# Mr. Hatfield — Agnes Grey character guide

> Mr. Hatfield in Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hatfield, Maister Hatfield

**First appearance:** 0006-vii-horton-lodge

## Snapshot

The rector of Horton, a pompous and self-important clergyman who courts Rosalie and resents any rival for influence or attention.

## Who they are

Mr. Hatfield is a man of the cloth whose vanity rivals Rosalie's own, striding through the parish with a sense of his own consequence and a taste for flattery. He pursues Rosalie with calculated attention, but his resentment of Mr. Weston's popularity among the common people reveals a petty jealousy beneath his dignified bearing. His eventual marriage to an elderly spinster for her fortune confirms what Agnes suspects early: that his religion is chiefly self-worship.

## Relationships

### [Agnes Grey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/agnes_grey)

_rivalry_

Mr. Hatfield is a pompous, hypocritical clergyman who pursues Agnes condescendingly, but she rejects him and sees through his vanity.

### [Rosalie Murray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/rosalie_murray)

_rivalry_

Mr. Hatfield pursues Rosalie for her beauty and fortune, but she toys with him and ultimately rejects him for a wealthier man.

### [Edward Weston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/edward_weston)

_rivalry_

Edward Weston and Mr. Hatfield are rival clergymen, with Weston's sincere piety contrasting sharply with Hatfield's hypocrisy.

### [Agnes Grey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/agnes_grey)

_rivalry_

Mr. Hatfield is a pompous, hypocritical clergyman who pursues Agnes condescendingly, but she rejects him and sees through his vanity.

### [Rosalie Murray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/rosalie_murray)

_rivalry_

Mr. Hatfield pursues Rosalie for her beauty and fortune, but she toys with him and ultimately rejects him for a wealthier man.

### [Edward Weston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/edward_weston)

_rivalry_

Edward Weston and Mr. Hatfield are rival clergymen, with Weston's sincere piety contrasting sharply with Hatfield's hypocrisy.

## In the story

### [The Ball](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/chapters/ix-the-ball)

Attended the ball as an admirer of Rosalie; refrained from dancing but looked eager to ask her hand.

### [X: The Church](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/chapters/x-the-church)

Mr. Hatfield is depicted as artificial and self-important, with studied gestures and sermons focused on ritual and obedience, lacking genuine spirituality.

### [XI: The Cottagers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/chapters/xi-the-cottagers)

The rector; contrasted unfavorably with Mr. Weston for his harsh and thoughtless manner toward the sick.

### [XIV: The Rector](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/chapters/xiv-the-rector)

Mr. Hatfield is observed by Mrs. Murray walking near Rosalie's haunts; he later proposes to Rosalie and is refused, reacting with mortification and bitterness.

### [XV: The Walk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/chapters/xv-the-walk)

Performs church services as usual after Rosalie's rejection, though with less confidence; avoids looking at the Murray pew.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters/mr_hatfield
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agnes_grey_se/characters