The Hall Farm
- Please George, let us settle down a bit. Can we spend a little more time in Irwine's nice house? Nope: have to relocate yet again. New chapter, new location.
- And this time it's a grassy, mossy, picturesque corner of Hayslope known as The Hall Farm. Oh yeah, and like a gazillion of the book's most important characters live there. "Once the residence of a country squire," the farm is now the residence of, well, a whole bunch of people (6.5).
- We're introduced to some of the servants and other help, then meet the lady of the house, Mrs. Poyser, a "good-looking woman, not more than eight and thirty" (6.8). She's also a taskmaster, a tough customer, a non-nonsense type.
- It's a splendid sunny day. Mrs. Poyser is doing her ironing and Dinah is mending some clothes. For Mrs. Poyser, "doing her ironing" apparently means "being distracted every five seconds." Most distracting of all is Mrs. Poyser's daughter Totty, a mischievous "little sunny-haired girl between three and four" (6.14).
- As far as we can tell, Mrs. Poyser likes 1) Totty and 2) Dinah. There is no 3).
- As for Dinah, Mrs. Poyser doesn't approve of her Methodism, but does approve of her hard work and family values. She thinks Dinah should find a nice man and settle down.
- Dinah isn't going to abandon her principles any time soon. She is doing the work God has called her to do, after all. But what's that going on outside? A revelation? The Second Coming? No, it's just Mr. Irwine and Squire Donnithorne, coming for a visit. What a letdown.
- A letdown for us. For them, it's going to be a pleasant tour of the farm. Arthur wants to see Mrs. Poyser's famous dairy, and the good woman can't help obliging.