Hamnet

by

Maggie O'Farrell

Joan Character Analysis

Joan is the farmer’s second wife; after their marriage, she becomes Agnes and Bartholomew’s stepmother. Her children with the farmer are James, Thomas, Caterina, Joanie, Margaret, and William. Joan is a conventional woman who resents that the farmer seems unable to move past Agnes’s mother’s death. She punishes Bartholomew and Agnes with beatings when they fail to conform to social expectations (or her expectations). A shrewish and vindictive woman, Joan is happiest when she’s making other people uncomfortable or miserable; she loves being the bearer of bad news.

Joan Quotes in Hamnet

The Hamnet quotes below are all either spoken by Joan or refer to Joan . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

On all sides, bodies and elbows and arms press in. More and more people are pouring through the doors. Some on the ground are gesturing and shouting to others in the higher balconies. The crowd thickens and heaves, first one way, then the next; Agnes is pushed backwards and forwards but she keeps her footing; the trick seems to be to move with the current rather than resist it. It is, she thinks, like standing in a river: you have to bend yourself to its flow, not fight it.

Related Characters: Agnes, William Shakespeare, Hamnet, Joan
Page Number: 298
Explanation and Analysis:
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Joan Quotes in Hamnet

The Hamnet quotes below are all either spoken by Joan or refer to Joan . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
).
Chapter 18 Quotes

On all sides, bodies and elbows and arms press in. More and more people are pouring through the doors. Some on the ground are gesturing and shouting to others in the higher balconies. The crowd thickens and heaves, first one way, then the next; Agnes is pushed backwards and forwards but she keeps her footing; the trick seems to be to move with the current rather than resist it. It is, she thinks, like standing in a river: you have to bend yourself to its flow, not fight it.

Related Characters: Agnes, William Shakespeare, Hamnet, Joan
Page Number: 298
Explanation and Analysis: