An adherent of the belief of "agathism": Jane's mother was an agathist and thought that "all things tend towards ultimate good".

Grace's aunt said that the world and things in general were heading for the better, therefore in things that other people she knew regarded as evil or tragic, includ.ing virulent diseases, calamitous earthquakes, or wars. She was an agathist who could find some ultimate purpose for good.

The optimist sees the present as pretty much for the "best". The agathist is less content with the present, thinks things are inevitably tending towards good despite the bad situations which precede the ultimate results.