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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Agnes Grey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Education, Authority, and Class
Money vs. Love in Marriage
Women and Fulfillment
Power and Cruelty
Religion
Summary
Analysis
On their way back from church one Sunday, Rosalie asks what Agnes thinks of the new curate Mr. Weston. When Agnes points out that she hasn’t heard Mr. Weston preach yet, Rosalie asks impatiently whether Agnes thinks he’s ugly. Agnes says no—the only thing that struck him about her was his reading of the Bible and of prayers, which struck her as intelligent and heartfelt. Rosalie claims that Mr. Weston is only good for church services and expresses how glad she is that she need not depend on him for entertainment.
Rosalie has learned from Mrs. Murray to judge people by their appearances and so believes that Agnes can judge Mr. Weston without having heard him speak. Agnes, who has had a very different education from Rosalie’s due to her poor yet well-educated religious family, judges Mr. Weston solely by what she can glean from his manner of reading.
Themes
Then Rosalie asks whether Agnes noticed how Mr. Hatfield hurried out of church to help the Murrays into their carriage. Agnes says yes—thinking to herself that it was undignified behavior from a priest and resenting that he nearly shut the carriage door in her face after helping the Murrays in. In fact, Mr. Hatfield, Harry Meltham, and the Murrays’ other visitors never acknowledge Agnes.
Mr. Hatfield, though a priest, is as callous to Agnes as the Murrays’ other high-status acquaintances, all of whom treat her like furniture. Mr. Hatfield’s callousness suggests that his religious beliefs may be warped, insincere, or hypocritically practiced.
Themes
Rosalie decides to attend a second church service in the afternoon so that she can see Harry Meltham again and so that Agnes can hear Mr. Weston preach. In church, Agnes is struck by the pleasant contrast of Mr. Weston’s strong, simple, truthful homily with Mr. Hatfield’s sermons. Mr. Hatfield uses his sermons as opportunities to flash around his expensive rings, criticize all forms of individual religious thought, and argue that poor people ought to practice “deferential obedience” to rich people—when he is not threatening people with hell. Agnes thinks he is one of those people who tasks others with piety, humility, and goodness without practicing it himself.
Here Agnes makes explicit her judgment—which readers have no reason to disbelieve—that Mr. Hatfield is a religious hypocrite who distorts Christian doctrine to justify social hierarchies (e.g. “deferential obedience” of poor people to rich people) and holds other people to higher standards that he holds himself. Mr. Hatfield’s cruelty toward the poor shows that an outward profession of religion doesn’t necessarily correlate with increased kindness toward lower-status people.
Themes
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After church, Harry Meltham hands Rosalie and Matilda into their carriage—but not Agnes, though he doesn’t shut the door in her face either. When Rosalie asks what Agnes thinks of “him,” Agnes briefly thinks she’s asking about Mr. Weston and replies, “No harm still.” Rosalie, shocked, says he’s ever so much better now—and Agnes realizes that she’s talking about Harry Meltham. Matilda announces that Harry Meltham would be a “jolly companion” and argues that he likes her as much as he likes Rosalie. When Rosalie sniffs that only old men and younger sons could tolerate Matilda’s manners, Matilda snaps back that she isn’t “grubbing after money” like Rosalie and Mrs. Murray. Luckily, the end of the carriage ride ends the sisters’ fight.
Harry Meltham’s failure to extend any politeness to Agnes emphasizes that all the Murrays’ acquaintances think of Agnes as lower status and thus not worth treating well because she’s an employee. Agnes and Rosalie’s different understandings of “him” shows which men they understand to be worth thinking about—and may hint that Agnes feels some nascent attraction for Mr. Weston. Meanwhile, Matilda’s awareness that her mother and Rosalie are “grubbing after money”—i.e. that they both want Rosalie to marry the richest man possible—shows how overt the Murrays’ materialistic considerations are.
Themes
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