone who has achieved high rank in something (a master chef). Perhaps narrowing down a time period and its particular social structure might help you be more confident in your final decision.

 

[Drakhov]

Master wouldn't seem right to me at all - Mistress would be a more (if not thecorrect form of address). How about Madam / Madame? I don't know if that implies a woman considerably older and / or married though.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

"Mistress" is technically correct but, as many have said, can sound awkward.

"Ma'am" might be appropriate.

 

[Queshire]

well, the original poster said it's a matter of how he introduces 'em to others, not what he calls 'em. Ma'am or some of the other suggestions wouldn't work for that really.