Prudence Arnold

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jstevens1
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by jstevens1 »

Hi everyone!

Maybe it was just as well for Prudence that she was expelled because if she hadn't been she would have ended up an outcast like Gwendoline in Malory Towers (although things did work out for Gwen in Goodbye MT she had to go through a lot of hell first), only able to keep short-term friends and never on a long term basis and Gwen had only smashed up a fellow student's fountain pen!

I am wondering, though, if it had been anybody other than Carlotta and Bobby that had caught Prudence cheating that evening whether there might have been a different outcome, i.e. she might have reformed. Reason - Prudence disliked those two the most because Bobby and Carlotta did splash her around in the swimming pool and pull her legs from under her and then they did go on to play tricks on her and that led to Prudence getting back at Carlotta by condemning her as a "common circus girl". Due to Carlotta's popularity with the others and a much better academic record than Prudence, Prudence was told in no uncertain terms that the other girls looked down on her because of her snobby, boastful attitude. It did not help that Prue felt that she had to crib from Pam Boardman in order to get merely average marks because that made her boasting all the worse.

All in all, Prue got off on the wrong footing with everyone by overdoing the talk on the number of bedrooms she had. Because she was an only child like Gwen and had never really mixed with other children, she would have done better to have quietly blended in and seen how the other students interacted with one another - that would have avoided so much heartache later on.

I just hope that she really had "learned her lesson" after two weeks of being sent to Coventry before her expulsion and that she will be given guidance and support to enable her to get off to a better start at her new school.

At least Josephine Jones (aka) Alice from MT, another girl with shades of Prudence demonstrated that there was life after expulsion (she did pass School Cert at her other school and then returned to MT for the Sixth Form and became reconciled with her schoolmates) - so there is hope for Prudence yet!

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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Yak »

Heh not sure where you're getting the idea that Carlotta had a better academic record than Prudence ;). Carlotta was nearly always bottom at first and Prudence was said to have performed 'averagely'.

On thing that always struck me about the cheating scene tho is how Miss Theobald managed to make it down at least one flight of stairs 'in time to hear the end of Bobby's scornful speech' when she can only have been woken up at most twenty seconds previously.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Darrell71 »

Well said, that is mystifying!! The Had must have not taken a sec to stretch, and then speed walked, and jumped down 5 stairs at a time!! :shock: :lol: :lol:
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jstevens1
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by jstevens1 »

Ah Yak

With regards to "Heh not sure where you're getting the idea that Carlotta had a better academic record than Prudence ;). Carlotta was nearly always bottom at first and Prudence was said to have performed 'averagely'."

The thing is, Prudence managed to perform averagely only because she was cribbing from Pam Boardman! Later on, you will find that Mam'Zelle forces her to re-write a French essay because she told her that it had a lot of mistakes in it.

So, it could well be that Carlotta's academic record was superior to Prue's because at least she did the work off her own bat!

Kind regards

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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Yak »

Naw, she was already described as performing 'averagely' long before she took up with Pam as a friend :)
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by TheOriginalFive »

However, at the end of Summer Term, Prudence is described as settling near the bottom with Doris, Sadie, and Alison.

If Prudence's actions of passing on the note that caused Sadie to be kidnapped could be blamed directly on her, judging from the head's remarks about "staying and facing the trouble you caused", would she have ended up with a mark on her juvie record for aiding and abetting a crime?
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Moonraker »

Sadly Yak is no longer posting. Incidentally, the link to her forum is incorrect as she changed hosts ages ago. I did suggest that she changed the link, but she failed to do so.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by TheOriginalFive »

Is this a topic worth continuing regardless? I thought it was.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I'm certainly interested to hear people's thoughts. As I haven't read the St. Clare's series for years I can't add anything at the moment, but next time I read the books I'll remember this thread and bear people's comments in mind. It's interesting to reflect on the psychology of spiteful characters/misfits like Prudence, Elsie and Erica. As a child I simply accepted that some girls were expelled, but next time I read the series I'll spend a bit more time thinking about things.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

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Ignore what I said about Yak's forum link - it has been altered and is the correct address. :oops:
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Poppy »

Prudence's character is quite a complex one, in my opinion. She is so spiteful and malicious, but for some reason, whenever I read Summer Term at St Clares I always feel sorry for her. She just doesn't seem to be able to control her spite and in some instances she doesn't seem to realize that she's being spiteful.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by TheOriginalFive »

I think she's a hard one to change, and she has an awful temper, but nothing to show for it unlike Carlotta, who has a bad temper but is still likeable regardless.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

If I remember correctly, Carlotta can get very worked up and passionate about something but then her anger cools and she's back to her usual amiable self, not seeking to get anyone else into trouble. Prudence is quite different as she seems to seethe with spite almost constantly, looking out for opportunities to cause trouble for others.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by TheOriginalFive »

Prudence doesn't seem to think anything's wrong with telling tales, and to be honest, I didn't realize why it was wrong until much later in life*. I do think she was a fool for abetting Sadie's abduction, even if it was unwitting.

Upbringing might have something to do with it. Maybe she misunderstood her parents' high-class rearing as license to look down on the "less fortunate," then, as we know, misunderstood why Carlotta was liked by the class. I know I tend to misinterpret a lot of things as being directed at me or the world not "giving me what I deserve."

Not to worry, I don't think the world owes me anything anymore, and I'm trying to shake off that tendency to take things personally.

*I didn't get expelled, but I got snubbed because almost everyone was afraid I'd make mountains out of molehills.
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Re: Prudence Arnold

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I'm sorry you got snubbed, TheOriginalFive. I wonder whether you ever had the chance to make amends and be accepted by the people who snubbed you, or whether that was impossible and you had to move on and form new friendships. You're under no pressure to tell us of course, but it made me think about Prudence leaving St. Clare's. It's so long since I've read Summer Term that I can't remember how Prudence feels at the end of the book, or how the other girls feel about her, but if she has learnt a few lessons from her experience at St. Clare's, maybe she'll fare better when she has a fresh start at a new school.
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