Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

"I began this book with the intention of concealing nothing; that those who liked might have the benefit of perusing a fellow-creature's heart," says Agnes Grey. As the pages of her book unfold, the delightful nuances of Agnes,’ and by association Brontë’s, personality do too. Agnes, daughter of an impoverished clergyman, insists, upon turning eighteen, that she find herself a position as governess to aid the family. She endures nightmarish pupils, haughty employers, and the loneliness of making her way on her own, but she manages to maintain a cheerful demeanor, a cool head, and a firm resolve in God.

Agnes is an excellent, introspective first-person narrator; Brontë 's tone is gratifyingly confidential and, subsequently, strangely modern. Of her sisters, Anne must have been the witty one. When Agnes is summoned by the servant of her capricious charges with "'You're to go to the school-room directly, mum- the young ladies is WAITING!!,'" she comments, "Climax of horror! Actually waiting for their governess!!!"

Agnes is shy and bookish, but her retiring tendencies lend her the steadfastness and circumspection that she relies on. When she inevitably develops a preference for a certain sober-minded curate, she remains beautifully logical even in the midst of her infatuation, refusing to read into any ostensible signals and diligently tempering her ardor with common sense. Watching the flirtations of her pretty student, she wonders "why so much beauty should be given to those who made so bad a use of it, and denied to some who would make it a benefit both to themselves and others," identifying that incessant Brontëan conundrum that Charlotte first identified in Jane Eyre.

Edward Weston, however, cares not for such worldly considerations. The curate pursues Agnes, and the conclusion finds them satisfactorily situated and determined to face any future travails together. They both possess sound religious beliefs. Weston declares his sole purpose in life is to be useful to others. Agnes criticizes a clergyman for his heavy reliance on the writings of the church fathers and his dissuading laypeople from reading the Bible unaided. In an amusing piece of scriptural justification, she uses Philippians 4:8 ("Whatsoever things are good...") to excuse her thinking about Weston as he gives the Sunday morning message.

This book reminded me of why I read. There is nothing quite like opening a book and discovering a complete stranger who is more familiar than many real-life acquaintances. Agnes is reasonable, intelligent, forthright, funny, insightful - I could understand how she thought and why she acted as she did. I could sympathize with her and root for her, and I could be eminently satisfied when she ended happily. Agnes Grey is a straightforward, unadorned, sincere portrait of a sensible, thoughtful girl, and I loved it.