Year of Wonders Essay

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Year of wonders depicts a society where power and strength are valued more than compassion & love. Discuss The novel Year of wonders demonstrates a society where characters demonstrate their value of power and strength compared to compassion and love. Which is evident through Josiah Bont , as he portrays himself to be a cruel and unjust man who adamantly displays dominion and cruelty to his wife and his daughter, Colonel Bradford and His family also value power and strength due to their status in society but as well as their own personal fears. However, Anna Frith, Elinor Mompellion and Anys Gowdie are the exception as they value compassion and love over power and strength and is demonstrated through their actions as acting as the aids, midwifes and apothecaries. Rector Michael Mompellion is the contrast to these characters as he is someone who displays someone who has changed from a person who valued compassion and love to someone who loses all faith and turns to value power and strength. Josiah Bont demonstrates his value for power and strength through the treatment of Anna’s Mother and Anna. He articulates this form of strength through his numerous beatings of Anna, “I told you, you would learn at me knee, and you damn well do as I tell ye. Someone fetch me a muzzle for this school!” this quote accentuates Josiah’s Bont’s power over Anna, but also his value to show dominion over her as he is willing to muzzle her and beat her in order for her to obey his commandments. Again his power over Anna is displayed through her quote “There was a gob of spittle forming in my mouth… If I did so in front of his tavern friends he would beat me senseless” which articulates Joss Bonts determination to show his supremacy and controllability over his daughter as well his misogynist traits towards his own daughter. Joss Bont continual history of his act of cruelty was
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