Riding Freedom; Character Charlotte

Charlotte is the novel’s protagonist. Although the book is a work of fiction, her character is based on the real Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst. Ryan portrays Charlotte as a larger-than-life character from the beginning of the novel. As a baby, she survived fevers that no other child would have survived. She hit all the typical toddler milestones at an extremely early age, having “walked before most babies crawled” (11). She also never cried. Charlotte also had an almost supernatural connection with horses. When her parents were killed in a wagon accident, Charlotte was found grasping the rein of one of the horses while the rest of them stood around protecting her.

Charlotte was raised in an orphanage full of boys. She was the only girl. The author speculates that this may have contributed to her rough and tumble personality but suggests it may have been “just her spit and fire” (14). Though Charlotte was made to work in the orphanage’s kitchen because she was the only girl, she was not like other girls. She did not play with dolls or wear pretty dresses. Instead, she spent all her free time at the stable with the horses. She was an excellent rider and won races against the boys.

At the orphanage, Charlotte had two friends, Hayward and Vern. Hayward was a boy a few years younger than Charlotte. She protected him from the bigger boys. Charlotte believed Hayward would never be adopted because he was a homely child with big ears. She made plans with him to one day own a ranch where they would raise horses. Her other friend, Vern, was the orphanage’s elderly stable master who was a runaway slave. Vern taught Charlotte about horses and ultimately helped her to run away.

Once free of the orphanage, Charlotte disguised herself as a boy and began her career working with horses. She called herself Charley. Her ultimate goal was to become a stagecoach driver, which she did. Throughout the novel, Charlotte disguised herself as male because she knew that people would not want a woman as their driver. Despite living her life as a man, Charlotte was attuned to the plight of women and often helped women along the way. She was kinder to the female passengers. She also helped a widow to continue living in her home by purchasing her property as it was being foreclosed on. In the end, Charlotte takes a stand with women by voting, though she does so in her guise as a man.