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Uncle Robson
Younger sister to Tom Bloomfield, Mary Ann is a large, rosy-cheeked six-year-old. Spoiled, vain, and lazy, Mary Ann often refuses to do the work her governess Agnes assigns to her and screams at painful volume when Agnes attempts—against Mary Ann’s parents’ wishes—to discipline her. Mary Ann’s mother Mrs. Bloomfield eventually fires Agnes for her children’s poor behavior.
Mary Ann Bloomfield Quotes in Agnes Grey
The Agnes Grey quotes below are all either spoken by Mary Ann Bloomfield or refer to Mary Ann Bloomfield. 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:
).
Chapter 2: First Lessons in the Art of Instruction Quotes
“Surely, Tom, you would not strike your sister! I hope I shall never see you do that.”
“You will sometimes: I’m obliged to do it now and then to keep her in order.”
“But it is not your business to keep her in order, you know, that is for—”
“Well, now go and put on your bonnet.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Agnes has just taken her first governess job with the Bloomfield family and is spending her first evening with her students, seven-year-old Tom Bloomfield and his younger sister Mary Ann. Tom has just demanded that Agnes come outside to look at his garden. When Mary Ann suggests that Agnes look at her garden too, Tom threatens to hit his sister. Agnes, shocked, scolds Tom and says she hopes he’ll “never” strike Mary Ann in her presence. Tom’s casual response—that has to hit Mary Ann “to keep her in order”—and his subsequent bossing around of Agnes reveal two power hierarchies in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus
Chapter 3: A Few More Lessons Quotes
The habitual fear of their father’s peevish temper, and the dread of the punishments he was wont to inflict when irritated, kept them generally within bounds in his immediate presence. The girls, too, had some fear of their mother’s anger; and the boy might occasionally be bribed to do as she bid him by the hope of reward: but I had no rewards to offer, and as for punishments, I was given to understand, the parents reserved that privilege for themselves; and yet they expected me to keep my pupils in order.
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Agnes is explaining the dysfunctional allocation of authority and responsibility in the Bloomfield household, which prevents her from educating her pupils Tom, Mary Ann, and Fanny effectively. Mr. Bloomfield, the man of the house, keeps the children in “habitual fear of his peevish temper”—that is, constantly afraid of his anger—because he inflicts “punishments” on them whenever he is “irritated.” Notably, this description implies that Mr. Bloomfield punishes the children according to his mood rather than according to their behavior, thus implicitly teaching the children that the most powerful person in the household has the right to inflict discomfort or cruelty Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis
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Mary Ann Bloomfield Character Timeline in Agnes Grey
The timeline below shows where the character Mary Ann Bloomfield appears in Agnes Grey. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: First Lessons in the Art of Instruction
Seven-year-old Tom and his sister Mary Ann enter the room with their little sisters, almost-four-year-old Fanny and toddler Harriet. Agnes tries to...
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In the school room, Mary Ann shows Agnes her doll and chatters about all its clothes and accessories until Tom tells...
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...orders Agnes to put on her bonnet so he can show her his garden. When Mary Ann says they should look at hers too, Tom threatens her with his fist. Agnes tells...
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Chapter 3: A Few More Lessons
...next day in the school room, Agnes discovers that Tom is clever but lazy, while Mary Ann is both lazy and almost illiterate. After managing to teach them a little, Agnes takes...
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Tom will occasionally do his work so that he can go play, but Mary Ann often falls to the floor and lies there as if dead until mealtimes rather than...
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Chapter 4: The Grandmamma
Agnes notes to readers that she has enumerated the difficulties of educating Tom, Mary Ann , and Fanny without support from Mr. Bloomfield and Mrs. Bloomfield’s “more potent authority” specifically...
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...a happy Christmas at home, Agnes returns to work with resolve. One snowy day, Tom, Mary Ann , and Fanny try to throw Agnes’s work-bag into the fire and her desk out...
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Mr. Bloomfield starts surveilling Agnes. One day, in the spring, Tom, Mary Ann , and Fanny complete their lessons for once, and—kept indoors by rain—play with broken toys...
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...tells the children they must pick up after themselves before they’ll get their next meal, Mary Ann and Fanny do it—but Tom, furious, hits his sisters, throws furniture, and scatters coal around....
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Chapter 5: The Uncle
...strong, stupid, condescending man, because he has a bad effect on the children. He encourages Mary Ann ’s superficiality by praising her prettiness, which Agnes has tried to teach her is less...
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...Bloomfield Senior and Uncle Robson visit, because Mrs. Bloomfield expects her to keep Tom and Mary Ann away from the guests but never helps her do so. Then, one day, Mrs. Bloomfield...
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