# Pin — The Getting of Wisdom character guide

> Pin in The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Only Pin, little Pin, confused Pin

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

Laura's younger sister, all freckles and eager chatter, whose unlovely growth and unshaken devotion make home both a comfort and an embarrassment.

## Who they are

Pin is the little sister Laura leaves behind in the bush, and the holidays reunite them with a shock: the child has grown spindly, freckled, and, to Laura's eye, downright hideous. Where Laura is proud and sensitive, Pin is practical, affectionate, and cheerfully immune to insults about her looks, a contrast that exposes Laura's own vanities. Pin matters because she keeps the country world alive in the novel's middle stretch, reminding Laura, and the reader, of the plain, unglamorous love she is trading for school society.

## Relationships

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Pin is Laura's younger sister, and their bond is marked by sibling affection, rivalry, and Laura's protective yet sometimes dismissive attitude.

### [Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/mother)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Pin is Laura's younger sister, and their bond is marked by sibling affection, rivalry, and Laura's protective yet sometimes dismissive attitude.

### [Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/mother)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

### [Laura Rambotham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/laura_rambotham)

_family_

Pin is Laura's younger sister, and their bond is marked by sibling affection, rivalry, and Laura's protective yet sometimes dismissive attitude.

### [Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/mother)

_family_

Mother dotes on Pin, creating a dynamic where Pin is favored, which sometimes causes jealousy in Laura.

## In the story

### [The Getting of Wisdom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/the-getting-of-wisdom)

Laura's younger sister, present at the farewell at the station.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/i)

Tearfully tries to intercede on Laura's behalf and understands both her sister and mother.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/ii)

Wakes Laura, is teased about her legs, worries about Laura not getting dinner, and helps with the farewells.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/iii)

Bids Laura farewell, crying bitterly, and is left in charge of the younger children.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/vi)

Pin writes a childish letter to Laura and is mentioned as hiding Laura's earlier letter from their mother.

### [The Purple Dress and the Price of Conformity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/x)

Laura's younger sister, who tries to defend Laura's interests when Mother buys fabric, but is dismissed.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xix)

Accompanies Laura to the seaside; chatters about home and Mother's sewing work, leading to a heated argument with Laura about truthfulness and behavior. She accuses Laura of being wicked and changed by school.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxiv)

Bears the brunt of Laura's acrimony; they quarrel and fight frequently.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/chapters/xxv)

Pin arrives to fetch Laura from school, carrying her belongings, and is embarrassed by Laura's impulsive run.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters/pin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_getting_of_wisdom_se/characters