Agnes Grey, Chapter 1 summary

What happens

1. Agnes explains how her mother gives up her fortune to marry Richard Grey and educates their two surviving daughters at home.
2. Richard invests his property’s proceeds with a merchant, but a shipwreck kills the merchant and destroys the investment.
3. Debt and illness burden the household, while Agnes finds that her mother and Mary allow her few useful tasks.
4. Agnes proposes becoming a governess, persists through objections, and secures her parents’ reluctant agreement.
5. Her mother finds a position with Mrs. Bloomfield’s children for twenty-five pounds, which Agnes gladly accepts.
6. After painful farewells, Agnes leaves in Smith’s hired gig and looks back at the parsonage in a brief patch of sunshine.

In this chapter

What to notice

Agnes challenges her family’s view of her helplessness. Her wish to test herself drives her persistence in seeking work.

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