AGNES GREY.

A book about a young woman who works as a governess for upper class families. It touches on the themes of money and love in marriage; power and cruelty; religion (insincere and sincere); as well as education, authority, and class.

Agnes Grey works for two rich families who may have book smarts, but they have no moral foundation to their education or wealth. This leads to multiple forms of cruelty of both animals and people. Agnes's mother, and other women of the various families Agnes works for, are pushed into marriages only for money and status. If they don't comply, they suffer both familial and societal punishments. Being cut off from both they find it difficult to make their way with no safety net. Women have few options during this time in history that this book covers.

The upper classes have a great deal of power that comes from their wealth. This can lead to cruelty if there is no moral foundation to their education to anchor them. This foundation should come from their teachers and religious leaders of the time. However, the governesses have little authority to punish their students if they break any rules (the parents rarely do). The religious leaders are often insincere in their own beliefs and often follow the needs and desires of the upper class to ingratiate themselves to the rich. Those who do follow a moral code are often at the bottom rungs of society.

This book shows the dangers of power, authority, and money without good morals, insincere religious leaders, money over love, and a lack of options for women.