Agnes Gray
Agnes Gray is a novel by the British writer Anne Brontë . It is the first of her works to be published and first appeared in December 1847. A second edition followed in 1850. The novel tells of Agnes Grey's activities as governess in various middle-class households.
On the basis of comments by Anne's sister Charlotte Brontë as well as literary research, it is now assumed that the novel is essentially based on Anne Brontë's own experiences as governess. In total, she worked in this profession for five years. Like the novel Jane Eyre , written by her sister Charlotte, Agnes Gray is classified as one of the so-called Victorian governess novels and is one of the few works in this genre that is still read by a larger audience today. Like Jane Eyre , he describes the difficult position of the governess. Like their employers, governesses were actually part of the bourgeoisie; they had generally enjoyed a good upbringing and were well-educated, but were forced to take up employment in someone else's household because of their lack of financial resources. Governesses therefore found themselves in an undefined social position.
The first edition from 1847 was published by the London publisher Thomas Cautly Newby, who, however, did not exercise the usual editorial care. The work appeared together with the novel Wuthering Heights by Anne's sister Emily Brontë . The output had numerous typographical errors. The second edition, published in 1850, was carefully edited by Charlotte Brontë .
content
Agnes Gray is the daughter of a pastor who has only a modest fortune. The attempt to increase his fortune ends with its loss: the merchant to whom he entrusts his money dies in a shipwreck, and Mr. Gray loses all the money he has invested. The Grays are now heavily in debt.
Agnes, her sister Mary and her mother try to compensate for the situation through strict austerity and look for ways to earn money without endangering their social status. Agnes feels ignored in these undertakings and treated as a child. To prove herself and ameliorate the family's financially tense situation, she takes the position of governess at Wellwood House to teach the children of the Bloomfield family.
The Bloomfield family is wealthier and more condescending than Agnes imagined. Mrs. Bloomfield spoils her children, while Mr. Bloomfield ceaselessly criticizes Agnes' work. The children are unruly and Miss Grey's authority is undermined by her parents. Tom, the oldest of the Bloomfield children, is abusive towards her. Nothing Agnes does can stop him from tormenting small animals. Agnes stayed in this position for less than a year. She is fired because Mrs. Bloomfield believes her children are not learning enough or fast enough.
Agnes Gray finds a new job with another wealthy family, the Murrays. Her protégés are Rosalie and Matilda. Both girls are selfish and at times uncomfortable around them. Although Agnes 'status in the Murray family is slightly better than that of the Bloomfields, she is often ignored or involuntarily involved in the girls' intrigues and tricks.
Miss Gray meets the new country pastor, Mr. Edward Weston, while an old woman with poor eyesight reads her from the Bible. They become friends with each other, which is registered by Rosalie Murray. Rosalie is about to be introduced to society and is adored by numerous men. Rosalie becomes engaged to Lord Ashby, a wealthy nobleman. She tells her governess about her engagement, but forces her to keep it quiet because she wants to keep flirting with other men. On a walk, Rosalie and Miss Gray meet Mr. Weston, whom Rosalie makes beautiful eyes. Agnes is concerned because she has now developed tender feelings for Mr. Weston.
Agnes receives a message that her father is dying and returns home, but finds him no longer alive. After the death of her father, Agnes opens a small school with her mother. Her sister Mary is now married to Pastor Mr. Richardson.
In a letter to Agnes, the now married Rosalie reports how unhappy she is in her marriage and asks her former governess to visit. Agnes complies with this request and is shocked that the once happy and carefree girl has turned into an unhappy young woman. Rosalie confides in her how much she despises Lord Ashby because of his jealousy. Agnes also hears from Rosalie that Mr. Weston has left the region. Agnes is saddened that she won't be able to see him again.
Agnes returns to her new home. The day after she returns, she is walking the coast and runs into Mr. Weston, who has been on the lookout for her since he took over the nearby parish. He meets Mrs. Gray and they become good friends. Agnes feels increasingly drawn to him. When he asks for her hand, she happily accepts. In the final sentences of the novel, Agnes reports that she is still happily married and has three children.
classification
Agnes Gray, along with the novel Jane Eyre , written by Anne Brontë's sister Charlotte , is one of the few representatives of the Victorian governess novel that is still read by a wider audience today. The Victorian governess novel is a specific literary genre that includes works that were almost exclusively written by British authors during the 19th century or the early years of the 20th century. The number of governess novels decreased at the beginning of the 20th century to the extent that other professions opened up as accepted fields of employment for women. The main themes of the stories, which are assigned to the genre of the Victorian governess novel, are the loss of the social status of the protagonist, the thematization of her unclear position in the household of her employer and the insistence on her own set of values in relationships with the people around her. The distinction between women, whose sphere of activity is exclusively their own household, compared to women who are forced to work. Most of them also describe a maturation process of their protagonist and thus show elements of the educational novel.
For women of the educated middle class, the work of governess was one of the few opportunities to pursue a profession appropriate to their status for almost a century and a half. It was almost entirely seized by women who at some point in their biography did not have a father, husband or brother to support themselves and who therefore had to or wanted to fend for themselves. In Great Britain around the middle of the 19th century, so many women were forced to earn their living in this way that they were referred to as “governess misery”. This was understood to mean material hardship, an offense of self-esteem due to the low reputation of this profession, disregard of their individual needs and the struggle for a professional job in a job market that offered women only very limited opportunities compared to men. The governess occupies a correspondingly broad space in the English literature of the time. Novels like Jane Eyre and Agnes Gray have shaped the image of the governess to this day. It is significant that both novels appeared in 1847 at a time when the so-called “governess misery” was taking up a large part of public discussion.
Anne Brontë had her protagonist Agnes Gray report for the first time in first-person form from everyday life as a governess. In this novel, Brontë represents a view that was unusually emancipated for the first half of the 19th century. It is not only material hardship that forces them to leave home, but also the desire to develop an individual life plan. Described by Brontë as self-righteous, slightly offended and humorless, Agnes Gray begins her first job with the Bloomfield family believing that she is up to the task. In her eyes, however, the children she is supposed to teach are not advised, and from Agnes Grey's point of view, her parents do not recognize the value of her work as a governor. She is eventually released by the Bloomfield family. Her next job takes her to the country estate of a nobleman, but here too she experiences disappointments. Marriage ultimately releases them from their duty to earn their own living.
Current issues
- Anne Brontë: Agnes Gray , Roman. Newly translated and with an afterword by Michaela Meßner. dtv, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-423-14101-7 .
- Anne Brontë: Agnes Gray , Roman. Newly translated by Tobias Rothenbücher, Anaconda, Cologne, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86647-779-7 .
Single receipts
- ↑ John Sutherland & Stephen Fender: Love, Sex, Death & Words: Surprising Tales from a Year in Literature . icon Books Ltd, London 2011, ISBN 978-1-84831-269-2 , p. 372
- ↑ Patricia Thomsan: "Review: Agnes Gray". in The Review of English Studies. New Series (Oxford University Press) 41 (No. 163): 441-442.
- ↑ Cecilia Wadsö Lecaros: The Victorian Governess Novel . Lund University Press, Lund 2001, ISBN 91-7966-577-2 , p. 34.
- ↑ Cecilia Wadsö Lecaros: The Victorian Governess Novel . Lund University Press, Lund 2001, ISBN 91-7966-577-2 , p. 32.
- ↑ Irene Hardach-Pinke, Die Gouvernante: Geschichte einer Frauenberufs , Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main [u. a.] 1993, p. 14.