Hazel Sinnett: Character Analysis from Dana Schwartz's Anatomy

Overview

Hazel Sinnett is the protagonist of Dana Schwartz's 2021 novel Anatomy, a Gothic historical fiction set in 1817 Edinburgh. An aristocratic young woman from a noble but strained family, Hazel defies the rigid gender expectations of her era to pursue her dream of becoming a surgeon. Over the course of the novel, she disguises herself as a man to attend anatomy lectures, forms a secret partnership with a resurrection man named Jack Currer, runs a free clinic for the poor, and ultimately confronts a dark conspiracy involving immortality and murder. Hazel's journey is one of intellectual ambition, moral courage, and personal sacrifice, all set against the backdrop of a society that seeks to limit women to marriage and domesticity.

Plot Role

Hazel is the primary driver of the narrative. Her decisions—from sneaking into an anatomy lecture to making a wager with Dr. Beecham to running an illegal clinic—propel the story forward. She is both the observer and the agent of change, uncovering the truth about Beecham's experiments and ultimately choosing to save Jack rather than secure her own future. Her role as a woman in a male-dominated field creates central conflict, and her relationship with Jack introduces romance and collaboration. The plot revolves around her quest to pass the Royal Physician's Examination, but it expands to include ethical dilemmas about medical experimentation, class inequality, and the lengths one will go for love.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Hazel is driven by a relentless curiosity about anatomy and a desire to heal. She demonstrates intelligence and determination from the start: she spends all night copying anatomy notes, experiments with frog reanimation, and sneaks to a public anatomy demonstration. When Bernard tears up her broadsheet advertisement, she retrieves a hidden copy, showing resourcefulness. Her disguise as "George Hazelton" requires bravery and quick thinking; she maintains top marks under pressure from a culling course.

Her compassion is evident when she stitches the cook's wound (Chapter 1) and later treats poor patients at Hawthornden Castle for free. She prioritizes her patients' lives over her own safety, quarantining a fever patient and risking exposure. Hazel also shows resilience: after Dr. Straine dismisses her from class, she sobs but then pivots to making a wager with Beecham. She does not give up despite setbacks.

She can be impulsive and secretive, often acting alone without telling her family. She displays a pragmatic ruthlessness when necessary, such as negotiating with Jack for a corpse (Chapter 18) and later stabbing Beecham's henchman (Chapter 34). Her love for Jack reveals her vulnerability and capacity for deep emotional connection.

Chronological Arc

Introduction and Desire: Hazel lives in the shadow of her brother George's death and her mother's obsessive mourning. She longs to study medicine but is pressured to marry Bernard Almont.
Beginning the Quest: Hazel sneaks into Beecham's lecture (Chapter 7), enrolls in his course disguised as George Hazelton (Chapter 11), and excels until Dr. Straine reveals her identity (Chapter 13) and expels her.
The Wager: After Beecham kicks her out, Hazel meets him as herself and makes a wager: she must pass the Physician's Examination without further lectures or dissections (Chapter 16). This forces her to find alternative study methods.
Alliance with Jack: She collides with Jack Currer (Chapter 17) and hires him to supply corpses for her secret dissection (Chapter 18). Their partnership deepens through grave robbing (Chapter 22-23) and eventual romance (Chapter 26).
Running the Clinic: After successfully treating a dancer in labor (Chapter 25), Hazel turns Hawthornden into a free clinic for the poor. She treats Roman fever patients with wortflower root (Chapter 27) and develops an inoculation.
Confrontation: Hazel discovers Beecham's true identity as the original immortal physician (Chapter 36). She captures Beecham's vial of gold tonic (Chapter 36) but fails to save Jack from execution (Chapter 37).
Resolution: In the epilogue, Hazel receives an unsigned letter from New York, suggesting Jack survived. She continues her clinic, carrying her grief but also hope.

Relationships

Jack Currer: Her most significant relationship. Jack is a resurrection man who supplies her with bodies, but they develop mutual respect and love. Jack supports her clinic, nurses her, and ultimately chooses death over immortality to free her. Their bond transcends class and circumstance; he admires her strength, and she trusts him completely.
Bernard Almont: Her cousin and expected fiancé. Bernard is kind but dull and deeply conventional. He represents the safe, socially acceptable future Hazel rejects. Their forced engagement (Chapter 20) suffocates her, and she eventually refuses to marry him unless he accepts her career (Chapter 31). He helps her once but hides jealousy.
Iona: Hazel's maid and confidante. Iona helps her disguise herself (Chapter 10) and runs errands for the clinic. She is fiercely loyal, and her marriage to Charles at the end marks a bittersweet farewell.
Dr. Beecham: Initially a mentor figure, later revealed as a centuries-old immortal using alchemy. He offers Hazel the wager but also exploits the poor for body parts. Their final confrontation leads to Hazel obtaining his immortality tonic.
Dr. Straine: A antagonist who out of cruelty dismisses Hazel from the anatomy class. He later appears as a co-conspirator in body-snatching but is indicted.
Family: Her mother Lady Sinnett pressures her to marry for security; her father is absent on Saint Helena; her brother Percy is a spoiled child; her deceased brother George haunts her memory.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Decision to disguise as George Hazelton: Allows her to attend anatomy lectures but leads to expulsion when Straine discovers her. Consequence: she gains partial knowledge but loses formal education.
Decision to make the wager with Beecham: Raises the stakes; she must pass the exam independently. Consequence: she acquires a Treatise and freedom to study, but must illegally obtain corpses.
Decision to run a free clinic: Brings her practical experience and saves lives, but also exposes her to Roman fever and financial strain. It also gives her the confidence to challenge Bernard.
Decision to follow the veiled figure instead of taking the exam: She abandons her examination to uncover Beecham's organ trafficking (Chapter 32). Consequence: she fails the exam but stops a murder and saves Jack.
Decision to accept the immortality tonic: She intends to use it to save Jack from hanging, but he refuses. Consequence: she possesses the power to live forever but loses Jack; she continues her work as a physician.
Decision to burn Bernard's letters and embrace her own future: She breaks off the engagement and chooses independence over societal safety (Chapter 36). Consequence: she remains alone but free to practice medicine.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Gender Barriers in Medicine: Hazel's entire journey is a fight against a system that excludes women. She must disguise herself, overcome Straine's prejudice, and carve her own path. Her success demonstrates that women are equally capable.
Class Inequality: The novel contrasts the wealthy New Town with the poor Old Town. Hazel's clinic serves the poor, and she collaborates with a resurrection man from the lower classes. Beecham's experiments prey on the vulnerable.
Ethics of Medical Experimentation: Beecham's kidnappings and forced organ transplants highlight the dangers of scientific progress without ethics. Hazel's clinic, in contrast, is based on consent and care.
Love vs. Societal Duty: Hazel must choose between a safe marriage to Bernard and her dangerous passion for Jack. She ultimately chooses romantic love and professional ambition over societal approval.
Mortality and the Pursuit of Knowledge: The epigraph from Frankenstein sets up the theme that death is key to understanding life. Hazel dissects corpses to learn, but she also accepts mortality; Jack's death and her rejection of immortality underscore that knowledge must serve the living.

5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Hazel decide to wear her brother George's clothes as a disguise? Hazel's brother George died of Roman fever, and his clothes are stored in the castle. She wears them to pass as a male student named George Hazelton because women are barred from medical lectures. The disguise also connects her to her lost brother, symbolizing her own desire to fill a role denied to her.

2. What is the significance of the wager with Dr. Beecham? After Straine expels Hazel, Beecham offers her a wager: if she passes the Physician's Examination without lectures or dissections, he will open his course to women and give her an apprenticeship. If she fails, she can never take the exam again. This raises the stakes and forces Hazel to find alternative means of study, leading her to work with Jack and run a clinic.

3. How does Hazel's relationship with Jack Currer change over the course of the novel? They begin as buyer and seller of corpses, with Hazel in control. Through grave-robbing and shared vulnerability, they develop mutual trust and affection. Jack becomes her assistant, protector, and eventual lover. His arrest and execution devastate her, but his survival hinted in the epilogue suggests their bond endures.

4. What does the gold tonic represent in terms of theme? The gold tonic grants immortality but also enables Beecham to commit murders for transplant rejection prevention. It symbolizes the moral cost of cheating death and the danger of knowledge without ethics. Hazel takes it but does not use it on herself; instead, she prioritizes Jack's life (and his refusal to take it) over her own.

5. Why does Hazel choose not to marry Bernard at the end of the novel? Hazel realizes that marriage to Bernard would require her to give up her medical practice and hide her true self. She declares she is already a physician and refuses to marry unless he accepts her career. When he does not fully support her, she burns his letters and embraces independence, choosing her vocation and her love for Jack over societal expectations.