We don't have too many evocations of the characters' past.
Some flashbacks like Ellie and Julia would be good to give substance to the characters.
Maybe you are right, Sophia is just kind.
After class, there is an allusion to the novels :
'Wuthering Heights', Emily Brontë
'
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' and '
Jane Eyre', Anne Brontë
'
Intrigue and Love', Friedrich von Schiller
'
The Sorrows of Young Werther', Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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I don't know what is the implicit message but these books tell forbidden love stories.
By choosing to study these books, Sophia surely has an idea behind her head.
Either Sophia is really into the idea of opening Emma's mind, or she wants to put some forbidden ideas into Emma's head. Who knows ?