F reckles essentially conforms to the JT pattern of protagonists in romantic novels. He demonstrates innate gentility that wins the respect of common people like the Duncans, gentlemen like McLean and the Man of Affairs, and even villains like Black Jack. His courage and sense of honor win McLean's affection, and his aesthetic sense wins him the admiration of the Swamp Angel and the Bird Woman.

While Porter always insisted that her primary role was that of wife and mother, her life as a naturalist, photographer, and writer was considered unconventional in turn-of-the-century Indiana. The Swamp Angel reflects her creator's multifaceted personality.

Initially she appears to conform to the Victorian conventions of ladylike fragility, and her function seems to be to provide an apparently unattainable object for Freckles' adoration. She quickly demonstrates, however, that she is no swooning maiden. When the Bird Woman discovers Black Jack and his...