Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë is a morality tale, in essence, and
provides a nice contrast to a few of my recent criticisms of both Charlotte
Brontë and Jane Austen. I can’t say that Anne Brontë outdoes her sisters
Charlotte (Jane Eyre) and Emily (Wuthering Heights) as a novelist, but of
the three—or four, if we include Austen—I would certainly choose Anne as my
minister, be that religious or governmental.
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| Author Sophia Alexander with Anne Brontë's 'Agnes Grey' |
As one reviewer puts it, Agnes Grey is more of an ‘exposé on
governessing’ than
romanticized view of it in Jane Eyre.
Not only that, but it seems that Charlotte actually wrote Jane Eyre after Agnes
Grey was written (though Anne’s book was published two months later than Jane Eyre was), both stories about plain
governesses. I can’t say that Agnes Grey
was as charming as Jane Eyre,
overall, but I certainly approve of it heartily, all the while still shaking my
head about the disaster of a romantic situation for Jane Eyre.
A state of coquettish affairs
eventually arises in Anne’s novel quite similar to what I’ve criticized some of
Austen’s works for, but Anne manages it far more gracefully. She acknowledges
at once that Agnes wouldn’t have believed the situation plausible herself had
she read it in a novel, but that she’d experienced it first-hand—making me
believe Anne herself really had! So, my qualms that way were settled in one
deft statement by Anne (even if now I wonder how her vindication so absolutely
settled the question for me—but I think it’s because she’d proven herself
trustworthy already).
Even then, however, Agnes does her
utmost to focus on her own behavior, her own reactions. She is always
monitoring herself, often scolding herself for being uncharitable or
ridiculous. I was impressed when I started to take issue with Agnes, and then
Agnes herself takes issue with Agnes! So by the time Anne describes Agnes’s
tender, pained feelings surrounding a man that a beautiful woman is only toying
with, the reader really is provoked to feel the utmost sympathy for Agnes.
Perhaps a bit of scorn for the coquette, too, but that’s not the point. The
point is Agnes and the thoughtful sincerity of her affections and morality. Our
hearts break for her.
Agnes does her best not to hold a
grudge. Later, when the coquette is caught in a bad marriage, Agnes is truly
sympathetic but gives her advice that we readers today would despair over. Her
advice does seem quite sound for the time—to make the marriage work as best she
can, to be the best wife she can be despite the man’s countless terrible
faults and wandering ways. However, let
me credit Anne Brontë with this: her next novel is centered on a woman who
actually does leave a bad marriage, so I can’t but think that her own advice
troubled her somewhat, that perhaps she even felt guilty about the fate of the
poor coquette. Anne’s sympathetic, thoughtful soul kept her pushing her own
bar.
Bravo on a work that I admire
greatly, Anne Brontë! Happy 175th publication birthday this December to Agnes Grey!
P.S. She used the expression ‘kill
time’ in this 1847 novel, which sounded quite modern to my ears! But if you do
have a little time to kill—the book’s not long at all—you could do far worse
than spending it on this thoughtful, poignant, well-written narrative that
speaks to both the heart and mind.