The main content of Agnes Gray

Mr. Bromfield, a wealthy businessman, made unreasonable accusations against female teachers who met for the first time as soon as he appeared; At the dinner table, he kept nagging for half a day just because the meat cut by the chef did not meet his requirements for "knife skills" His lack of education made the female teachers feel ashamed of him. The rich businessman's wife dotes on and indulges her children blindly. A maid taught her unreasonable son a lesson and was fired by her. Her younger brother "Uncle Robertson" is a villain and hooligan. He instigated the children to take pleasure in killing and torturing birds. Ignoring the owner's dissatisfaction, Agnes resolutely stopped it, which led to a nearly quarrelsome dialogue between her and her hostess. Agnes believes that it is the bounden duty of teachers to stop child abuse, but the hostess distorts the Bible and says, "All animals are created for our convenience." Agnes will not give in to this principle. According to the teaching in the Bible that "a righteous man cares about the life of his livestock", she resolutely refutes it. As a result, she was fired soon. Their conflict is the conflict of two completely different moral values. Rich children grew up taking pleasure in abusing innocent people. If they don't correct it, they will get used to it over time. When they grow up and torture people, they will be "happy"! Many dude's bad habits are the inevitable result of being corroded by the privileges they enjoyed since childhood. Agnes Gray's second home belongs to Squire Murray. The novel mercilessly exposes the low spiritual quality of this family. When it comes to Rosalie's marriage, the whole family takes property and social status as the only things to consider. Rosalie clearly knows that Sir Ashby is not only a villain, but also an "animal". However, under the long-term wrong education of her parents, she only wanted to be the young lady and mistress of Ashby Manor, so she let her parents decide and married willingly. Marriage that only considers property and status without considering the feelings of the parties is just a transaction and is doomed to be a tragedy. After Rosalie got married, her husband owed gambling debts, drank too much and played with actresses as usual. She has no dignity and happiness, and can only suffer for life. The novel also reveals that the interpersonal relationship of wealthy families is full of intrigue, without real feelings and trust. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of both families are scheming for power and profit. They hate each other and even curse each other to die quickly!

In sharp contrast to the owners of wealthy families are Agnes Gray, a female teacher, Weston, a priest, and Nancy, an elderly peasant woman. Although they have no money or power, they are truly moral, cultured and caring. Agnes rekindled Nancy's confidence in life with sincere care. Weston really cares about the poor in the parish. When he found that a poor man with lung disease could not afford to buy coal in winter, and his family was freezing, he immediately took out money from his meager salary and went to buy coal himself. In order to get Nancy's pet cat back, Weston offended the local squire and finally quit his job. Agnes and Weston adhere to the concept of fraternity. They will never succumb to the powerful, so the rich and powerful don't like them. They are considered to be unruly, and often suffer unreasonable accusations and unfair treatment. But the common ideals and beliefs made them happy lifelong companions, and finally won the understanding and respect of the people around them. Agnes Gray is finally an ordinary female teacher. She didn't inherit like Jane Eyre, married her employer and became a member of the ruling class. She didn't come back for revenge as Heathcliff did. Her life track is more ordinary, more real and more touching, which can better reflect the independence and self-esteem of an intellectual woman.