Prudence Hardman is the daughter of Silvia Higgins, a Quaker mother of three who meets Jamie while he's with the Continental army. She and her family later come to Fraser's Ridge, assisted by Rachel and Ian Fraser Murray.
Personal History[]
Prior to the outbreak of war, Prudence was living with her father Gabriel Hardman, her mother Silvia, and her sister Patience 5 miles outside of Philadelphia, on Mulberry road.[3]. Their home is very rural, at least a mile from any other dwelling.[4] She and her family were practicing Quakers who attended the yearly meeting and used plain speech. However, in contravention of Quaker rules, her father Gabriel supported the rebels, which created conflict between her parents.[5]
In or around 1776, her father went out hunting and did not return. Her mother believes he was shot for being a Quaker and refusing to fight, and Prudence agrees with this view. Without their father to protect them, men from both sides of the army began visiting the cabin and occasionally her mother would take them into the shed, while Prudence and her sister slept in the cabin. Eventually her mother became pregnant and had Prudence's youngest sister, Chasity.[6] They are extremely poor, and Prudence is undernourished for a child her age.
Events of the Novels[]
Written in My Own Heart's Blood[]
In June 1777, a group of Continental generals use her house for a strategic meeting. She and her sister Patience hide under the bed during this meeting, while her mother watches the men from a corner.[7]
She watches as the other men leave and her mother is paid for allowing the men to use the house for their meeting. However, one of the men, Jamie Fraser, suffers a sudden back spasm and collapses onto the bed that she and Patience are hiding under. When her mother offers Jamie rhubarb syrup as a remedy, Prudence feels compelled to offer her advice to Jamie. Jamie remains in their house for several days, mostly unable to do anything but lie on the bed due to his back. However, he does provide her mother with money, which she and her sister use to buy a large amount of food. She and Patience help Jamie to the privy, but bicker while doing so.[8]
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone[]
By 1779, Prudence's house is even more dilapidated, and her mother is still reliant on sex work for food and money to feed their family. She and her sister are now aware of her mother's frequent visitors, though her mother still sends them outside during their visits. They are also tasked with keeping Chasity quiet during these periods.
During one such visit, Prudence is initially suspicious when Ian Fraser Murray arrives, but is pleased once she finds out he's there on behalf of Jamie, and not as another customer of her mother. However, when Chasity begins crying, her mother's customer comes out and, furious at the interruption, screams at the girls and hits Silvia in front of them. The girls watch in horror as Ian and the customer fight, and Ian kills him by stabbing him in the eye.[9]. Prudence and her mother and sisters pack their bags and ride with Ian to his house in Philadelphia, where they meet Rachel Murray and Jenny Murray. The girls are put to bed. After several days, her mother decides the family will leave Philadelphia and travel with the Murray family to meet the Mohawk in New York.
While visiting the Mohawk, her mother runs into Gabriel, who was indeed initially kidnapped by Indians, but was later freed and and has taken another wife and had more children. He asks after Prudence and her sister. Prudence and Patience are overjoyed to be reunited with their father. Silvia urges Gabriel to tell them he has taken another wife and had more children, but it's unknown whether he does so. After the visit, Silvia, who has officially divorced Gabriel, takes all three girls to Fraser's Ridge with the Murrays.
Prudence and her mother and sisters arrive at the Ridge in March 1780, where they live in the Big House. Prudence and Patience begin making friends with Frances Pocock, Jamie and Claire Fraser's adopted daughter.[10] Six months later in September 1780, they are present for the birth of Davy Mackenzie, Brianna Mackenzie and Roger Mackenzie's third child.[11]
In the spring of 1781, Prudence is present for her mother's marriage to Bobby Higgins. She gains three new stepbrothers and a stepfather, and is enthusiastic about the marriage and her new stepbrothers.[12]
Personality[]
Prudence is outspoken and friendly. She is often given the responsibility of managing her youngest sister, Chastity, and feels very protective over her sisters and mother. She consistently uses plain speech, in accordance with her Quaker faith.
Physical Appearance[]
Like her sister, she is a thin and small for her age.[13]
Name[]
Trivia[]
- It is never specified whether she is older or younger than Patience, but it seems as though she might be younger, since her mother tends to give Patience slightly more responsibility of the pair.
References[]
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 10. Prudence is implied to be very close in age to Patience, who Jamie estimates as around 9 or 10 in 1777, but her official age is unknown
- ↑ Age as of the end of Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 59.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 59.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 10.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 12.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 10.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 19.
- ↑ Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, chapter 77.
- ↑ Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, chapter 115.
- ↑ Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, chapter 140.
- ↑ Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, chapter 155.
- ↑ Written in My Own Heart's Blood, chapter 10.