Book Review: Agnes Grey is Anne Bronte's first novel, and reminds me less of her sisters' books and more of Jane Austen. Agnes seems to share much with the good Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. How much the reader loves this book will depend on how closely one identifies with Agnes: if the reader values steadfast virtue, granite conviction, and religious zeal she will most likely love it. The novel is well written, enjoyable, a nice if not too exciting story, and a quick read (it's short). But for me, Agnes the young governess is just a little too judgmental and self-righteous. According to Agnes, not a single member of her employers' families, their staff, or friends is a decent human being. Sure, one of the children of the first family she works for is an incipient serial killer, which causes Agnes to commit a mercy killing. But she describes the adults in the first family she works for as "cold, grave, and forbidding," "hypocritical and insincere," "peevish," and worse; the children are described as "shocking," "wicked," "violent," "perverse," "incorrigible," and more. Teaching them is a Herculean ordeal, especially as Agnes is young and has no training as a governess. Moving on to her second employers, the father is a man given to "swearing and blaspheming," and the children are (in short) "insolent and overbearing" and "wrong-headed," including a young daughter who could "swear like a trooper." The entire family has a "sad want of principle" and are compared to "a race of intractable savages." Agnes' judgmental eye jabs all she meets, such as "military fops." She herself does not take criticism well. Perhaps the wealthy English were so extremely horrid at the time (entirely possible, especially in their treatment of a young governess), but as Agnes says at one point: "Had I seen it depicted in a novel I should have thought it unnatural." She does have an occasional surprise dash of humor, but sadly acknowledges that she can have no friends or acquaintances in her situation. Of her closest friend in the family she says, "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." Ouch.
All of this is in service to one of the themes of Agnes Gray: the wealthy look down on Agnes because she's lower class, Agnes looks down on the wealthy because of their weak virtue. Obviously Agnes' side has the better of it, but then again, Agnes tells the story. As we know from other Victorian novels, governesses of the time were in an awkward position: above the servants and not a servant, but decidedly beneath her employers in status. But Agnes perseveres, she endures, she lasts.
The romance is sweet, if predictable, and causes Agnes some distress when she realizes she visits the needy in hopes of seeing her crush, goes to church to see him, and perhaps loves him more than her religion. Having been fairly sure of her convictions all along, she finally begins to have doubts about her righteousness, and even her looks and temperament: "consider your own unattractive exterior, your unamiable reserve, your foolish diffidence, which must make you appear cold, dull, awkward, and perhaps ill-tempered too." Although this self-doubt regards her love, I like to think she finally has grown to realize that some of her problems all along were of her own making. Perhaps Agnes has grown a little during her long struggle with rotten children and their unsupportive parents (good thing she never taught middle school). Agnes Grey is an easy and enjoyable read, and necessary if you want to know all the Brontes, as I do. The key litmus test of the novel is the reader's take on Agnes herself. I'll close with my favorite line from the book: "You can't expect a cat to know manners like a Christian." [3★]
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