Year of Wonders Reader's Response #5

Sign of a Witch 
        Anna's son, Jamie, dies after suffering nasty symptoms of the plague for five days. I can't even imagine what Anna feels. Just in the last chapter, when Jamie threw rose petals into the air and the two boys were being joyful, she claimed that was her miracle moment. A few days later, both of her sons are dead. I can tell that Anna begins to loose her faith in God. First mentioned earlier in the book, the author repeatedly places the phrase "Behold the Handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to Thy Word" but this time in segments rather than the complete phrase. Anna recalls the "According to Thy Word" and thinks, "Why were God's words always so harsh?" (Brooks, 87). In the Christian bible, this verse is referring to when Gabriel foretells Jesus' birth and tells Mary. In the novel, by contrast, Anna changes the meaning to one that is more pessimistic and almost scornful to God, as in "God beset the plague that took away my family and friends on purpose" through the repetition of the line segment. Additionally, Anna is curious to know whether the artist of a big cross in an old grave had carved the cross to reflect his own faith or to seek an appeasement of a God "who seemed to want not the love and awe that the Scriptures asked of us, but an endless surfeit of our suffering" (Brooks, 87). To Anna, God may be like the angered vengeful pagan gods that required sacrifices.
        Anna is not the only one that starts to lose faith in the goodness of God. Rather than waiting for God, the villagers' fear gets the best of them and they begin to blame their pain to people by accusing them of witchcraft. The first is Mem Gowdie. The enraged villagers tried to kill Mem by throwing her in a flooded mine. Anna sees this and tries desperately to stop her fellow villagers from killing Mem, but she is ineffective. Luckily, Anys shows up and saves her. Then the villagers start to claim that Anys is a witch. Anys, being the wild soul that she is, "confesses" in being a witch and tells the villagers that all the women in the village would prefer Satan over their husbands as a lover. This causes a reaction in the crowd, specifically John Gordon, who begins beating his wife. Anys gets hanged. There's a whole big ruckus which isn't calmed down until Mr. Mompellion shows up and tells the villagers that they should be ashamed in themselves (Brooks, 94).
*Historical connection: Historically, women were accused of being witches for many reasons, such as having beauty, gaining attention from married men, and being natural healers, using different healing methods. Basically, if you were a woman that did not show proper societal restraint, you had an increased chance of being accused of being a witch.The most familiar case in which this corrupt belief was practiced is most likely the infamous Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, where fourteen women and five men were led to their deaths at Gallows Hill.*
       
        My thoughts on this: Much like how the boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding let their fear consume them and kill the innocent Simon, we see fear take on a similar role in Year of Wonders. The villagers, so petrified from the deadly consequences of the plague, have taken out their fear on innocent women. I am so sad to see Anys die because she was the one voice that stood up for herself and for reason.