Caddie Woodlawn

“Wild horses could not prevent her from being the first to tell, whatever it was that happened.”

Hetty’s tendency to tattletale annoys her siblings and often gets them in trouble. However, as Caddie matures, she recognizes Hetty’s loneliness and determines that her tattletale behavior is a ploy for attention. Caddie’s relationship with Hetty blossoms in the remainder of the book, as Caddie becomes more empathetic toward Hetty and the girls promise to be closer in the future.

“A young lady, indeed! Who wanted to be a young lady? Certainly not Caddie!”

After a childhood filled with adventures with her brothers, Caddie struggles to adjust to expectations that she become more ladylike. This struggle marks most of the novel, as Caddie resists the behaviors and attitudes expected of a lady, is admonished by her mother, and wonders whether she can ever fit the mold. It is only after her father changes her idea of what it means to be a woman that Caddie can move forward and begin to grow up.

“Sometimes Caddie envied Mother and Clara, who were so dark and calm and beautiful, who seemed to find it so easy to be clean and good.”

Though she fears the restrictions of being a lady, Caddie does recognize the appeal of that lifestyle. At different times she envies her mother, Clara, and later Annabelle for the ease with which they embody ladylike qualities. This envy signals that although Caddie is rugged and independent, part of her wishes to be like those other women.

“Something of sadness filled her young heart, as if she knew they were a doomed race. The pigeons, like the Indians, were fighting a losing battle with the white man.”

Caddie’s compassion is often her driving force. In this case, her compassion allows her to see the error in going after those who cannot defend themselves. Caddie sees parallels between the pigeons and the Native Americans in their area, who are being driven away and pushed out by white settlers. Caddie’s father later explains that a woman’s job is to teach men compassion, which partly sparks Caddie’s realization that she is ready to grow up.

“Pioneer children were always having mishaps, but they were expected to know how to use their heads in emergencies.”

After Caddie falls through the ice, Tom instructs Warren to lay down on the ice and then pushes him forward to Caddie’s flailing arms. His quick, good judgment saves Caddie’s life. There are several instances where the children are in dangerous situations with no adult nearby. This reality forces pioneer parents to put a great deal of responsibility into the hands of their children, and if the Woodlawns are any indication, the children often live up to expectations.

“It was a hard struggle, but what I have in life I have earned with my own hands. I have done well, and I have an honest man’s pride. I want no lands and honors which I have not won by my own good sense and industry.”

Mr. Woodlawn’s father was disowned by his father for marrying beneath his class. Instead of being the son of an English lord, Mr. Woodlawn grew up poor and hungry. Despite a difficult youth, Mr. Woodlawn is proud of who he has become and what he has earned without anyone else’s help. When the estate is later left to him, Mr. Woodlawn hesitates to accept the title and wealth, as he would rather work for what he has.

“I am willing to stake my farm, and a good deal that I hold dear besides, on the honor and friendliness of the Indians hereabouts.”

Mr. Woodlawn, like his children, has had positive interactions with the nearby Native Americans. He does not fall prey to rumors or exhibit racism like many of his neighbors do. Mr. Woodlawn’s belief in the Native Americans’ peacefulness helps debunk the massacre rumor, saving Indian John and his people.

“The fear spread like a disease, nourished on rumors and race hatred. For many years now the whites had lived at peace with the Indians of western Wisconsin, but so great was this disease of fear that even a tavern rumor could spread it like an epidemic throughout the country.”

Brink includes this information to highlight the dangers that Native Americans faced during this era. The white settlers distrust the Native Americans, with whom they have limited exposure. Though there have been no massacres lately, the white settlers do not know any Native Americans and so have not learned to trust them.

“Would those men whom she had heard talking by the cellar door believe a little girl when she told them that Indian John’s tribe was at peace? She did not know. Savages were savages, but what could one expect of civilized men who plotted massacre?”

When Caddie hears the men plotting to massacre Indian John and his people, she wonders if that is worse than the other way around. Caddie believes the Native Americans are savages, suggesting that they are too simple to understand the horror they incur with a massacre. She believes that white men should know better, considering their education, morality, and religion. Though Caddie is compassionate, she does harbor some prejudiced ideas.

“Instantly they moved to do his bidding. One spread a buffalo skin for her to sit on. Another ladled something hot and tasty into a cup without a handle.”

When Caddie warns Indian John and his people, they treat her with kindness. Before John understands her message, he ensures she is warm and fed. When he speaks to the women around the fire, they quickly move to make Caddie comfortable. This scene solidifies the reader’s understanding that John and his tribe are caring people.

“‘My people fear yours, John. Many times I have told them that you are our friends. They do not always believe.’ ‘My people foolish sometime, too,’ said John. ‘Not now. They no kill white. Red Beard my friend.’”

Indian John and John Woodlawn represent the best of their groups. They are each willing to hear the other out, trust that they hold one another’s interests in mind, and work to ensure peace. The trust and kindness they extend to one another, despite their peers displaying the opposite, represents people’s ability to live harmoniously, regardless of differences.

“But, although it all came to nothing and folks could laugh at the ‘massacree scare’ at last, still it left with many people a deeper fear and hatred of the Indians than they had ever felt before.”

The fear stirred up by the massacre rumor is enough to send some back east, and that fear is not easily forgotten by those who stay. Mrs. Woodlawn later questions why this is. Because the scare was a rumor, and so all in people’s heads, so she doesn’t understand why it makes them dislike the Native Americans more. Brink suggests that much fear comes from the ability to imagine worst-case scenarios.

“You see, Mr. Hankinson married her when there were very few white people in this country. He was not ashamed of her then. But now that there are more and more of his own people coming to live here, he is ashamed that his wife should be an Indian.”

After Caddie and the other children watch the heartbreaking scene where the Hankinson children say goodbye to their Native American mother, Caddie asks her mom why they had to say goodbye at all. Mrs. Woodlawn’s explanation dovetails with the idea that the white settlers are fearful of what they do not know. As Mr. Hankinson becomes surrounded by more white people, he falls prey to their mentality, driving his wife out of his life.

“No, Tom, it had to be all of it. I wanted to drive that awful lonesome look out of their eyes, and it did, Tom. It did!”

Caddie takes the Hankinson children to the store and spends her entire silver dollar on them. Tom questions why she didn’t save some of the money for herself. Caddie pities the children because their mother has just left, and she feels like she has to do whatever she can to help them. Spending only part of her money would feel like she was only partly helping them. Doing all she can means spending the entire dollar, which highlights Caddie’s empathy.

“Nearer Caddie’s age, I believe, but well—she’s been reared as a lady, and will be nicely finished, I am sure.”

Mrs. Woodlawn describes Annabelle in a way that criticizes Caddie. Her description creates a contrast between the two girls, with Annabelle being ladylike and finished, unlike Caddie. Mrs. Woodlawn is often exasperated and sometimes angry at Caddie’s inability or unwillingness to act ladylike. In this moment readers also see that it sometimes hurts Caddie that her mother values ladylike qualities instead of appreciating Caddie as she is.

“I guess it’s my fault, ’cause I taught him that. You see, it’s the first piece he ever spoke and I guess he’s pretty scared. I hope you’ll forgive him and lay the blame on me.”

The novel repeatedly highlights the Woodlawn siblings’ strong relationship. In this moment Tom takes responsibility for Warren’s mistake, trying to save him from being hit with the ruler. Tom demonstrates loyalty toward his brother, even though it means he might be punished alongside Warren. Instead, Miss Parker is understanding, and she compliments the children for being good, likely in part because of their closeness and willingness to stand up for one another.

“It’s kind of nice to be just us two alone, too, isn’t it? Without the boys. But I guess it’s more fun for you with the boys.”

As Caddie matures, she realizes how alone Hetty must feel. In this moment Hetty shows her vulnerability to Caddie, sharing her perception that Caddie prefers her brothers’ company. When Caddie assures Hetty that sometimes she doesn’t and express hope they will spend more time together, Brink is highlighting Caddie’s empathetic nature and the strength of the siblings’ relationship.

“I want you to show me everything in your savage country. I want to be just as uncivilized as you are while I am here.”

Cousin Annabelle does not make a positive first impression on Tom, Caddie, and Warren. Her constant chatter about Boston’s superiority annoys the children. When she suggests that she stoop to the level of those who live in Wisconsin, the children decide to play tricks on her as repayment for her haughtiness. This episode highlights the Woodlawn children’s pride in their home and their belief that no one should look down on Wisconsin or its people.

“She knew that they would take her in, and then she would never have to grow into that hateful thing which Mother was always talking about—a lady. A lady with fine airs and mincing walk who was afraid to go out into the sun without a hat or a sunshade! A lady, who made samplers and wore stays and was falsely polite no matter how she felt!”

Caddie has repeatedly been told by her mother, and some others, that she ought to be more ladylike. Caddie’s childhood has been filled with nature and adventure, so the idea of hiding from the sun or wearing restrictive clothing is abhorrent to her. Additionally, Caddie has spent her youth exchanging ideas and opinions with others; for instance, she stands up against Obediah in school and often contradicts her brothers. To Caddie, being a lady who smiles and nods even when someone says something wrong sounds terrible; it runs counter to everything that comes natural to her.

“I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind.”

Caddie’s father understands Caddie’s nature, and he takes some responsibility for it, as he encouraged Mrs. Woodlawn to let Caddie run free. When he speaks to Caddie about growing up, he is careful to debunk her belief that she has to be the kind of lady who doesn’t go outside or speak her mind. Mr. Woodlawn assures Caddie that what women do is equally as important as what men do. After this conversation, Caddie realizes that she doesn’t have to fit the stereotypical mold for ladies; she can grow up without losing who she is.

“But try as she would to see it clearly, the iron bars of a closed gate were always between, just as they had been when Father first described it.”

When Caddie hears that her father might accept the lordship in England, she cannot forget that at one point in her father’s life, he was denied that lifestyle. The gate symbolizes her grandfather’s misplaced pride and how it denied his son and his offspring access to the family’s wealth and status. Caddie feels great empathy for that young boy who was treated so poorly. The idea of forgetting about that wrong runs counter to Caddie’s sense of pride.

“But he did speak briefly of the freedom which belonged to them in a new country, and he said that, although they might never be rich or famous in America, they would have the satisfaction of knowing that what they had they had made for themselves.”

Though Mr. Woodlawn was denied an aristocratic childhood, he believes that his life in Wisconsin is a success. At various points in the novel, Mr. Woodlawn expresses that it is far more satisfying to have earned your own success than to have had it given to you. When the children debate whether to stay in America or move to England, they discuss the value of working for what you have and striking out on your own path, showing that Mr. Woodlawn’s beliefs have affected his children’s views.

“I never knew how much I loved it here until I had to choose—better than England...better than Boston!”

Throughout the novel Mrs. Woodlawn becomes more comfortable with the Wisconsin lifestyle. She is also a dedicated mother, and when she realizes how happy her family is in Wisconsin, she cannot take that away from them.