Throughout the text, various members of Pat's family are lost from Silver Bush (Aunt Hazel to marriage, Joe to life as a sailor, and Winnie to marriage). Pat is sustained through these losses due to her enduring love for her home. She is "unlike other children" and has few close friends. She maintains a strong friendship with Hilary "Jingle" Gordon, and later befriends Elizabeth "Bets" Wilcox, who eventually dies of the flu. The book's sequel, Mistress Pat, describes her later years.