Agnes Grey

Author:

Anne Bronte was the youngest of the Bronte children and published well-known works such as Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as well as poetry. Anne was especially close to Emily, her older and the middle Bronte sister, as a child. She worked for a time as a governess which inspired this, her first novel. Emily and their brother Patrick Branwell died the year before Anne and Charlotte passed six years later. The Bronte children had no descendants.

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Three words to describe this read:

Frustrating- children and spending time with them is not usually my preference, so I found Agnes’s desire to become a governess confusing and aggravating at times, especially when she was working with the young children of the first family. The frustration wasn’t limited to the children but extended to their parents as well.

Destined- despite the initial feelings of sympathy for the main character, and even ennuie, the end of the story made it all worthwhile.

Moral- through it all, Agnes Grey remains her proper, well-educated, and moral self despite the difficulties she finds governing the children of the families for which she works. She could never show too much emotion or say anything misleading or offensive.

Quote:

“…in one word, God is love; and the more of love we have within us, the nearer we are to Him, and the more of His spirit we possess."

This wasn’t really a religious book, but I liked this quote and the character who said it. It reminded me of my theory that the meaning of life is simply to experience it and to love.