Lyddie

Lyddie encounters a number of people who become her mentors or helpers. The Stevens family offers her help, paying a substantial sum for the calf she wants to sell. They also look after the Worthen farm in her absence. Luke Stevens, in particular, cares a great deal for Lyddie and eventually asks to marry her. From Ezekial Abernathy, a slave she helps, she learns about the concept of slavery and determines to become independent herself. When Lyddie takes her first job at Cutler's Tavern, the cook Triphena allows her to return to the Worthen farm to check up on things. Then, when Lyddie is fired for making the trip, Triphena gives her money and shoes for her journey to Concord. In Concord, Mrs. Bedlow, who runs the boarding house, takes pity on Lyddie and even bends the rules when Rachel comes to stay with her.

Perhaps Lyddie's most important mentor is Diana Goss, who teaches her how to run the looms and to question her treatment at the factory. Diana is viewed as a radical because she fights for labor reform, yet she never forces her ideas on Lyddie. Diana, who is an orphan, thinks of the factory girls as her family and treats Lyddie as a sister.

She sees that Lyddie has postage and paper to write to her family and finds a doctor to care for Lyddie when she is injured. Ultimately, Diana leaves the mill because she becomes pregnant, not because of her participation in the Female Labor Reform Association. Significantly, Lyddie seeks Diana out when she also leaves the factory.