Comic Strip / The Adventures of Prudence Prim

Oh Prudence!

Now Prudy secretly defied her aunties' stubborn will.
She dreamed of wild adventures that her girlish heart should thrill!
And though she sat demurely, looking fair and sweet and slim,.
She was a little rebel — though her name was Prudence Prim.

The Adventures of Prudence Prim is a series of single-page, multi-panel comics illustrated by Nell Brinkley with verses by Carolyn Wells for the cover of Sunday-only news supplement The American Weekly. Published between October 1925 and February 1926, the serial follows the adventures of young Prudence Prim as she moves to the big city to pursue adventure and romance — so long as she can avoid the prying eyes of her stuffy maiden aunts Jane and Abigale!

The series was a marked departure from Brinkley's earlier serials on several fronts, notably in tone and format. While her earlier works featured heroines who fought in wars, faced down spies, lived out epic romances, and got involved in other high-stakes escapades, the Prudence comics had a much lighter, more irreverent touch. The biggest obstacle Prudence faces is keeping her freewheeling antics hidden from her straight-laced family, falling neatly in the Slice of Life genre. Prudence was also Brinkley's first big foray into multi-panel comics, a field she had expressed reluctance to enter. Her previous work for the papers generally comprised of a lone illustration with caption; the art captured a single dramatic instance while the paragraph-length captions supplied context and dialogue. For the multi-panel Prudence, Brinkley put her own spin on the format by filling the page with flowing, organically plotted vignettes that refused to conform to the grid-format that other newspaper comics of the day had standardized. There are no speech bubbles, just the body language of Brinkley's illustrations to convey the actions and snippets of dialogue described in Wells' verse. These vignettes and captions were usually arranged around a single full-body "glamour shot" that dominated the page, capitalizing on Brinkley's signature style and the sumptuously illustrated fashion her modern heroine got to wear.

The Prudence comic proved so popular that The American Weekly would hire the team of Brinkley and Wells again to produce another serial, The Fortunes of Flossie.

Due to the age of the source material, spoilers below are unmarked. A recap page that delves into more detail about individual strips is also available.

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Tropes Present in Prudence Prim Include:

• '20s Bob Haircut: Prudence's hair is quite curly (as was common on Brinkley heroines) and cut on the shorter side when the comic begins — she wears it either piled up atop her head or tucked under a stylish cloche, but it isn't a proper bobbed haircut. She does get the bob several installments in, after visiting a beauty parlor at the boardwalk to get a makeover. Her old-fashioned aunties certainly don't approve of the new look, and the bob gave way to Prudence's regular curls not long after.
• Alliterative Name:
  • Prudence Prim, protagonist of the serial.
  • One of Prudence's flings is named Will Wildman.
  • Prudence eventually marries a man named Dicky Dare.
• Arc Words: Overlaps with Catchphrase, Phrase Catcher, and Share Phrase. "Your Christian name is Prudence, and your other name is Prim" and its variations. Prudence's mother and aunts remind her of the fact as often as they can to encourage her to act properly or shame her for going off on adventures. Prudence herself repeats the phrase whenever she find herself in a tricky social situation or tempted to do something risqué.
• Catchphrase: Overlaps with Phrase Catcher and Share Phrase for Prudence, who repeats "my name is Prudence Prim" and its variations throughout the work.
• Costume Porn: Much of the appeal of Brinkley's style is the gorgeous, trendy clothes she dresses her heroines in, and Prudence is no exception. Although Prudence lives with her spinster aunts who explicitly disapprove of modern fashion, she wears some truly fabulous outfits when she sneaks out for her adventures. Her dresses, coats, caps, and stockings are all lovingly rendered, and several outfits get special mention in accompanying verses by Carolyn Wells. Some stand-out examples include:
  • One October 1925 page finds Prudence taking an autumn walk in a fitted, fur-lined, knee-length coat and feather-bedecked cloche in matching shades of taupe. She pairs them with a string of pearls, golden minaudière, and a long red scarf with paisley print.
  • A December 1925 page sees Prudence wearing a bright yellow dress with silk roses pinned to a gauzy overskirt, accessorized with matching rose-print stockings, a white cloche, a handbag with silk roses attached, and pumps with bright yellow flowers on the vamps.
    Then Prudence Prim put on a frock that very few would dare.
    Although it wasn't very long, it had great width of flare.
    A rose upon her shoulder, and a corresponding rose
    Embroidered on the— well, the shins— of both her silken hose!
  • A January 1926 page gives special mention to Prudence's adorable, impractical chiffon pajamas:
    The Aunties wore their nightgowns with sleeves down to their hands,
    And High necks, close up to their throats, with tatting on the bands.
    They didn't know that Prudy had bought herself some sets
    Of rose chiffon pajamas, with embroidered trouserettes.
  • Another January page features two striking outfits for adventures in the New England mountains. The first is a mountain climbing outfit consisting of a brightly patterned sweater and matching cap in blue and green, a bright yellow neckerchief, loose sporting bloomers, and knee-high climbing boots. Her hiking outfit consists of a striped "kilt", pale sweater, feathered cloche, knee-high socks and dainty oxfords (though in all fairness, the men in her hiking party are wearing suits with bowties and oxfords with argyle socks).
• Country Cousin: Downplayed — Prudence is a country girl born a bred, but she loves the idea of living in a big city. After convincing her mother to let her move in with her spinster aunts in their city house, Prudence takes to the fashion and fun of the town with exuberance. She's still quite shy though, and often finds herself retreating home when confronted with flirtatious gentlemen.
• Engaging Conversation: Dicky proposes to Prudence after falling in Love at First Sight and talking with her for an hour.
  She brought the two together, and they fell in love with speed!
  Oh never did a love affair at such a rate proceed!
  Dicky proposed within the hour! (You must admit, that's quick!)
  He said, "I love you, Prudy!" and she said, "I love you, Dick!"
• Fashion Dissonance: Brinkley's work was much beloved for the trendy and modern styles that her heroines wore, and Prudence is no exception. The work is brimming with fashions that would come to be emblematic of the 1920's, including:
  • Prudence gets a '20s Bob Haircut that causes a stir with her aunts.
  • Makeup trends specifically mentioned include rouged cheeks, eyebrows plucked "down to a thin, straight line," and the use of henna shampoo.
  • Most of Prudence's outfits for going out are accessorized with a matching hat, usually a cloche.
  • Prudence's dresses fall mostly between the knee and the calf. Even the "daring" outfits that send her conservative aunts up the wall fall to the knee.
  • The "bathing costume" worn at the beach is a typical "bathing frock" of the era, with a matching swim cap.
  • Some of the stranger fads of the 1920's make an appearance, like Painted Knees.
• Fat and Skinny: Aunt Jane is tall and thin, with a stretched oval of a face and dark, straight hair pulled up in a severe bun. When her hands are drawn, they appear thin and boney. Aunt Abigale is much rounder — she has a wide, fleshy face accessorized with round glasses and curly white hair that she wears in a puffy, beehive-like hairdo.
• The Flapper: While she doesn't consider herself to be a flapper, Prudence does make an effort to hang out with the popular crowds of modern gentlemen and stylish women her own age, several of whom are referred to as flappers in the captioning verses.
  But she couldn't talk their language, and she couldn't understand
  Half of their merry banter, though she thought it all was grand!
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Exaggerated — After having met at a Musicale and talked for barely an hour, Prudence and Dicky have fallen in love and agreed to elope. The closing lines state that she changed her name, confirming that they've gotten married.
• Have a Gay Old Time: The modern, stylish friends Prudence makes in the big city are often referred to as "gay", in the vivacious and joyful manner.
  Miss Prudy Prim grew friendly with a gay and festive crowd;
  Their manners were quite noisy and their laughter was quite loud.
• Leg Focus: Prudence dresses in modern, stylish clothes for the 1920's, which means knee-length hems with stockings on display. There are two notable instances where her legs and stockings get the spotlight:
  • A December 1925 page sees Prudence matching a dress with silk roses to a pair of hose with embroidered roses on the shin. The hose get special mention in the verse that captions the panel of her getting dolled up.
  • A February 1926 page mentions Prudence taking part in one of the stranger makeup trends of the 1920's: painted knees.
    Her skirt was short, her stockings neatly rolled and— if you please—
    Two highly colored landscapes were painted on her knees!
• Love at First Sight: Exaggerated — Protagonist Prudence falls in love with Dicky Dare when they lock eyes across a party, but she's far too nervous to strike up a conversation with her strict aunts around to chaperone her. Dicky feels similarly, but he convinces the hostess to intervene so he can introduce himself to Prudence and have a word with her on a private balcony. The two wind up engaged within the hour and married before the night is over.
  When Prudy first saw Dicky Dare hear heart just skipped a beat.
  She shyly though, "Now there's a man I'd really like to meet."
  ...Thought Dicky, "I must meet that girl—and I mean to do it, too!"
  He sought the hostess, and he said "Oh, introduce us, do!"
• Maiden Aunt: Prudence has two — Aunt Jane and Aunt Abigale. They're the typical stuffy old spinster types, wearing frumpy old gowns and frowning on anything modern or risqué — but they do love their niece dearly. Prudence moves in with her aunts and they appear to support her financially, allowing her to use their "charge account" to purchase new clothes and bringing her along on vacations to the sea shore and the mountains.
  Back in the busy city, our Prudy chanced to say,
  "Do you know, aunts, I never have been to a cabaret!"
  "And never will!" one aunt snapped out, and then the other said,
  "I'm shocked at you, Niece Prudence! Go right upstairs to bed!"
• The Man in the Moon: A face appears on the moon in the fourth panel of the final installment, smiling down as Prudence Prim and Dicky Dare confess their love for each other.
• Meaningful Name: The protagonist was saddled with the Christian name "Prudence" by her mother and the family name "Prim," and is repeatedly encouraged to live up to both halves of the name. She's expected to exercise discretion in all manners, especially in her social conduct, and follow her family's traditional values lest she should bring shame upon the Prim family.
• Meaningful Rename: In the final installment, Prudence marries a man named Dicky Dare and changes her last name from "Prim" to "Dare," reflecting that fact that she's become more courageous, confident, and adventurous.
  He said, "Come, Darling, let's elope!" and drew her close to him.
  She said "No, no! My name is Prudence, and my other name is Prim!"
  "Come, Sweet— a special license—" and ere she was aware—
  Her Christian name was Prudence— but her other name was Dare!
• Odd-Shaped Panel: The strip's format consists of several small vignettes arranged around a larger, more detailed glamour shot. While the the position of the glamour shot varies from inciting incident to concluding panel, they serve as an opportunity to show off Brinkley's famous sense of style. Panel borders are highly organic, ranging from amorphous and undefined to highly decorative.
• Phrase Catcher: Overlaps with Catchphrase and Share Phrase — Prudence's mother and her aunts never miss an opportunity to tell her "your name is Prudence Prim" and its variations.
• Putto: As in Brinkley's earlier work "Golden Eyes" and Her Hero "Bill", winged cherubs appear to augment Prudence's romantic moods and add a comedic element to the series.
  • A winged cherub appears when Prudence finds herself daydreaming about a man who offered her a ride in his automobile (only for Prudence to jump in a cab to get away from him). The putto can be seen sketching the man's features on a notepad while Prudence sighs on a couch.
  • Two make an appearance when Prudence accepts an invitation to tea with a gentleman she's just met — one firing an arrow into the man's heart, while the other clasps his hands and gazes skywards in exasperation.
  • When Prudence escapes from the attentions of a flirtatious moviegoer at the boardwalk, a putto can be seen with his hands on his hips as she jaunts away.
  • And finally, one can be seen in the final installment driving the car that Prudence and Dicky ride in as they elope.
• The Roaring '20s: The serial was published between October 1925 and February 1926 and focused on the modern adventures of a girl looking for adventure and love in the big city. Protagonist Prudence Prim finds herself caught up between the conservative bent of her family — personified by her old-fashioned Maiden Aunts; and the freewheeling lifestyle of her new friends and love interests — who are described as flappers or "quite up-to-date and gay."
• Share Phrase: Overlaps with Catchphrase and Phrase Catcher. Prudence announces "my name is Prudence Prim" as often as her mother and aunts remind her "your name is Prudence Prim" and its variations.
• Signature Headgear: Aunt Jane wears a large hair comb topped with several round baubles. The effect is rather like a small crown, reflecting Aunt Jane's overbearing nature.
• Slice of Life: The series marked a departure from Brinkley's earlier serials where the heroines fought in wars, fell prey to kidnappers, faced down spies, and generally got involved in other high-stakes adventures with faithful boyfriends at their side. By contrast, Prudence is a single girl living it up in the big city. Her titular "Adventures" are her day-to-day attempts at finding romance, dressing stylishly, and keeping up with her outrageous flapper friends all while avoiding the prying eyes of her prim and proper aunts.
• Smooch of Victory: Invoked — a young man saves Prudence from falling off a ledge while hiking, and demands a kiss from her as a reward (despite her protests).
  A young man caught her in his arms and drew her close to him.
  "Don't, don't!" she cried. "I'm Prudence, and my family name is Prim!"
  "Indeed! Well my name's Conquest, and I can tell you, Miss,
  I rescued you from danger, and— I deserve a kiss!"

• Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids: Strict aunts make for sneaky nieces. Many of Prudence's adventures begin when she sneaks out of her aunts' house to take a walk in the park or meet up with friends for dinner.

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