Family Quotes in Year of Wonders

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

I believed that Aphra would do it. [...] For whatever I felt toward him, I would not have left my father to die in such a way. (2.11.73)

Although Anna has a pretty awful relationship with her father, she would never have abandoned him if she had known that Aphra wasn't coming to the rescue. That's a testament to her character. Despite the pain her father has caused her, she still has empathy for him.

Quote #8

I was finally able to fashion a scale on which I could weigh my father's nature and find a balance between my disgust for him and an understanding of him. (2.12.4)

Anna makes peace with her father's memory by thinking about the life circumstances that shaped him, for better or for worse. Mostly for worse. As a boy, Josiah Bont experienced a great deal of abuse and trauma, causing him pain that he later took out on innocent people like Anna. That doesn't excuse his actions, but it does help us understand them.

Quote #9

"You think I can't see through you? You're not my stepdaughter now. Oh, no. You're too fine for the like o' me. You're her creature." (2.13.73)

Despite Anna's soul-searching, Aphra is never able to forgive her. Interestingly, this passage suggests that she's angry with Anna because she chose a different family—the Mompellions—over her own. Does that idea change your perception of Aphra?