Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey Character Analysis in Agnes Grey

Alice is the daughter of a rich squire who disinherited her when she chose to marry the poor clergyman she loved, Richard Grey, rather than some wealthy and titled man. A brave, principled, and resilient woman, Alice never regrets having given up wealth and status for love. She homeschools her two surviving children, Mary and Agnes, and does her best to keep the family within its meager budget. Though initially hesitant about Agnes’s plan to work as a governess, Alice later helps her daughter find work. After Richard dies following a long illness, Alice receives a letter from her father offering to support her financially and write Mary and Agnes into his will if Alice will only apologize for and admit she regrets marrying Richard. Alice refuses on principle, saying she has no regrets. Afterwards, she and Agnes found a small but growing school together in a fashionable coastal town in England. She gets along very well with Agnes’s suitor Mr. Weston and gives her consent when he asks to propose to Agnes.

Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey Quotes in Agnes Grey

The Agnes Grey quotes below are all either spoken by Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey or refer to Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Education, Authority, and Class Theme Icon

An elegant house and spacious grounds were not to be despised; but she would rather live in a cottage with Richard Grey than in a palace with any other man in the world.

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey

Page Number and Citation: 3

Explanation and Analysis:

“You did not ask me if Mr Richardson were a good, wise, or amiable man.”

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mary, Rosalie Murray

Page Number and Citation: 59

Explanation and Analysis:

As for the primroses, I kept two of them in a glass in my room until they were completely withered, and the housemaid threw them out; and the petals of the other I pressed between the leaves of my Bible—I have them still, and mean to keep them always.

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mr. Weston, Rosalie Murray

Related Symbols: Flowers

Page Number and Citation: 87

Explanation and Analysis:

“[I]f he married a richer wife, misfortunes and trials would no doubt have come upon him still; while I am egotist enough to imagine that no other woman could have cheered him through that so well: not that I am superior to the rest, but I was made for him, and he for me[.]”

Related Characters: Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby

Page Number and Citation: 124

Explanation and Analysis:

We often pity the poor, because they have no leisure to mourn their departed relatives, and necessity obliges them to labour through their severest afflictions: but is not active employment the best remedy for overwhelming sorrow—the surest antidote for despair?

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mary, Mrs. Murray

Page Number and Citation: 125

Explanation and Analysis:

“It’s the husband’s part to please the wife, not hers to please him; and if he isn’t satisfied with her as she is—and thankful to possess her too—he isn’t worthy of her, that’s all.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby

Page Number and Citation: 140

Explanation and Analysis:

Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey Character Timeline in Agnes Grey

The timeline below shows where the character Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey appears in Agnes Grey. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Agnes’s mother, a squire’s daughter, decided to marry Richard Grey, a clergyman with a small personal property... (full context)

Agnes’s mother and Richard have six children, of which two—Agnes and her older sister Mary—survive. Agnes and... (full context)

...and Richard’s investment is lost. Richard takes the disaster hard, blaming himself for worsening Agnes’s mother’s situation, and his health suffers. The family sells its carriage and pony, lets go all... (full context)

Agnes wants to work around the house, but her active, competent mother babies her, preferring that she study rather than help. One day, Agnes’s mother suggests that... (full context)

When Agnes’s mother exclaims that Agnes is a child herself, Agnes points out that she’s older than 18.... (full context)

...sick father Richard Grey worries incessantly about what will happen to her, Mary, and their mother when he dies, Agnes takes her mother aside and says she would like to find... (full context)

...is worried that that family’s children are too old for her to teach, but her mother encourages her to be bold and self-confident. Agnes takes the position and plans to travel... (full context)

...Agnes goes home happy and hopeful—but the next morning she receives a letter from her mother that Richard is very ill. Mrs. Murray—reluctantly, claiming there’s no need to rush, and praising... (full context)

After Richard Grey’s funeral, Agnes, Mary, and their mother sit around the table and discuss their future. Though Mary asks their mother to come... (full context)

A letter arrives for Agnes’s mother. It’s from her father. She reads it, throws it down on the table, and tells... (full context)

Agnes’s mother rents a house in a fashionable town and finds some initial students. Though some people... (full context)

Agnes leaves Horton Lodge and goes to work at her mother’s school, where they have three boarding students and six day students but plan to take... (full context)

One morning during the Easter holidays, Agnes’s mother tells her that she looks terrible and is probably working too hard. Agnes tries to... (full context)

Agnes and her mother’s school is in a coastal town, and Agnes loves walking along the seaside. Three days... (full context)

...school. When Agnes says that it’s doing very well and adding students thanks to her mother’s excellent work, Mr. Weston asks to be introduced to her and to have the pleasure... (full context)

...her school but couldn’t find it. Agnes asks when he’ll come to call on her mother, and he says he’ll do so the next day. Mr. Weston calls Snap away—saying that... (full context)

Over breakfast, Agnes’s mother notices how flustered Agnes looks. Agnes collects herself and tells her mother that she ran... (full context)

Mr. Weston begins visiting Agnes and her mother several times a week and becomes their close family friend. One evening, he asks Agnes... (full context)

A few weeks after, Agnes’s mother finds another teacher’s assistant, and Agnes marries Mr. Weston. She has yet to regret her... (full context)