For the most part, Chapter 6 describes daily life at the Hall Farm. The house itself is an old manor converted into a farmhouse in which Mr. and Mrs. Poyser, their three children, Mr. Poyser's niece Hetty Sorrel, and a couple of domestic servants live. It is the best run farm on the estate; Mr. Poyser is a very good farmer and Mrs. Poyser an excellent housewife and dairy manager.
The scene is busy as Arthur and the rector ride toward the farm; there is a conference going on in the barn, and Mrs. Poyser is indulging in her favorite occupation, scolding one of the maids. Mrs. Poyser's three-year-old daughter Totty, her mother's adored favorite, is playing, and Dinah, who is Mrs. Poyser's niece, is mending the household linen. Mrs. Poyser indicates that though she loves Dinah, she considers her hopelessly impractical, a religious dreamer. Arthur and Mr. Irwine arrive, and Mr. Irwine talks to Dinah while Mrs. Poyser complains to Arthur about the condition of the farm; Arthur's grandfather, Squire Donnithorne, is a stingy landlord and will not pay for improvements on his tenants' places.
Arthur asks to see the dairy and Mrs. Poyser leads him in. Hetty Sorrel, "a distractingly pretty girl of seventeen," is making butter; Arthur had noticed her beauty before and, indeed, had wanted to visit the dairy primarily to get an opportunity to talk with her. He flatters the girl, asking for two dances with her at the ball celebrating his coming of age. Hetty is overwhelmed by the rich gentleman's attentions. Arthur, who is kind to all his tenants and is justifiably popular among them, gives a present to the child Totty and then goes in search of Mr. Irwine.
Meanwhile, Mr. Irwine has been discussing Dinah's preaching with her. He asks about her background--Dinah is from a bleak mill town called Snowfield--and about her vocation as a preacher. Dinah describes the first time she felt the "call" to preach, and Mr. Irwine is favorably impressed with her sincerity. She says that all her life she has been led to help the poor both materially and spiritually. Mr. Irwine then mentions that Adam Bede's father has died, and Dinah, touched with pity for the widow, decides to visit her and try to comfort her. At this point, Arthur emerges from the dairy with Mrs. Poyser, and Mr. Irwine rises to leave.
When the two men are gone, Mrs. Poyser questions Dinah about the rector's reaction to her preaching and makes her eat something before setting out for the Bedes' cottage. Hetty comes in and Mrs. Poyser tells her of Thias Bede's death. Unlike Dinah, she is almost indifferent to it.
Hetty returns to the dairy and indulges herself in pleasant thoughts about Arthur. Although she does not take Arthur's attention very seriously, she can't help losing herself in romantic dreams about the handsome, rich young squire. She knows that her aunt and uncle would like her to return the affection which Adam Bede has for her, but he strikes her as cutting an inconsequential figure beside the exciting Arthur.
After describing Hetty's state of mind, the author resumes her plot line. Arthur and Mr. Irwine ride away from the farm and Arthur indicates that he admires Hetty's beauty. Mr. Irwine warns him not to feed her vanity by paying attention to her. Arthur implies that he has no intention of doing so.
