Prudence Winterbottom Character Analysis in Walk Two Moons

Prudence is Phoebe’s older sister. She’s 17 and looks a lot like Mrs. Winterbottom, with a round face and blond ringlets. Like Phoebe, Prudence is totally blind to the fact that her mother is going through a difficult time emotionally. Prudence brushes off Mrs. Winterbottom’s attempts to start meaningful conversations about her life and seems to appreciate her mother only for her cooking and sewing skills. Prudence also doesn’t seem to take it as hard as Phoebe does when Mrs. Winterbottom goes missing, though she seems genuinely excited when her mother returns.

Prudence Winterbottom Quotes in Walk Two Moons

The Walk Two Moons quotes below are all either spoken by Prudence Winterbottom or refer to Prudence Winterbottom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Judgment, Perspective, and Storytelling Theme Icon

Ben touched Phoebe’s arm. She flinched. “Ha,” he said. “Gotcha. You’re jumpy, too, Free Bee.”

And that, too, bothered me. I had already noticed how tense Phoebe’s whole family seemed, how tidy, how respectable, how thumpingly stiff. Was I becoming like that? Why were they like that? A couple times I had seen Phoebe’s mother try to touch Phoebe or Prudence or Mr. Winterbottom, but they all drew back from her. It was as if they had outgrown her.

Had I been drawing away from my own mother? Did she have empty spaces left over? Was that why she left?

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Phoebe Winterbottom, Ben Finney, Mrs. Winterbottom, Mr. Winterbottom, Prudence Winterbottom

Page Number and Citation: 62

Explanation and Analysis:

What I started doing was remembering the day before my mother left. I did not know it was to be her last day home. Several times that day, my mother asked me if I wanted to walk up in the fields with her. It was drizzling outside, and I was cleaning my desk, and I just did not feel like going. “Maybe later,” I kept saying. When she asked me for about the tenth time, I said, “No! I don’t want to go. Why do you keep asking me?” I don’t know why I did that. I didn’t mean anything by it, but that was one of the last memories she had of me, and I wished I could take it back.

Related Characters: Salamanca “Sal” Tree Hiddle (speaker), Momma/Chanhassen “Sugar” Hiddle, Phoebe Winterbottom, Mrs. Winterbottom, Prudence Winterbottom

Page Number and Citation: 97

Explanation and Analysis:

Prudence Winterbottom Character Timeline in Walk Two Moons

The timeline below shows where the character Prudence Winterbottom appears in Walk Two Moons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Parents, Children, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...into a story about a time when she, Mrs. Winterbottom, Mr. Winterbottom, and Phoebe’s sister, Prudence, went to a state fair. There was a man there guessing people’s ages by looking... (full context)

...Mrs. Winterbottom when the woman suggests she’ll go back to work, now that Phoebe and Prudence are back in school. But again, no one comments on her suggestion, and she sighs.... (full context)

...Sal too. Phoebe’s family seems so stiff—is Sal becoming like them? She’s watched Phoebe and Prudence shrink away from Mrs. Winterbottom’s attempts to touch them, and she wonders if she withdrew... (full context)

When Sal and Phoebe come back downstairs, Mrs. Winterbottom is asking Prudence if she thinks she (Mrs. Winterbottom) “lead[s] a tiny life.” Prudence isn’t interested; she asks... (full context)

Just then, Prudence flies through the front door, wailing that she botched her cheerleading tryout. As Mrs. Winterbottom... (full context)

Prudence screeches that Mrs. Winterbottom can’t come watch as Phoebe comes back into the kitchen with... (full context)

...invites Sal in. There’s a pie and three notes on the table, one each for Prudence, Phoebe, and Mr. Winterbottom. Phoebe’s note reads that she should keep the doors locked and... (full context)

Prudence and Phoebe pepper Mr. Winterbottom with questions. Phoebe wants to call the police, since the... (full context)

Prudence races around the house getting ready, while Phoebe slowly dresses in wrinkled clothes. Downstairs, she... (full context)

...the house for bloodstains and hair. She collects hairs and marks suspicious spots with tape. Prudence gets home a bit later, thrilled that she made the cheerleading squad. Phoebe reminds Prudence... (full context)

...to Mrs. Cadaver. When he returns, he relays that Mrs. Winterbottom asked after Phoebe and Prudence, and that Mrs. Cadaver told her they were fine. Phoebe says she’s not fine, and... (full context)

...disgusting; after seeing that, she doesn’t need her mother anymore. When they get home, and Prudence shouts that Mrs. Winterbottom called and is coming home, Phoebe is unenthusiastic. (full context)

Prudence tells Phoebe and Mr. Winterbottom that Mrs. Winterbottom didn’t say much, but she did ask... (full context)

...and she hasn’t told Mr. Winterbottom what she saw. Phoebe says that Mr. Winterbottom and Prudence have been cleaning the house since last night—and this morning, her father decided to mess... (full context)

Sal finds Mr. Winterbottom, Phoebe, and Prudence sitting around, doing nothing. Mr. Winterbottom is a nervous wreck; he jumps up and sits... (full context)