I'll start, my question is: why exactly is the town so outraged, especially Mr. Mompellion due to Colonel Bradford and his family leaving
It basically boils down to Mompellion's fears that if the Bradfords leave, other villagers will be emboldened to leave as well, and their attempts to quarantine themselves would ultimately be futile, and plague would spread regardless.
See: this very telling quote about Mompellion's moralistic values:
"For I will certainly stand and face the lion if, by running, I would cause the beast to follow me, and thus draw him closer to the dwelling places of innocents who demand protection."
You could also argue there's some risk of them spreading the plague by leaving, but the question of their influence is the more interesting point. Bradford's defence is that he's basically selfish and doesn't give a damn, so since he has the means to help his family escape, he does. So he's ostensibly an indictment of the egocentric, self-serving way some people respond to challenges.
As for Mompellion's anger... he more or less curses Bradford after he leaves, warning him that he'll incur a worse fate than plague - specifically that of God's judgement and vengeance. By leaving, Bradford puts his own and his family's needs above that of Eyam and potentially England as a whole, which flies in the face of Mompellion's mostly/seemingly altruistic values.
Hope that answers your questions! Let me know if there's anything else in the novel that you're unsure about! ;D
It basically boils down to Mompellion's fears that if the Bradfords leave, other villagers will be emboldened to leave as well, and their attempts to quarantine themselves would ultimately be futile, and plague would spread regardless.
See: this very telling quote about Mompellion's moralistic values:
"For I will certainly stand and face the lion if, by running, I would cause the beast to follow me, and thus draw him closer to the dwelling places of innocents who demand protection."
You could also argue there's some risk of them spreading the plague by leaving, but the question of their influence is the more interesting point. Bradford's defence is that he's basically selfish and doesn't give a damn, so since he has the means to help his family escape, he does. So he's ostensibly an indictment of the egocentric, self-serving way some people respond to challenges.
As for Mompellion's anger... he more or less curses Bradford after he leaves, warning him that he'll incur a worse fate than plague - specifically that of God's judgement and vengeance. By leaving, Bradford puts his own and his family's needs above that of Eyam and potentially England as a whole, which flies in the face of Mompellion's mostly/seemingly altruistic values.
Hope that answers your questions! Let me know if there's anything else in the novel that you're unsure about! ;D
Thank you so much!!
Also could u elaborate on what needs of Eyam
Is it unity?
Thank you so much!!
Also could u elaborate on what needs of Eyam
Is it unity?
Unity is a good 'tl;dr' because a quarantined town is going to be a pretty shit place to live if everyone hates each other, so in Mompellion, Elinor, and Anna's minds, it's important for people to be compassionate and empathetic because their chances of survival are diminished otherwise.
So the Bradfords leaving is equivalent to saying 'screw Eyam and everyone in it; we've got the riches to hit the road, so you guys can suffer on your own.' Realistically, they wouldn't have been much help if they stayed, but the most powerful family in town packing up and peacing out took a bit of a toll on town morale :P
Hope that makes more sense!
What do people think about the pastoral elements of the novel? Anna often talks about the Ewes, and they seem to relate to nature and the seasonal country lifestyle, but surely there must be some symbolic meaning?
Hoo boy is this symbolic! A great place to start is to make the connection between 'pastoral' in the literal raising-livestock-and-tending-to-the-land sense, and 'pastoral' in the sense of leadership, duty of care, and shepherding those in your flock.
(http://i.imgur.com/yw3pE8h.png)
So this is some pretty heavy biblical metaphors here. On one level, Mompellion is like the shepherd of the town tasked with caring for his flock.
If you want to get another allusory layer deeper...
There's a bible passage about a shepherd with a flock of 100 sheep who discovers one day that one of the sheep has escaped, and the shepherd goes out looking for it even though he's still got 99. The moral of that parable is that a good shepherd (read: God) will always go out if his way to find and help those who are lost or who have gone astray. In this sense, Mompellion's a pretty shitty shepherd, right? He lets Bradford go, and curses him for doing so. He chastises Jane Martin for her promiscuity. He very occasionally shows mercy to some townsfolk, but he seems to opt more so for old testament-style punishments and vengeance, most obviously with Elinor. So although he's got some decent leadership traits, he lacks the care and compassion that defines a good shepherd... and those are two traits that Anna has in abundance, so Mompellion's unforgiving nature acts as a foil for Anna's kindness and clemency. So maybe Anna is the real shepherd?? :o