Heroes_of_Us_All

Year of Wonders Essay “The plague will make heroes of us all…” To what extent is this true' The theme of heroism and selflessness is no doubt one of the most obvious messages throughout Geraldine Brooks’ historical fiction “Year of Wonders.” A hero can be defined as someone who is admired and idealized for his or her courage, outstanding achievements and noble qualities. Michael Mompellion-Eyam’s Rector, states that “the plague will make heroes of us all” to Jakob Brand as he returns to the village carrying the injured Maggie Cantwell; and to a particular extent this is certainly true. However there are some exceptions of this, such as Josiah Bont who unquestionably would not be classified as a hero due to his wicked sins committed between 1665-1666. Although saying this, characters such as Anna Frith, along with Elinor and Michael Mompellion could be said to truly fit into this exemplary category during the season of the Plague. They are deemed heroic thanks to their selfless devotion towards the welfare of others, and show strength and courage in the face of loss and disaster. Of these three characters, it is Anna Frith who is considered the greatest hero during the “Year of Wonders.” There are many scenes that demonstrate to the audience the true hero that Anna Frith really is. Transforming from a lower class servant into a self-assured and resourceful woman, Anna is heavily relied on by her villagers during the Plague crisis-and rightly so. Following the Gowdies death, Anna steps up to take responsibility as ‘healer’ of the village of Eyam. With her best efforts, she joins with Elinor Mompellion in researching and developing particular remedies for the disease, in aim of curing their suffering patients. Along with this, Anna attends the bedsides of the sick and dying, sacrificing her own health and well being in order to comfort others. This is no doubt a true act of altruism-a vital characteristic for someone to be deemed a ‘hero’. Due to these acts of selflessness, Anna soon becomes recognized and respected by the remaining villagers, and is praised for her efforts. “I wonder if you know how you have changed. It is the one good, perhaps, to come out of this terrible year.” However Anna Frith is not alone during her attempts of soothing the Plague’s harmful sufferers. Elinor Mompellion becomes a motherly figure of the village of Eyam, as she too, emerges as a true hero of the Plague crisis. Similarly to Anna, Elinor Mompellion is recognized as one of the very few who perform as heroes during the Plague season. Right from the very start of the novel, Elinor is introduced to the audience as a warmhearted and considerate woman. Unlike other characters that begin to break down and transform negatively as the Plague strikes, Elinor maintains these supportive characteristics to be seen as a shining example throughout the village. For weeks on end, Elinor joins Anna Frith in the desperate attempt of increasing their knowledge of medicinal and remedial strategies in aim of curing the Plague. However previous to this, it was Elinor who originally taught Anna Frith the skill of reading, a rare case between a servant and her ruler. Anna describes Elinor has one who strives to act altruistically in every way possible. “Mrs. Mompellion would never let a minute pass without trying to better me.” Not only does Elinor accompany Anna as healer of the village, but also by sacrificing her own life in the depths of the Wickford mine. This is a pure scenario that displays the heroism and selflessness in which Elinor Mompellion consisted of. Alongside her in marriage, was Rector Michael Mompellion. With Elinor being expressed as the mother figure of both Eyam and Anna, it was Michael that provided the accompanying fatherly figure as a true hero during the Plague. Michael Mompellion acted altruistically in an altered way to those close around him. Attending the bedsides of the sick, writing their wills and praying over them as they passed, Michael would always consider others first, displaying his true love and care for the villagers of Eyam. “And I promise you this. While I am spared, no one in this village will face their death alone.” However it was other duties in which Michael accomplished that gave him the title of being possibly the only male hero of the village. As Rector of the village, Michael had the extremely difficult task of maintaining the symbol of God to the town, as well as forwarding His message to the people. This proved a challenging duty as the Plague crisis escalated, with the majority of villagers beginning to question their faith in religion. However, Rector Mompellion stuck by God (until the death of his wife) and continued to be a powerful spiritual leader of Eyam, providing persuasive sermons throughout the Plague season. “He intoxicated us with his words, lifting and carrying us away into a strange ecstasy.” Within each of these sermons, Michael would take responsibility in making consequential decisions that determined the life of the people he loved. This included the quarantine of Eyam, which possibly saved the lives of hundreds of unknown citizens. Additionally to each of these responsibilities, Michael Mompellion still somehow found time to complete further duties, such as digging the graves of the dead. It was this backbreaking chore that eventually brought Rector Mompellion to exhaustion; this demonstrates how hard he was working for others-the true characteristic of a hero. On another note, a man performing a similar duty was Josiah Bont, Anna Frith’s father. However Joss Bont’s reason for digging graves was not to be a hero of the village, but the complete opposite. The village of Eyam was soon to find this out, as he became one of the true ‘monsters’ during the time of Plague. During the season of Plague, not everyone in the village of Eyam was seen to act heroically. Josiah Bont, father of Anna Frith, became one of the most despised civilians throughout the village. There were many instances in which Josiah Bont acted in a manner completely opposite of hero-a coward, some would say. In order to gain funds for his own benefit, Joss charged sorrowful families ridiculous amounts for him to dig their dead members’ grave. There would be no consideration whatsoever in Joss’ mind for those families’ or individuals’ grief and despair. Although this was not the worst of steps he took. Once again in thought of only himself, Joss Bont was found guilty of attempting to murder Christopher Urwin, followed by burying him alive. This action led Josiah to his death, in relief of the remaining villagers as their loathe for him only increased. “All that week I began to notice that the neighbours were speaking of my father, and sourly.” A hero’s characteristics have no place for selfishness or greed, and Joss’ particular actions display that not all characters within the “Year of Wonders’ were observed as heroes during the season of the Plague. Geraldine Brook’s historical fiction “Year of Wonders”, clearly demonstrates how specific civilians will transform into heroes during times of crises. Based during the season of Plague between 1665-1666, the village of Eyam witnesses acts of heroism and altruism from a range of citizens. Anna Frith is seen to step up in terms of responsibility, along with Elinor Mompellion as they combine in conjunction to become healers of the village. Elinor’s partner Michael performs heroic tasks in other ways, acting as both spiritual leader and symbolism of God for the village, as well as performing other duties that are essential for the town’s survival. However on another note, there were specific characters such as Josiah Bont, whose actions conflicted those of a true hero. His egocentric and inconsiderate behaviour demonstrated that Rector Mompellion was wrong to a certain extent; the Plague would not make “heroes of us all”, but in fact, that “these times will make monsters”, as well.