So... I just finished reading Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. Two things struck me about this book 1) How well I feel I can relate to the main character 2) How well I could relate to Ms Bronte's explanation of religion throughout.
Agnes Grey is the youngest daughter of a curate, or something, whose mother married way below her class and was cut off from her inheritance and family as a result. The family struggled through many hardships and when Agnes was about 18, she decided to try being a governess. The book tells about two families for whom she was governess, and they were awful! During her tenure with the second family, Agnes came to know the local curate, by the name of Edward Weston. She falls in love with him quickly, and its this part that I can really relate to. Agnes experiences all the usual ups and downs of falling for someone. After a few stolen glances she is swooning with happiness that he noticed her, only to be depressed by her fears not long after that 'he could never love her'. As the reader, I had no idea if things would work out between Edward and Agnes. After reading Wuthering Heights, by Anne's sister, I felt that anything was possible! So, while I was hoping for their union, I also found myself experiencing the ups and downs of Agnes' love affair with her. After reading Agnes Grey and imagining what it would be like to court or be courted during the Victorian (?) period, it just seems like no matter the age, relationships and courtship are messy. There are always the stolen glances, the hopeful upswings, the supposed slights that send you crashing and burning to the earth like a hit plane. You never know what's going on with the other person, and you find yourself living out this hoped-for fake relationship in your head, until someone is brave enough to either make a move, or it becomes necessary to 'get over' that person. The only thing that would have made it even worse in the Victorian age, was that a woman couldn't really speak out of turn to a man, or make very much of an effort herself at all, she was totally dependent on the man making a move. All she could do was encourage his advances, or not. But maybe that's how its supposed to be, I don't know. I'm not the expert. I guess that means that men must have had to take a lot of the responsibility of dating, and take risks. I guess there were also very strict rules of society that would dictate how a woman should act if she was interested in a guy, or how she should spurn his advances if she wasn't. I'm not sure if this is the case today, I'm not sure if its better now that women are so much more liberalised to engage men in conversation, to take a lead in the dating process, or to ask men on dates. I wonder if our new-found liberty actually slows the dating-process in some way, as if by taking the responsibility away from the man, we're also taking away some of the rewards of 'conquest' and therefore, the motivation to act? I have no idea, I'm just musing.
The second point was referring to Ms Bronte's descriptions of religion, the pursuit of happiness and our purpose in life. It resonated so well with me that at times I was wondering how it was possible that she could be Mormon in the mid-nineteenth century! But I guess in truth, it just reflects that we Mormons aren't the only ones with truth, and that that is actually what resonates. I think the best example is when Agnes goes to visit a friend of hers, Nancy Brown, at the village associated with the second family for whom she was governess. Nancy had an unfortunate experience with the village Rector, who, after telling him about her troubles in finding peace and feeling the spirit, the Rector had basically told her she was a lost cause. But then Nancy launches into a discourse on what happened when she bore her soul to the curate Edward Weston. This is one part that really resonates with me. The curate launches into a long explanation of the two greatest laws of heaven and how obeying these two laws will bring Nancy untold happiness. There are other points in the book where Weston, or Agnes divulge other similar tidbits of wisdom that really go along well with my own beliefs. The book is full of anecdotes about how to live a better life, how to love your neighbor and what Christ's sacrifice really mean. I am very impressed with Anne's deep understanding of what I always considered 'prime Mormon doctrine', but in reality I guess they are just truths that have been around for a long, long time.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really appreciated this book, not only b/c its so short, but b/c of the sincerity I felt within it. Anne writes w/ the feeling of a real woman, you can feel the experience and depth of her life and I really like that.
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