Who is Sister Cecily (Elspeth) Scallon from In This House of Brede and what is their importance?

Cecily becomes a nun at the age of twenty-three. This young woman reminds Philippa of Penny, a worker from her old office. Cecily soon impresses the sisters with her ability to sing and play the organ. Cecily is beautiful and easily loved, a combination which becomes a hindrance to her in her effort to fulfill her duties as a nun. It is Cecily's struggle with her decision of whether or not she should commit to Brede that the reader sees most clearly. Her fellow nuns at first believe Cecily joins the abbey to get away from her over bearing mother. Cecily also struggles with her natural desire to have children, to love a man, and to have a place of her own before she conclusively decides a life at Brede is what she has been called to.