Haec femina pauperior est quam illa, sed animus eius fortis est.

Haec means this and agrees with femina in gender, number, and case. So haec femina means this woman.

Latin often uses a demonstrative like hic, haec, hoc when it wants to point someone out more specifically. Without haec, femina would simply mean woman or the woman, depending on context.

Here:

• haec = this
• femina = woman

Together they form this woman.

Yes. Both are feminine singular nominative because they refer to women.

• haec = this / this woman
• illa = that / that woman

They match the implied or expressed noun in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: nominative

Since femina is feminine singular nominative, haec must be too. And because illa stands for that woman, it is also feminine singular nominative.

It could be illa femina, but Latin often leaves out a noun when it is obvious from context.

So:

• haec femina ... quam illa
  literally means
• this woman ... than that one

Here illa means that woman even though femina is omitted. English does something similar with that one.

This is a very common feature of Latin: a demonstrative or adjective can stand by itself when the noun is understood.

Pauperior is the comparative form of pauper (poor).

Latin comparatives work much like English:

• pauper = poor
• pauperior = poorer

So haec femina pauperior est quam illa means this woman is poorer than that one.

The form pauperior here is:

• feminine singular nominative, agreeing with femina

Comparative adjectives in Latin often use forms ending in:

• -ior for masculine/feminine
• -ius for neuter

Quam means than in a comparison.

So:

• pauperior est quam illa = is poorer than that one

This is the standard Latin pattern for many comparisons:

• comparative adjective + quam + same case

Here both things being compared are nominative:

• haec femina
• illa (understood as illa femina)

So the structure is very straightforward:

• pauperior ... quam illa

Because each part has its own predicate.

1. Haec femina pauperior est quam illa

   • This woman is poorer than that one

2. sed animus eius fortis est

   • but her spirit/mind is strong

Latin can sometimes omit est when it is easily understood, but here it is stated in both clauses. That makes the sentence clear and balanced.

Sed means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• this woman is poorer than that one
• but her spirit is strong

Latin word order is more flexible than English, but sed commonly comes near the beginning of the second clause, just as but does in English.

Both animus eius and eius animus can mean her spirit or her mind. Latin word order is flexible.

In this sentence:

• animus eius = literally the spirit of her

The genitive eius means of her / her. Putting it after the noun is perfectly normal.

The order can affect emphasis a little, but not the basic meaning. Latin readers understand the relationship mainly from the endings, not from position alone.

This is a very important Latin point.

• eius means his/her/its, referring to someone else
• suus, sua, suum means his/her/its own, referring back to the subject of the same clause

In sed animus eius fortis est, the subject of this clause is animus (spirit), not femina. So Latin does not use suus here.

That is why eius is correct:

• animus eius = her spirit

If Latin used animus suus, it would normally mean its own spirit, referring back to animus, which would not make sense here.

Animus can mean several related things depending on context:

• mind
• spirit
• heart
• courage
• character

In this sentence, because it is followed by fortis est (is strong/brave), animus probably means something like:

• spirit
• courage
• inner character

So the idea is not about physical strength or intelligence, but about inner strength.

Because the sentence is not making a comparison in the second clause. It is simply stating a quality.

• fortis = strong, brave
• fortior = stronger, braver

So:

• animus eius fortis est = her spirit is strong not
• her spirit is stronger

Only the first clause is comparative:

• pauperior ... quam illa = poorer than that one

The second clause is just descriptive.

Femina is nominative singular here because it is the subject of est.

You can tell from both form and function:

• form: femina is the nominative singular form
• function: it is the person being described as pauperior

So in:

• Haec femina pauperior est the subject is haec femina

The word order is perfectly normal Latin.

English depends heavily on word order for meaning, but Latin depends much more on endings. That gives Latin more flexibility.

This sentence is arranged in a natural Latin way:

• Haec femina pauperior est quam illa, sed animus eius fortis est.

A learner might expect something more mechanically like:

• Haec femina est pauperior quam illa, sed eius animus est fortis.

That would still be understandable, but Latin often places:

• important descriptive words near the end,
• verbs after predicate adjectives,
• possessors either before or after the noun.

So the given word order is idiomatic and not unusual.