Agnes Grey is the daughter of Mr. Grey, a minister of modest means, and Mrs. Grey, a woman who left her wealthy family and married purely out of love. Mr. Grey tries to increase the family's financial standing, but the merchant he entrusts his money to dies in a wreck, and the lost investment plunges the family into debt.
Agnes, her sister Mary, and their mother all try to keep expenses low and bring in extra money, but Agnes is frustrated that everyone treats her like a child. To prove herself and to earn money, she is determined to get a position as a governess. Eventually, she obtains a recommendation from a well-placed acquaintance, is offered a position, and secures her parents' permission. With some misgivings, she travels to Wellwood house to work for the Bloomfield family.
The Bloomfields are rich and much crueller than Agnes had expected. Mrs. Bloomfield spoils her children while Mr. Bloomfield constantly finds fault with Agnes's work. The children are unruly and Agnes is held accountable for them despite being given no real authority over them. Tom, the oldest Bloomfield child, is particularly abusive and even tortures small animals. In less than a year, Agnes is relieved of her position, since Mrs. Bloomfield thinks that her children are not learning quickly enough. Agnes returns home.
She then begs her mother to help her find a new situation. Agnes advertises and is given a position in an even wealthier family - the Murrays. The two boys, John and Charles, are both sent to school soon after her arrival, but the girls Rosalie and Matilda remain her charges. Matilda is a tomboy, prone to lying. Rosalie is a flirt. Both girls are selfish and sometimes unpleasant, and although Agnes's position is slightly better than it was at Wellwood house, she is frequently ignored or used in the girls' schemes.
Agnes begins to visit Nancy Brown, an old woman with poor eyesight who needs help reading the Bible; there Agnes meets the new parson, Mr. Edward Weston. The next day while on a walk Agnes is surprised by Mr. Weston, who picks some wild violets for her. Agnes later saves the flowers in her Bible. She learns that his mother has died not long ago. This new friendship is noticed by Rosalie Murray, who has now entered into society and is a favorite with nearly all suitors in the county...
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Agnes Grey has a "perfect" and simple prose style which moves forward gently but does not produce a sense of monotony. Critics like George Moore suggest it conveys a style with "all the qualities of Jane Austen and other qualities." Her style is both witty and apt for subtlety and irony.
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In the end, Agnes is very happy having married Edward Weston, and they have three children together. Agnes Grey is a strong minded woman, who very much has a sense of independence, "to go out into the world; to act for myself; to exercise my unused faculties; to try my own unknown powers; to earn my own maintenance."
In simplistic, undulating prose, loneliness and self-examination is depicted through Agnes' first-person diary recollections. You can always count on the Victorian female to allude to feminism on an existential level. With her gutsy decision to leave home at nineteen in order to gain her independence and possibly donate some funds to her dying father, Agnes will win over many hearts because this is not a position she is forced into. In fact, her family want her to stay at home.
A Timeless Classic from one of the Bronte sisters.
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