Mr Hale is a soft-spoken, effeminate pastor. He originally resided in Helstone as the Vicar, but his doubts in the Church of England led him to relocate his family in Milton. Despite being incredibly weak willed and dependent on Margaret, his decision to leave Helstone and stance on the Church is unwavering, Mr Hale later saying that he did not at all regret dissenting from the Church. This conveys how highly esteemed a clear conscience is to Mr Hale, as he was willing to completely uproot his Southern bred family for the sake of his morals. Mr Hale brings up the concern of religious doubt within North and South. This doubt is incredibly entrenched in the Milton way of living, with the toiling workers holding no beliefs in God. This is just another difference between the North and the South, characters such as Higgins wanting nothing to do with faith due to his hardships, whereas those like Margaret possess an identity intertwined with religion. Unlike his daughter, Mr Hale is charitable toward all, possessing no prejudices, believing one man to be the same as another. He ensures the line between these two characters is crossed, and that Higgins is introduced to faith and Margaret is open to other belief systems beyond religion.
