How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Unlike most ladies, Mrs. Mompellion did not scruple to toil with her hands. (2.2.41)
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.
Quote #2
There was something in her that could not [...] see the distinctions that the world wished to make between weak and strong, between women and men, laborer and lord. (2.2.42)
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.
Quote #3
I knew how easy it is for widow to be turned witch in the common mind, and the first cause generally is that she meddles somehow in medicinals. (2.2.50)
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?