I wasn't entirely sure I was going to like this character upon first seeing her. However, within minutes, I knew that she was going to end up being one of my favorite characters. She is seemingly a person of opposites.

A couple of examples: With a sharp tongue and as biased against "the new people" as she is, that could lead the viewer to believe that she is against "the other," and so must also be racist. But Aunt Agnes is clearly a champion for Peggy Scott. She opens her home to Peggy, hires Peggy as her secratary, discusses her background and support of "the colored school" in Pennsylvania, gave her job back and opened her home back up to Peggy when she needed to leave her parents house. Seemingly, she does this because Peggy is a woman with goals and who works to help herself.

On the other hand Mrs. Russell is a character who also has goals and works to help herself and her family achieve a position in New York. But in contrast to how Aunt Agnes treats Peggy, Mrs. Russell gets no credit from Aunt Agnes for everything she does to further her family.

Likewise, Aunt Agnes' quick quips and sharp comebacks can be a delight (when not directed at you) or sometimes downright cruel. One of my favorites of her quick quips is directed at Mariane when they are riding through Central Park in their carriage, and Marian says to Aunt Agnes and Aunt Ada that she presumes they are not going to the Russells' "at home," and Aunt Agnes simply responds, "are you mad" and looks away.

There are so many more examples than I could name. But I just really love this character. In fact, other than Mr. Raikes, I pretty much like everyone.