Agnes GreyWe all know Charlotte's Jane Eyre and we know Emily's Wuthering Heights. But, have you read Anne's Agnes Grey? This was Anne's first novel, published in 1847. Like her sisters and many other women of the time, Agnes was a governess and this book draws heavily on her experiences. It explores many themes, the isolation of the governess from the rest of the family, the social stigma that accompanied a working woman and the treatment of women altogether.
It's a short sweet read, my version topped out at about 190 pages. I found it engaging though, the idea of being a governess sounds terrible not the least because of the children.
Agnes is governess to two families during the story. The first is the Bloomfield family whose children are rotten buggers. They run and scream, are violent to animals, and don't do as they're told. The parents are worse in both families because they will not allow their children to be disciplined and yet they blame Agnes when their children are rotten.
The second family is the Murray family. There Agnes only has to deal with the two oldest girls, but even they are bad enough. Rosalie is a vain, selfish creature focused only on looks and wealth. Mathilda is a brutish girl, loud and obnoxious she cares only about horses and dogs.
While working for the Murrays, Agnes meets Mr. Weston the curate. Mr. Weston is kind and a much better spiritual guide than the odious rector Mr. Hatfield who only brushes off the poor who come to him for guidance. Weston actually expresses an interest in Agnes's thoughts and ideas and she sees the goodness in him.
Without giving the ending away too much I can just say that Agnes does get to escape her dreadful students and have a happy ending.
Bonus Brontë
By Charlotte Brontë
Anyone who has read Jane Eyre or even Agnes Grey understands that it is not always a quick or easy read. But the story is enjoyable and anyone who likes the above mentioned titles will enjoy this.
Brontë extensively explores the idea of the role of women in society; the title character Shirley delivers several poignant monologues on the place of women.
Brontë also explores the working man's role in society in the age of new machinery. In the Napoleonic times mill owners began to replace working men with machines that didn't need paying, this of course did not sit well with local men and many rebelled and assaulted the mills and their owners. This is an additional plot point with Robert Moore, the mill owner.
This is the story of the folks in Yorkshire; Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar are the two main heroines. Caroline is soft and sweet and well-loved by almost everyone. Shirley is an independent heiress not afraid to speak her mind. The entire novel synthesizes the troubled times- economic and political unrest- with Caroline's love for Robert Moore and Shirley's love for a man who we do not meet until the 400 page range...in a 600 page novel.
I liked Caroline much better than Shirley; Shirley always meant well but I lost respect for her when speculation arose about a relationship between her and Robert.
It was a long read, sometimes slow, but I did enjoy it because I was rooting for Caroline the entire time. I loved Robert Moore, even if I was angry with him about a certain incident between Shirley and him, but all in all it was typically good Brontë.
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