Agnes Grey

by

Anne Brontë

Sir Thomas Ashby Character Analysis

Admirer and eventual husband of Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby is an immoral aristocrat devoted to drinking, gambling, and conducting romantic affairs. Mrs. Murray, pleased by Sir Thomas Ashby’s money and social status, encourages Rosalie to marry him despite having heard rumors of his bad reputation. Rosalie’s governess Agnes counsels against the marriage, but no one listens to her. After the wedding, Sir Thomas Ashby and Rosalie have a baby—and Sir Thomas is angry at Rosalie because the baby is a daughter. He drinks heavily, is unfaithful to Rosalie, and is jealous of Rosalie’s admirer Harry Meltham. He and Rosalie are living together unhappily in the countryside when, after their honeymoon, Agnes pays a short visit to Rosalie.

Sir Thomas Ashby Quotes in Agnes Grey

The Agnes Grey quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Thomas Ashby or refer to Sir Thomas Ashby. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Education, Authority, and Class Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: The Ball Quotes

“Sir Thomas is young, rich and gay; but an ugly beast, nevertheless; however mamma says I should not mind that after a few months’ acquaintance.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Mary, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:

“But if I could always be young, I would always be single. I should like to enjoy myself thoroughly, and coquet with all the world, till I am on the verge of being called an old maid; and then, to escape the infamy of that, after having made ten thousand conquests, to break all their hearts save one, by marrying some high-born, rich, indulgent husband, whom, on the other hand, fifty ladies were dying to have.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 62–63
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17: Confessions  Quotes

[B]esides my hope in God, my only consolation was in thinking that, though he knew it not, I was more worthy of his love than Rosalie Murray, charming and engaging as she was; for I could appreciate his excellence, which she could not: I would devote my life to the promotion of his happiness; she would destroy his happiness for the momentary gratification of her own vanity.

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Mr. Weston, Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby, Mr. Hatfield
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18: Mirth and Mourning Quotes

“Tilly, though she would have made a fine lad, was not quite what a young lady ought to be[.]”

Related Characters: Mr. Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Rosalie Murray, Matilda Murray, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:

“It seems unnatural: but some people think rank and wealth the chief good; and, if they can secure that for their children, they think they have done their duty.”

“True: but is it not strange that persons of experience, who have been married themselves, should judge so falsely?”

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Mr. Weston (speaker), Rosalie Murray, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 119
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19: The Letter Quotes

“[I]f he married a richer wife, misfortunes and trials would no doubt have come upon him still; while I am egotist enough to imagine that no other woman could have cheered him through that so well: not that I am superior to the rest, but I was made for him, and he for me[.]”

Related Characters: Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21: The School Quotes

Alas! how far the promise of anticipation exceeds the pleasure of possession!

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22: The Visit Quotes

“It’s the husband’s part to please the wife, not hers to please him; and if he isn’t satisfied with her as she is—and thankful to possess her too—he isn’t worthy of her, that’s all.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23: The Park Quotes

“But you knew what he was before you married him.”

“No; I only thought so: I did not half know him really. I know you warned me against it, and I wish I had listened to you: but it’s too late to regret that now. And besides, mamma ought to have known better than either of us, and she never said anything against it—quite the contrary.”

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Rosalie Murray (speaker), Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 142
Explanation and Analysis:
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Sir Thomas Ashby Quotes in Agnes Grey

The Agnes Grey quotes below are all either spoken by Sir Thomas Ashby or refer to Sir Thomas Ashby. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Education, Authority, and Class Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9: The Ball Quotes

“Sir Thomas is young, rich and gay; but an ugly beast, nevertheless; however mamma says I should not mind that after a few months’ acquaintance.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Mary, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:

“But if I could always be young, I would always be single. I should like to enjoy myself thoroughly, and coquet with all the world, till I am on the verge of being called an old maid; and then, to escape the infamy of that, after having made ten thousand conquests, to break all their hearts save one, by marrying some high-born, rich, indulgent husband, whom, on the other hand, fifty ladies were dying to have.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 62–63
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17: Confessions  Quotes

[B]esides my hope in God, my only consolation was in thinking that, though he knew it not, I was more worthy of his love than Rosalie Murray, charming and engaging as she was; for I could appreciate his excellence, which she could not: I would devote my life to the promotion of his happiness; she would destroy his happiness for the momentary gratification of her own vanity.

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Mr. Weston, Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby, Mr. Hatfield
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18: Mirth and Mourning Quotes

“Tilly, though she would have made a fine lad, was not quite what a young lady ought to be[.]”

Related Characters: Mr. Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Rosalie Murray, Matilda Murray, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:

“It seems unnatural: but some people think rank and wealth the chief good; and, if they can secure that for their children, they think they have done their duty.”

“True: but is it not strange that persons of experience, who have been married themselves, should judge so falsely?”

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Mr. Weston (speaker), Rosalie Murray, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 119
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19: The Letter Quotes

“[I]f he married a richer wife, misfortunes and trials would no doubt have come upon him still; while I am egotist enough to imagine that no other woman could have cheered him through that so well: not that I am superior to the rest, but I was made for him, and he for me[.]”

Related Characters: Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Rosalie Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21: The School Quotes

Alas! how far the promise of anticipation exceeds the pleasure of possession!

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22: The Visit Quotes

“It’s the husband’s part to please the wife, not hers to please him; and if he isn’t satisfied with her as she is—and thankful to possess her too—he isn’t worthy of her, that’s all.”

Related Characters: Rosalie Murray (speaker), Agnes Grey, Agnes’s Mother/Alice Grey, Agnes’s Father/Richard Grey, Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23: The Park Quotes

“But you knew what he was before you married him.”

“No; I only thought so: I did not half know him really. I know you warned me against it, and I wish I had listened to you: but it’s too late to regret that now. And besides, mamma ought to have known better than either of us, and she never said anything against it—quite the contrary.”

Related Characters: Agnes Grey (speaker), Rosalie Murray (speaker), Mrs. Murray, Sir Thomas Ashby
Page Number: 142
Explanation and Analysis: