Prudence Dimm is the teacher at Dungatar school and is Ruth Dimm’s sister. Prudence’s last name, Dimm, is pertinent because she short-sighted to the point of near-blindness—her sight is “dim.” Prudence is a gossip and she’s harsh with the children she teaches. She taught Tilly Dunnage and Stewart Pettyman when they were children, and she picked on Tilly because she was an outsider in the town. Prudence also tells Tilly that her father is Evan Pettyman, but Tilly doesn’t tell people that she knows this.