Geraldine Brooks 'Year Of Wonders'

‘And so the rest of us set about learning to live in the wide green prison of our own election.’ What do the characters learn about themselves and their relationships with others?
Geraldine Brooks’ novel ‘Year of Wonders’ is a factual retelling of an infamous historical event, interwoven with an insightful exploration of diverse facets of human nature evoked when faced with adverse circumstances. With the arrival of the bubonic plague in the village of Eyam, its inhabitants are subsequently imprisoned within a self-imposed quarantine to prevent the contagion spreading further, “...here we are, and here we must stay. Let the boundaries of this village become our whole world…” Amidst the death and devastation, characters learned of their innate
Furthermore, as conformities of society were abandoned and social hierarchies crumbled, new relationships were created and old relationships tested.
Anna Frith is the protagonist and heroine of ‘Year of Wonders’, and it is through her character’s development and liberation that Anna realises the human capacity for goodness and finds it deep within herself. Before the arrival of the plague, Anna had already been victim of immense hardships, including her upbringing by her loveless and abusive father and stepmother, and the death of her husband in a mining accident. The plague takes the lives of her two sons, and despite sometimes losing herself in an abyss of tragedy and loss, Anna’s humanity survives even when faced with the extremities of the plague. Anna continually puts herself in danger for the betterment of others, by caring for the diseased, defending the unjustly persecuted and shouldering responsibilities as others being to ignore theirs. The
The plague allowed relationships contrary to social norms to emerge, such as that of Elinor Mompellion and Anna’s friendship between mistress and servant, “To me, she had become so many things. So many things a servant has no right or reason to imagine that the person they serve will be...Sometimes, I had forgotten she was my mistress.” It is Elinor who discovers Anna’s hidden talents and her thirst for knowledge, and she teaches a previously illiterate Anna to read and write. Through her encouragement and guidance, Anna becomes the village midwife and healer. Furthermore Elinor is the underlying force which Anna finds strength from to go on after the tragedies that befall her. She counsels Anna through moments of doubt and weakness, such as the death of Anna’s children and her consequent reliance on the relief that ‘poppy’ brings. “Because of her, I had known the warmth of a motherly concern...she was my friend, and I loved her.” Another unlikely, yet short-lived, friendship was between Anys Gowdie and Anna. Anys exhibited characteristics unconventional for women in the 17th century. Anna had originally seen Anys in the same light as the other villagers, “...her fornication and blasphemy branded her in a sinner in the reckoning of our religion.” However Anna eventually becomes inspired by her independence and freedom in a male-dominated and religious society, “I thought that she