Agnes Grey

Agnes...oh my!...Can I say that I've never seen a character in literature who seems to think less of herself than Agnes Grey? She doesn't dare imagine a better life and she finds ways to feel satisfied even when her life is very, very bleak. It is a heartbreaking story to read, not only for the sad limits Agnes faced but also for the constriction on her soul that resulted from the way women were treated.

A bit of the plot: Agnes' family falls upon hard times, and Agnes becomes a governess to bring in money. Her pupils are awful and the parents are awful, but Agnes forges on, eventually finding another workplace where the children aren't quite as terrible. There seems to be interest in her from one of the locals, Mr. Weston, but Agnes feels there is no way a man could really want to marry her. Then Agnes' father sickens and dies, and Agnes must return home to begin to form a school with her mother. Even when Mr. Weston shows up out of the blue and openly pursues Agnes...still Agnes feels Mr. Weston is probably not interested in her!