Agnes and Joan

This thread follows the power struggle between Agnes and her stepmother Joan, from childhood punishment to the final limits of Joan’s authority.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Replacement Mother

A New Authority After Agnes loses Rowan, Joan enters the household and takes charge of its daily work. Agnes does not experience her as a replacement for the mother she remembers. Punishment and Resentment Joan cuts Agnes’s hair, burns her reed dolls, and beats her for disobedience. Agnes learns to move quietly through the house and to protect the memories that Joan rejects. A Lasting Divide The conflict is not merely a child’s refusal to accept a stepmother. It grows from Agnes’s conviction that love and authority cannot be substituted simply because the household has changed.

Rumors and Resentment

A Reputation Joan Can Use Stories about Agnes’s unusual powers circulate through the district. Joan’s resentment and the community’s suspicion reinforce one another, marking Agnes as strange and difficult to marry. Control of Her Future Joan expects Agnes to accept an advantageous farmer as a husband. Agnes’s choice of William threatens a future Joan believes she has the right to manage. A Coming Collision The argument over marriage turns old hostility into an open dispute over Agnes’s body and future. Joan’s authority depends on Agnes continuing to accept it, and Agnes is preparing not to.

Pregnancy Discovered

Accusation in the Farmyard Joan discovers that Agnes is pregnant and demands to know which man is responsible. Agnes refuses to answer on Joan’s terms and fights back when Joan attacks her. The Household Sees the Truth Bartholomew and the other family members know William is the father. Joan realizes that her control over Agnes has weakened and that the young woman’s relationship is no longer secret. Expulsion Fails Joan throws Agnes’s possessions into a bundle and declares her banished. Bartholomew reminds her that he owns the house and insists Agnes may stay, forcing Joan to confront the limits of her authority.

A Final Bargain

Families Negotiate Joan joins Bartholomew and John to settle Agnes’s future. John uses the pregnancy and family debt as leverage, while Bartholomew protects his sister’s right to remain part of the Hewlands family. A Compromise House Agnes marries William and moves into the small dwelling beside his parents. The arrangement ends Joan’s direct control but does not erase the tensions between the families. Authority Reorganized Agnes gains a household of her own, although her new mother-in-law Mary now shares domestic power with her. The struggle shifts from outright expulsion to everyday negotiations over work, space, and respect.

The Visit with the Poster

Joan Brings the Playbill Joan visits Agnes with news of William’s tragedy and presents the playbill bearing Hamnet’s name. She expects it to wound and unsettle her stepdaughter. A Misjudged Attack Agnes reacts with such force that Joan is surprised by the effect. The poster exposes a grief Joan can provoke but cannot control or fully understand. The Old Contest Ends Agnes withdraws and decides to travel to London, turning Joan’s intended humiliation into a reason to seek the truth herself. Joan still carries information into Agnes’s life, but she no longer determines what Agnes will do with it.

After Rowan’s death

As Agnes becomes a young woman at Hewlands

Late autumn before the wedding

The negotiation after Agnes leaves Hewlands

Nearly four years after Hamnet’s death