Mem Gowdie Character Analysis in Year of Wonders

Mem Gowdie is a healer and midwife, alongside her niece, Anys. While Anys is flamboyant, often seeming eager to attract attention and perpetuate rumors, Mem is staid and quiet. She has an immense store of herbal knowledge and a large supply of kindness. Anna remembers Mem caring for her after her mother’s death, a rare moment of comfort in a harsh childhood. Like Anys, Mem is killed by a hysterical mob who believe she is a witch responsible for the plague.

Mem Gowdie Character Timeline in Year of Wonders

The timeline below shows where the character Mem Gowdie appears in Year of Wonders. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Female Sexuality and Friendship Theme Icon

...a witch. While Elinor is protected by her class from such suspicions, the town healer, Mem Gowdie, was once accused of witchcraft; people believed that because her teas and salves could... (full context)

Rain comes and brings fleas which cover Anna and her sons in bites. Anna meets Mem Gowdie, on her way to treat Edward Hadfield, who is sick with a fever. However,... (full context)

...hysterical mob of villagers, including her friend Lib and neighbor Mary. The mob is attacking Mem Gowdie, accusing her of witchcraft and, convinced that her blood can cure the plague, smearing... (full context)

When Anna wakes up, Mem is sinking, which means she is “innocent” but likely to drown. No one is brave... (full context)

Anna and Elinor try to nurse Mem, but she dies of her beating five days after Anys. Anna notes that with them... (full context)

...is too crowded with memories, like her early friendship with Elinor and the deaths of Mem and Anys, that she doesn’t want to relive. (full context)