Both Mompellions are important to the community, but Elinor is particularly beloved. As Anna implies here, Elinor serves as a mother to the whole community by providing guidance and helping those in need. That's definitely true in her relationship with Anna. Elinor is Anna's best friend, mom, and teacher, all in one tidy package.

George Viccars isn't just some eligible hunk to Anna—he's her best hope for a new father figure for her sons. She wants to feel like she has a real family again.

In Anna's day, infant mortality rates were insanely high, even without taking the plague into account. It was a rough era. Although losing a child would be painful for anyone, it hits Anna particularly hard because she's such a strong maternal figure.

George Viccars' tales of debauchery in London are shocking to an upstanding young lady like Anna. Though most of that reaction is due to the lurid subject matter, a good chunk of it is based upon it being upper crusters who are acting in such a way. Aristocrats engage in rampant debauchery, and yet they have the nerve to look down on commoners like Anna? That's a bridge too far.

After the death of her husband, Anna apparently becomes the hottest bachelorette in Eyam. She's not too pleased about this status. Putting aside the creepiness of such unrepentant gawking, Anna has difficulty seeing herself as a sexual being.

Well, that's certainly not the type of lovemaking that would inspire a Marvin Gaye smooth jam. Anna loved Sam a great deal, but she'd be lying if she said that sex was an important part of their relationship.

Anna is shocked when she finds herself thinking sexually tinged thoughts. Where did those things come from? Despite her growing feelings for Viccars, however, Anna puts up a strong fight against her intimate desires.

Now we're getting into Marvin Gaye territory, folks. Despite having built up a formidable dam to keep her sexuality at bay, the tiny leak caused by Anna's attraction to Viccars quickly turns into a full-on tidal wave. There's no stopping it now.

Viccars's death saddens Anna not just because she felt affection for him, but also because it highlights how her repressed sexuality has limited her. In her mind, she should have enjoyed what little time she had with him instead of getting hung up on morality.

Elinor is far from your average upper-class lady. From the beginning, we can tell that she's too freethinking and intelligent to accept her society's stereotypes of feminine behavior.

Both Anna and Elinor are aware of the skewed power dynamic between men and women. Their reactions to this realization varies, though. While Elinor righteously stands up against prescribed gender roles, Anna is far more hesitant to confront them head on. As we'll see, it takes a plague for her to become more direct in her approach.

It's no coincidence that women are the ones usually accused of meddling in the dark arts. This is because the society depicted in the book sees powerful women as instantly suspicious. Pssh, they think, how could a silly woman gain the power to heal people without high-fiving Satan first?