What connects Kidd to Johanna? Why does she seem to trust him so easily?

What connects Kidd to Johanna? Why does she seem to trust him so easily?

It's chemistry - it's really an unspoken thing that happens between two people. She knew he wanted the best for her and allowed him to care for her.

In the beginning, she had no choice. As she began to see his protection of her she found him to be safe and trustworthy. The real turning point was when Kidd and Johanna defeated Almay and his men. It proved to her that he would protect her. He also cared enough to befriend and teach her. He had empathy for her and her situation.

I think Kidd is connected to Johanna because he is a father who has raised two daughters. He will do the best he can for her and return her to her family.

Kidd was a very kind man with a heart. At his age he did not want to get involved but was also helping his friend who was a freed black man and should not be traveling with a young white girl. Also he felt bad that she had been stolen away from two families in her young life. At first Johanna did not trust anyone but after being with Kidd for awhile she realized he was trustworthy and kind.

The Kiowa taught her to observe intently and I think she observed that Captain Kidd, in his interactions with everyone, not just her, was a fair man of honorable intent.

Kidd had an innate sense of protecting, caring for Johanna and felt a moral obligation to make things right by reuniting the family. I would argue that her trust developed over time as she came to recognize Kidd as a person who willingly offered his protection.

Johanna had that innate ability to know who she could trust and Captain Kidd had the experience of raising daughters.

I agree that the fact that the Captain had raised two daughters of his own contributed to his kindness and empathy for Johanna's situation. He wisely began the relationship slowly by teaching her his name and her real name, Johanna, and then adding new English words for her to learn as they traveled along. She began to trust that he was a good person after their encounter early on with the Army Lieutenant and the way the Captain protected her, even lying about the weapons they had. It was then that she smiled at him in gratitude and gave him the Kiowa sign for the word "good".

The connection is not instantaneous. Fortunately, the Captain takes his time, is not pushy, and allows the little girl to be herself until she is ready to let him in. When there is no other constant person in one's life, it becomes a necessity to trust and depend on each other.

I agree with all the posts about this. Captain Kidd was a father of daughters, which taught him how to related to Johanna, and Johanna, with her Kiowa sensibilities, knew this. And what choice did she really had - for the second time, torn away from a loving family. I was SO GLAD when he went back to D'Hanis and rescued her.

He sees her struggling to make her way in an alien world and has great compassion for her. She trusts him because she senses his kindness and wisdom.

Johanna, a keen observer of her surroundings, senses that she can trust the Captain, and he is inherently protective of her, as others have said. But another thing that connects them is that they are each in their own way, out of sync with the world. The Captain lost his printing business and takes up the itinerant life of a news reader, and Johanna has twice been ripped from the world as she knew it, first at age 4 and then at age 10. They also connect on a survival level, especially after the gunfight in which Johanna shows herself to be so resourceful in stuffing the bullets with dimes.

He protected her, not only physically but in the way he spoke to her and treated her from the beginning. He recognized that she needed space and time to adjust. He was firm, but kind. Mostly, he didn't try to change her. He allowed her to go barefoot and speak her language. She observed him closely and knew what kind of man he was and respected him for that. She also learned how far he would go to protect her when they faced down Almay together. He told her to go so he could stay and keep fighting a losing battle. In that, he showed the kind of courage the Kiowa revered. It made their bond unbreakable.