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.

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.

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?