Agnes Grey

Agnes undertakes the long journey to O— on a “wild, tempestuous day” (45) and arrives during a heavy snowstorm. Upon her bleak arrival and being shown to her room, Agnes tells the reader that she cried before bed. The next morning, she feels disoriented, describing herself as “a thistle-seed borne on the wind to some strange nook of uncongenial soil” (47), reflecting how she feels both desolate and curious about her new situation.

For fear of being tedious, Agnes says she will not bore the reader with minute detail but instead briefly sketch the family. Mr. Murray is a bluff-natured country squire whom she rarely sees. Mrs. Murray is an attractive woman whose chief interests are parties and fashionable dress. She does not strike Agnes as very maternal, and she wants Agnes to make lessons as easy as possible for the children, which Agnes thinks is not the point of learning. Mrs. Murray asks that the two girls should be attractive and accomplished and that the two boys learn Latin before they leave for school. She expects Agnes to be mild and patient at all times. Agnes is surprised that her employer does not try to make her feel comfortable or at ease.

Rosalie is 16 and very pretty, but Agnes surmises that “she had not been taught to moderate her desires, to control her temper, or bridle or will, or to sacrifice her own pleasure for the good of others”; “her mind had never been cultivated” and “her intellect, at best, was somewhat shallow” (51). Rosalie quickly learns how to make Agnes finish the needlepoint projects or drawings that she doesn’t want to complete herself but wants to display as evidence of her skills.

Matilda is 14, and Agnes thinks she’s a tomboy who doesn’t care to cultivate her mind or complete ornamental accomplishments. She rushes through her lessons so she might go outside and be with the dogs or horses. Mrs. Murray advises Agnes to teach Matilda decorum and self-control.

John is 11 and, in Agnes’s opinion, might have been decent had he been properly educated, but she finds him unruly and unteachable. John soon goes to school, still knowing little Latin, and Agnes is somewhat indignant that this lack will be blamed on his having a female teacher rather than his own ineptitude. She is likewise relieved when Charles, 10 at the time of her arrival, is sent away to school as well. He is his mother’s darling, and Agnes finds him sly, malicious, and difficult.

Horton Lodge is larger and statelier than Wellwood, though Agnes finds the landscape depressingly flat in comparison to the rugged hills of her home. The family goes to church every Sunday with Agnes shoved into the corner of the carriage, facing backward, which makes her feel sick. The children set their own hours of meals and study, keeping an erratic schedule which displeases Agnes, who wishes to set their pace and direction. They like to have lessons outside, and she frequently catches cold.

The servants likewise seem little inclined to care about Agnes’s preferences or comfort. However, once the boys go off to school, Agnes finds her position improved. She imagines when the children remember and talk about her, they will comment on how she never flattered them but gave sincere praise, could be agreeable and amusing, had strong opinions and a very clear sense of right and wrong, and was reverent in her religious beliefs.

Agnes has been with the Murrays for two years, and Rosalie is preparing for her debut. She chides Agnes for caring more about letters from home or visiting her family than Rosalie’s ball. When Agnes shares that her sister is to be married to a vicar, Rosalie asks if he is young, rich, and handsome, and if he lives in a grand house, for these are the things that matter to her. Agnes replies that he is good, wise, and amiable, and Mary will likely enjoy ministering to his parishioners, just as their mother did.