# I: Levitical explained — Shirley

> Chapter companion for Shirley by Charlotte Brontë.

## What happens

The chapter introduces three curates—Mr. Donne, Mr. Malone, and Mr. Sweeting—dining at Mr. Donne's lodgings in Whinbury. Their conversation is marked by petty quarrels, insults, and mockery, revealing their trivial concerns and lack of genuine pastoral zeal. The narrative also touches on the scarcity of curates in the early 1800s and the social unrest of the time, including references to the Antinomian weaver Mike Hartley and his visions of soldiers, hinting at tensions surrounding mill-owner Robert Moore.

## Themes in this chapter

### Religion and Hypocrisy

The curates are portrayed as more interested in petty quarrels and self-indulgence than in pastoral duties, highlighting the gap between their clerical roles and their actual behavior.

### Industrialization and Social Unrest

References to Mike Hartley's Jacobinism, visions of soldiers, and his desire to make Robert Moore a 'sacrifice' reflect the tensions between mill-owners and workers during the Luddite era.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Donne

Curate of Whinbury, host of the dinner, described as meagre with a turned-up nose and a threadbare chocolate surtout.

### Mr. Malone

Curate of Briarfield, an Irishman who becomes hilariously insolent, drinks more wine than his brethren, and is mocked for his pronunciation and loaded pistols.

### Mr. Sweeting

Curate of Nunnely, a small man who plays the flute and sings hymns, teased as 'the ladies' pet' and about his family.

### Mike Hartley

Antinomian weaver, known for drunken visions and Jacobin sympathies; he describes a vision of silent soldiers marching across Nunnely Common.

### Robert Moore

Mentioned as a mill-owner with brains, whom Mike Hartley believes should be made an example of as a sacrifice.

### Mr. Hall

Vicar of Nunnely, to whom Mike Hartley reports his visions and denounces the doctrine of works.

## Key lines

> Of late years an abundant shower of curates has fallen upon the north of England: they lie very thick on the hills; every parish has one or more of them; they are young enough to be very active, and ought to be doing a great deal of good.

In recent times, many young curates have appeared in northern England, densely populating the parishes, and their youth should make them effective in their work.

_The narrator sets the scene by contrasting the current abundance of curates with the scarcity in 1811-1812._

> Mr. Malone, who contrived to secure two glasses of wine, when his brethren contented themselves with one, waxed by degrees hilarious after his fashion; that is, he grew a little insolent, said rude things in a hectoring tone, and laughed clamorously at his own brilliancy.

Malone managed to drink twice as much wine as the others, becoming increasingly rude and loud, mocking his companions with coarse jokes.

_Illustrates Malone's boorish behavior and the curates' lack of decorum._

> Mike is out of work, like many others, unfortunately. ... He then perceived they were soldiers—thousands and tens of thousands; but they made no more noise than a swarm of midges on a summer evening.

Mike Hartley, unemployed like many, described a vision of silent soldiers marching across the park, accompanied by faint music.

_Highlights the superstitious and volatile atmosphere among the working class, tied to social unrest._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/shirley_se/chapters/i-levitical
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/shirley_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/shirley_se/chapters