Agnes van Rhijn (née Brook) is the widowed matriarch of the Van Rhijn Family, an old money Dutch-American family from New York. She is a proud and stubborn socialite who clings to the values of the old having descended from the Brook and Livingston families. Mrs. Van Rhijn is the mother of Oscar van Rhijn, and lives with her sister, Ada, and their orphaned niece, Marian, in her Manhattan brownstone on East 61st Street.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born Agnes Brook in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, she was the elder daughter and second child of Mr. and Mrs. Brook. Her father, a soldier, was from the wealthy and landed Brook family of Pennsylvania dating back since around the 1730s, and her mother was born to the well-established Livingston family of New York. Her father was a patron of the Institute for Colored Youth in Pennsylvania and would bring her and her siblings to the school's holiday pageants.
Her father died relatively young, and her brother, Henry who inherited the estate, began to manage it poorly selling the family farms. She had received a proposal from the wealthy and yet difficult Arnold van Rhijn of New York, and felt as if she had no choice but to marry him. They married a short time after 1842.[1]
The couple had one son to survive infancy, Oscar. Agnes has said that she has lost other children, either due to miscarriage, stillbirths, or deaths in childhood.[2] Agnes's husband eventually passed away around 1872, after which her sister Ada moved in with her.[3]
Season 1[]
Episode 1[]
In 1882, Agnes watches as the new money Russell family move into their recently finished mansion across her house on East 61st Street.
Her older brother, General Henry Brook, has recently passed away leaving her niece Marian Brook an orphan. Her younger sister and companion Ada feeling a sense of familial responsibility writes to their niece and invites her to join them on East 61st Street. While Ada is please when the youngest Brook agrees to move to New York, Agnes is reluctant to support her penniless niece with the Van Rhijn money from her late husband.
Marian arrives late at night in ill weather, and is accompanied by an African-American friend, Peggy Scott, who has paid for her niece's ticket from Pennsylvania to New York after she was robbed. Agnes permits Peggy to stay for the night, and also begins to instruct Marian on the intricacies of old money New York society, forbidding her from getting a job, and encouraging her to make friends with fellow old money families. Realizing that she is behind with her letters and paperwork, she decides to hire Peggy as her secretary.
When she receives an invitation from Bertha Russell to attend a party, she scoffs at the nouveau riche, and does not attend.[3]
Episode 2[]
Agnes is doing paperwork at her home, with Oscar, Marian and Ada present, and let's them know that she won't accept Gladys Russell to be invited for lunch, and that she feels Aurora skates too close to the edge as she's met Gladys.
Agnes is reluctant to receive Tom Raikes, but as she heards from Ada that he's waived his fee for settling Henry's estate, Agnes tells Marian that she must invite him for tea as she's in debt to him. She listlessly approves of Marian going to Anne Morris's charity bazaar.
Agnes and Ada have a talk about Oscar introducing Marian to potential suitors. Agnes doesn't approve of Ada's suggestion that Oscar might be interested in Marian himself, as they're first cousins and Marian has no wealth, and she reminds Ada of the sacrifice she made to save Ada's skin.
On next Tuesday, Raikes is visiting the Brook house for tea, when Oscar arrives with Larry Russell. Agnes is polite with Larry, but watches him talk with Marian in anger, while sipping tea. Later, Agnes confronts Oscar about bringing Larry over to her house, and doesn't approve with him about the Russells living in their village, as she's not concerned with facts, if they interfere with her beliefs.
Late in the evening, Agnes comes to Peggy and Marian and hands out a pile of letters for Peggy to go through the next day, which Peggy finds interesting, and Agnes points out that Oscar doesn't. Peggy thanks her for giving her a chance, to which Agnes replies that life has taught her that if you don't want to be disappointed, you should help those who help themselves.
At night, Ada enters Agnes's room at her request. She confronts Ada about her feeling like she's encouraged Marian over Tom, whom she finds a shyster. Agnes reminds her that Marian is penniless, without impeccable birth thanks to her mother, and that she can't leave any Van Rhijn money to her.
On another day, Agnes enters the charity bazaar with Ada and Oscar. She is angry at Marian for talking with Mrs. Chamberlain, who bought handkerchiefs from her stall. She then sees Bertha, George and Gladys Russell enter the bazaar, and says that maybe they should just roll in the gutter to save time.[4]
Episode 3[]
Agnes sees from a newspaper that Aurora is holding a new charity event, and judges her for it as the last one went so improperly. Marian tells Agnes that Clara Barton is giving a talk at Aurora's house. Peggy hands a letter for Agnes to decide on. Marian and Ada see Gladys leaving outside with her governess. Agnes tells them not to criticize Mrs. Russell for her only virtue, keeping her daughter under control. She can also tell that Gladys hasn't been brought out yet as Bertha isn't sure she can fill the ballroom.
On another day, Agnes has a talk with Marian and Ada about Ada's girlhood interest, Cornelius Eckhard, whom they had met at Aurora's charity event. Agnes is concerned that he might have returned for Ada.
Cornelius Eckhard visits and admires Agnes's house. Agnes watches judgmentally as he's flirting with Ada and doesn't remember Cornelius's parents ever calling on them. Ada leaves, and Agnes has a talk with Cornelius. Cornelius insists he has feelings for Ada, but Agnes tells him that Ada has no money and would have to move out of the house in case she married. She reveals to him that their father didn't approve of him not because of his lack of prospects, but because he had been heard boasting that he's about to marry a meal ticket. Ada returns with the tea, but Cornelius leaves. Agnes tells Ada to choose something for the menu that she really likes.[5]
Personality[]
Agnes is a fine example of the "old money". She clings the values of the old having in high regard family and their ties with other families from the old society. She is quite stubborn and proud, refusing to act against her social circle, and is categorical in her decisions. While she may seem cold, bitter, resentful and apathic this is actually the result of having to endure a life of pain and tragedies. In Ada's words, Agnes has had to carry on her shoulders the weight of the world by herself. And while she can be harsh, she is not malicious or ill-intentioned and always wants the best for her family.
Despite coming from old and traditional aristocratic families, Agnes has shown a modern and open-minded side of herself. For instance, her relationship with Peggy Scott a woman of color, Agnes was genuinely thankful when she helped Marian to arrive to her place and allowed the young woman to stay as well as giving her a job as her secretary. Agnes has her in high regard because she admires and respects people who have goals and strive to achieve them despite having many obstacles and the world against them and is willing to give a hand to those who help themselves. Another example is how she supports John Trotter giving him money of her own pocket so can be recognized as an inventor, saying that she likes the idea of supporting a new inventor and encouraging his career. Agnes also generousy offered to Mrs. Armstrong to keep working with her when they'd lost most of their wealth after her son Oscar was a victim of a scam against him, despite knowing she wouldn't be able to give her a good salary.
Beneath her harsh and sharp-tongued attitude, Agnes has a more vulnerable and emotional side. When Ada announces her marriage with Reverend Forte, Agnes is strongly against it but this is mostly because she doesn't want her sister to leave her after everything they've been through together, and confesses to the Reverend that her biggest fear is to end up alone and die with no one around her when it happens. However she will ignore this insecurities and be there for those she loves when they need her, choosing at the very last moment to attend her sister's wedding, and when she learns about Luke's illness she immediatly goes to support Ada and give her comfort at the lowest and worst moment of her life. She can also show her wisdom to others, specially with her niece Marian, after she learns Marian called off her engagement with Dashiell, Agnes instead of feeling angry or disappointed she adviced her to take care more of herself from now one given that she already has 'two strikes' and must be careful so she can eventually marry in the future.
Quotes[]
- Agnes (to Peggy)
- — Money Isn't Everything
If you don't want to be disappointed, only help those who help themselves.
Notes[]
- In a dialogue with Ada it is implied that Agnes had several children besides Oscar but passed away when they were young since she symphatized with Peggy and the situation with her son, although it's unknown how or when they died, but apparently it was after her brother Henry cut ties with her and Ada.
- She appears to have inherited the Livingston family box at The Academy of Music, as in the season two finale she is seen using it alongside Oscar.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 3: "Face The Music"
- ↑ The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 8: "Tucked Up in Newport"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 1: "Never The New"
- ↑ The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 2: "Money Isn't Everything"
- ↑ The Gilded Age, season 1 episode 3: "Face The Music"