Religion Theme Analysis

Agnes Grey suggests that all too frequently, people practice religion in an insincere way—but when they practice it sincerely, it can be a great comfort in adversity. The novel’s main example of religious insincerity is Mr. Hatfield, the rector at the village parish in Horton, where Agnes lives with the Murray family. Mr. Hatfield uses his elevated social status as rector to socialize with his rich parishioners and terrify his poor parishioners with threats of hell. When he encounters adversity—such as when rich and pretty Rosalie Murray, who has been flirting with him consistently, rejects his proposal of marriage—he is devastated and reacts spitefully, threatening to spread rumors damaging to Rosalie’s reputation if she tells anyone that he proposed.

By contrast, the curate in Horton, Mr. Weston, is a genuinely religious man who spends much of his free time aiding and comforting poor cottage-dwellers in the village. He reacts to his own emotionally devastating event, the death of his mother, by taking comfort in Christian works of mercy. When he is disappointed in love—Agnes, whom he quietly admires, leaves Horton to start a school with her mother—he doesn’t throw a fit like Mr. Hatfield. Instead, he quietly perseveres, gets a new job near to Agnes, courts her, and eventually marries her. The contrast between Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Weston shows that while insincere people like Mr. Hatfield can thrive in religious institutions, only sincere believers like Mr. Weston personal comfort and strength from religious belief.