Agnes Grey

Rosalie is married and leaves for her honeymoon. Agnes forgives her for all her mistreatment. Mrs. Murray now focuses on Matilda and reproaches Agnes for not having managed to make Matilda more ladylike. Mrs. Murray suggests that a good governess expends all her energies on her pupils, thinking nothing of herself, and Agnes should exert herself more to reform Matilda’s behavior and tastes.

When she encounters Mr. Weston, Agnes strives to maintain a calm demeanor, though narrates, “I felt my heart throb so violently that I dreaded lest some outward signs of emotion should appear” (119). Mr. Weston does not seem devasted by Rosalie’s marriage. As they walk, Matilda’s dog kills a hare, and both Agnes and Mr. Weston disapprove. He gives bluebells to Agnes, and she admits to the reader that this encounter rekindles her hopes and wishes. But then, Agnes receives a letter from home saying that her father is near death. When she asks for permission to leave, Mrs. Murray wonders at her agitation since everyone must die sometime. Agnes rushes home to find that her father is dead.