In Chap­ter X of “Agnes Grey,” titled “The Church,” Anne Bron­të delves into the obser­va­tions and reac­tions of Agnes Grey and the Mur­ray sis­ters regard­ing the new curate. The nar­ra­tive unfolds with Miss Mur­ray inquir­ing Agnes about her thoughts on the new curate, a con­ver­sa­tion that occurs after their Sun­day ser­vice. Agnes, cau­tious and reflec­tive, admits to not hav­ing formed a clear opin­ion yet, empha­siz­ing her pref­er­ence for form­ing judg­ments based on more than just super­fi­cial obser­va­tions. Her atten­tion dur­ing the ser­vice was caught by the new curate’s earnest and effec­tive way of read­ing the lessons and his sin­cere approach to prayers, con­trast­ing sharply with Mr. Hatfield’s showy and insin­cere man­ner­isms.

The dis­cus­sion about the curate between Agnes and the Mur­ray sis­ters reveals dif­fer­ing pri­or­i­ties and per­cep­tions. Miss Mur­ray crit­i­cizes the curate for his lack of social grace and per­ceived nar­row-mind­ed­ness, focus­ing on his phys­i­cal appear­ance and man­ner­isms rather than his spir­i­tu­al or intel­lec­tu­al qual­i­ties. Agnes, on the oth­er hand, finds val­ue in his solemn approach to his reli­gious duties, appre­ci­at­ing the depth and sin­cer­i­ty of his ser­mon, which stark­ly con­trasts with Mr. Hat­field­’s super­flu­ous and ego­tis­ti­cal deliv­ery.

Agnes also reflects on the super­fi­cial­i­ty and insin­cer­i­ty of Mr. Hat­field, who is more con­cerned with appear­ances and soci­etal sta­tus than gen­uine faith or pas­toral care. This com­par­i­son between the curate and Mr. Hat­field high­lights Agnes’s dis­dain for pre­ten­tious­ness and her yearn­ing for gen­uine piety and humil­i­ty.

Mean­while, the Mur­ray sis­ters, par­tic­u­lar­ly con­cerned with social appear­ances and enter­tain­ment, view church and its atten­dees through a lens of social engage­ment and poten­tial roman­tic inter­ests. Their friv­o­lous atti­tude towards reli­gion and church­go­ing con­trasts with Agnes’s more ded­i­cat­ed and earnest approach. Despite their dif­fer­ing views, the chap­ter clos­es with a light-heart­ed exchange between the sis­ters regard­ing their inter­est in the new curate, under­scor­ing their youth­ful pri­or­i­ties and the social dynam­ics of their envi­ron­ment.

Through these inter­ac­tions and reflec­tions, Bron­të paints a vivid pic­ture of the vary­ing atti­tudes toward reli­gion, social sta­tus, and cler­i­cal duties amongst the char­ac­ters, while sub­tly cri­tiquing soci­etal norms and expec­ta­tions of the time. Agnes Grey’s per­spec­tive serves as a moral com­pass with­in the nar­ra­tive, offer­ing insights into the virtues of sin­cer­i­ty, humil­i­ty, and the true essence of faith.