Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ the quest to find a place they can call home leads the Ingalls family far and wide. Their path is laid with many challenges, ranging from financial difficulties to fatal sickness to a pretty bad stroke of luck. However, they find strength in each other and get by even in the most difficult of times. This is also when they appreciate the group of people who show up for them and become their family and community in an entirely new place. One of the people they get really close to is John Edwards. Struggling with his own traumatic path, he finds a new family in the Ingalls. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Fictional Mr. Edwards is a Composite of Several People
‘Little House on the Prairie’ adapts the semi-autobiographical children’s book series of the same name by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The author drew on her own family members and the people they befriended along the way to create the book’s characters. While the overall storyline is close to what happened in reality, Wilder also heavily fictionalized certain things, especially by introducing characters in the books who don’t have any real-life counterparts. Mr. Edwards happens to be one of those people. On their journey across the American Midwest, the Ingalls met several kind people who helped them.
However, no specific person by the name of Mr. Edwards has been found in the records, which means the character was purely created for the purposes of the book. Historians and researchers who have extensively studied Wilder’s life and how accurately it is reflected in her books have concluded that the kind and genial Mr. Edwards was most likely a mix of the men whom Charles Ingalls and his family befriended and grew close to. He is a significant character in Wilder’s series and appears in three books: ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ ‘By the Shores of Silver Lake,’ and ‘The Long Winter.’
Every time, he significantly helps the family, from building their log cabin in the Kansas prairie to helping Charles file a land claim. The Netflix series fleshes out the character by giving him a backstory that explains many of his choices and behavior. Over the course of eight episodes, his character development explores the impact of the Ingalls family on his life and how they give him hope for a better future. This shift from a war-hardened, grief-stricken exterior to a softer side, where he freely displays love and warmth, underscores the importance of love, support, and community in one’s life.
The Ingalls also benefit from his presence as Charles finds a reliable friend, while Laura and Mary find a friend and confidant in the form of a loving uncle. Because the family moved around so much, it makes sense that they might not have been able to stay in touch with the people who had such a positive impact on their lives. However, Wilder knew that without talking about such people, she couldn’t tell her family’s story. This is why, instead of omitting them entirely or creating separate characters for each, she found it better to use the fictional road and create a lovable character.
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