Year of Wonders Lesson Plan

What does Elinor's death demonstrate about Aphra and the community?

Due to the countless deaths the Plague has ravaged the community with, life almost seems to be meaningless. Elinor's death is just another senseless loss of life to add to the tally. She did not succumb to the Plague as others in the village nor is it even clear if Aphra intended to kill her. The villagers who haven't died are riddled with the psychological weight of the loss. Most seem to just be going through the motions of life; though others, like John Gordon and Aphra, suffer from breakdowns and are not even able to maintain this semblance of normalcy. It should be noted that the knife used to...