Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

Publisher: Seahorse Publishing (2013)

187 pages, eBook (Purchased Myself for $0.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

(includes violence to animals)

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

Agnes is the younger daughter of a poor parson, and she takes it upon herself to improve her family’s finances by finding employment as a governess, but her sheltered upbringing and naiveté did not prepare her very well for what she would encounter in such a position.

My Thoughts:

Over the course of her career as a governess, Agnes works for two families, neither of which can in any way be considered an ideal situation. Most all of the children in both families are spoiled, naughty and very reluctant scholars; while the parents impede and in many cases expressly forbid any attempt to discipline or curb the children’s transgressions. The boy in the first family she works for, in particular, was encouraged by his parents to be very nasty and destructive to animals/wildlife (his actions at times so egregious, I had a hard time reading about them). Agnes’s encounters with the curate, Mr. Weston, and her growing feelings for him, are thwarted by her mean-spirited flirtatious young charge, but the relationship was so sedate and understated that it was a pleasure to read. Though this story and Jane Eyre are both about governesses and both written by a Brontë, I found very little else that they had in common. The writing style is completely different, as are the heroines and their situations.

Edition Notes:

This Seahorse ebook edition is supposedly annotated according to its description, but apparently that is referring to the author’s biography it contains at the end. The main text is very well organized for maneuverability within the text and pleasingly organized. A decent reading copy for the price.

Quotes:

“All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity, that the dry, shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“Though riches had charms, poverty had no terrors for an inexperienced girl like me. Indeed, to say the truth, there was something exhilarating in the idea of being driven to straits, and thrown upon our own resources.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“—my best intentions and most strenuous efforts seemed productive of no better result than sport to the children, dissatisfaction to their parents, and torment to myself.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“I can conceive few situations more harassing than that wherein, however you may long for success, however you may labour to fulfill your duty, your efforts are baffled and set at nought by those beneath you, and unjustly censured and misjudged by those above.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“—till my little tormentors were—cleared off to bed (my only prospects of deliverance)” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“And with several texts of Scripture, misquoted or misapplied, and religious exclamations so redolent of the ludicrous in the style of delivery and manner of bringing in, if not in the expressions themselves, that I decline repeating them, she withdrew;” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“If I were quiet at the moment, I was conniving at their disorderly conduct; if (as was frequently the case) I happened to be exalting my voice to enforce order, I was using undue violence, and setting the girls a bad example by such ungentleness of tone and language.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“Dear papa! if he had troubled himself less about the afflictions that threatened us in case of his death, I am convinced that dreaded event would not have taken place so soon.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“—there is nothing like a cheerful mind for keeping the body in health.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“—occasionally, I perceived some huge, hoary mass gleaming through the darkness.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey

“There are, I suppose, some men as vain, as selfish, and as heartless as she is, and, perhaps, such women may be useful to punish them.” -Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey