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
Agnes and her mother’s school is in a coastal town, and Agnes loves walking along the seaside. Three days after returning from Ashby Park, Agnes gets up very early and goes for a walk by the sea. After strolling for almost an hour, she sees some grooms and, in the distance, a gentleman walking a dog. Agnes walks on. A little later, the dog comes running up to her—and Agnes sees that it’s her old terrier Snap! Agnes picks Snap up, kisses him, and looks for his new owner, only to see Mr. Weston.
Snap’s appearance with Mr. Weston hints that Mr. Weston saved Snap from the abusive rat-catcher—a gesture that emphasizes both Mr. Weston’s kindness toward helpless creatures and his unspoken love for Agnes, out of whose care the Murrays cruelly sold Snap.
Themes
Mr. Weston greets Agnes, who to her own surprise maintains her composure. He accompanies her as she walks back toward town and mentions that he was never able to figure out where she lived. Agnes—wondering whether he had tried to find out where she lived—gives her address. Mr. Weston asks after the 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 of calling upon her and Agnes. Agnes, flustered, agrees.
Agnes’s mother is apparently flourishing as a teacher, showing that determined and intelligent women make something of their lives in Victorian society despite the extreme limitations placed on them. When Mr. Weston implies that he tried to figure out where Agnes lived, meanwhile, he is indirectly suggesting that he has been looking from her since she left Horton Village.
Themes
Agnes mentions that she had heard Mr. Weston left Horton. Mr. Weston says that he is working in a village parish two miles from the town. When Agnes congratulates him on his new job, Mr. Weston says he has reforms he wants to make—but that all his life really needs now is “a companion.” Agnes, blushing painfully, tells him he might find any number of willing potential companions in the village or the nearby town. Mr. Weston replies that he’s not so arrogant as to suppose so—but that he himself also has particular criteria for a companion, so perhaps these potential ladies wouldn’t suit him.
When Mr. Weston says that all his life needs is “a companion,” he implies that a loving marriage is an essential component for a full and happy life. This implication suggests an alignment between his values and Agnes’s, as Agnes has learned from her poor but loving parents’ marriage that affectionate partnership matters more than money or status to a good life.
Themes
A lull falls in Agnes and Mr. Weston’s conversation as they cross a crowded section of the seaside leading into town. Then Mr. Weston suggests that Agnes must not come to the beach often, because he walks there frequently but hasn’t seen her. He also mentions that he's looked for 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 he likes Snap too much to give him back—and he and Agnes part. Agnes goes home praying that her hopes will be fulfilled this time.
As kindness toward animals correlates with goodness throughout the novel, Mr. Weston’s affection for Snap yet again highlights his admirability and suitability for Agnes as a husband. His request to call on Agnes’s family, meanwhile, hints that he intends to court Agnes respectfully. Agnes’s prayers at the end of the passage remind readers that shared religious values have formed the basis of her and Mr. Weston’s mutual affection.
Themes
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