Agnes Grey · Chapter
The Uncle explained
Agnes Grey describes the harmful influence of Uncle Robson, Mrs.
What happens
Agnes Grey describes the harmful influence of Uncle Robson, Mrs. Bloomfield's brother, who encourages the children's worst tendencies—affectation, cruelty to animals, and drinking—undoing her careful teaching. Despite her efforts, the children remain unruly, and Mrs. Bloomfield dismisses Agnes after Midsummer, claiming insufficient progress. Agnes returns home, disappointed but determined to try again.
Themes in this chapter
The Plight of the Governess
Agnes's powerlessness against Uncle Robson's influence and her unjust dismissal highlight the governess's vulnerable position.
Cruelty and Compassion
Uncle Robson's encouragement of cruelty to animals and the children's lack of empathy contrast with Agnes's efforts to teach humanity.
Characters to notice
- Agnes Grey
Narrator and governess, frustrated by Uncle Robson's influence and ultimately dismissed from Wellwood House.
- Mr. Robson
Mrs. Bloomfield's brother, a self-sufficient, foppish man who encourages the children's vices, including cruelty to animals and drinking.
- Mary Ann
A pupil susceptible to flattery, encouraged by Uncle Robson to be vain and affected.
- Mr. Bloomfield
Tom Bloomfield, the eldest pupil, who delights in tormenting birds and is taught by Uncle Robson to drink and be cruel.
- Mrs. Bloomfield
Mother of the children, who dismisses Agnes for lack of progress despite her own failure to control the children.
Key passages
“He was continually encouraging her tendency to affectation (which I had done my utmost to crush), talking about her pretty face, and filling her head with all manner of conceited notions concerning her personal appearance (which I had instructed her to regard as dust in the balance compared with the cultivation of her mind and manners); and I never saw a child so susceptible of flattery as she was.”
Uncle Robson constantly praised Mary Ann's looks, undermining Agnes's lessons that inner qualities matter more than appearance, and Mary Ann was extremely receptive to such flattery.
Illustrates the conflict between Agnes's moral teaching and the corrupting influence of relatives.
“Thus was I dismissed, and thus I sought my home. Alas! what would they think of me? unable, after all my boasting, to keep my place, even for a single year, as governess to three small children, whose mother was asserted by my own aunt to be a 'very nice woman.'”
Agnes returns home in disgrace, fearing her family's disappointment after failing to keep her position as governess even for one year.
Captures Agnes's shame and the social pressure on governesses to succeed.