There are 12 marriage candidates in Stardew Valley, six bachelors and six bachelorettes. While each relationship is identical mechanically, they all bring the player into contact with different personalities and stories that flesh out the world. Some of these are heavier than others, such as helping Shane deal with his depression and alcohol addiction. Penny also has demons to deal with, but leaves a kinder first impression on the player than Shane, which may encourage people to help her build a brighter future.
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Penny is a Kind Girl Trapped in a Bad Situation
Whereas residents like Shane or Haley are aggressive toward the player when they first arrive, and others like Emily are open and welcoming, Penny is almost always reserved and seems to shy away from a conversation. A lot of her early dialogue is small talk, chatting about things like the weather. However, it’s easy to see Penny’s kindness shine through as she tutors Jas and Vincent given Pelican Town has no school for them.
Even when she isn’t helping the young children, Penny can often be found in Pelican Town’s museum perusing its library. She’s wise beyond her small-town upbringing, but it’s also clear that reading and learning is an escape from an unhappy home. Penny lives with her mother, Pam, in the trailer toward the eastern side of Pelican Town, but Pam can’t seem to get her life together after losing her job when the town’s bus broke down. Their home is cramped and always a mess no matter how hard Penny tries keeping things together, and it isn’t until the player steps in that her life can really improve.
Penny’s Likes and Dislikes Reflect her Modest Upbringing
When trying to woo Penny in Stardew Valley, players should keep in mind that she hates alcohol - and understandably so. Everything from basic hops and grapes to high-quality products such as mead and pale ale are among her least favorite items. Instead, many of Penny’s best gifts are rustic meals like red plates, roots platters, and poppyseed muffins. She also loves the poppy flower, melons, sandfish, Tom Kha Soup, and will happy accept some foraging goods like dandelions and leeks.
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Beyond dealings with her mother and the children of Pelican Town, Penny is also good friends with the skater-musician Sam, whom she pairs up with at the Flower Dance if players are with someone else or have no partner. If Stardew Valley’s movie theater is unlocked, Penny’s favorite film is “The Brave Little Sapling,” and she has a sweet tooth for cotton candy and stardrop sorbet.
Penny’s Heart Events
Once players start giving Penny gifts, they’ll find her story is about opening up to someone new. She helps the wheelchair-bound elderly man George retrieve a letter as a two-heart event, and Penny reflects upon mortality and the preciousness of life. At four hearts the player can help Penny clean her trailer, but Pam gets mad that her daughter would ask for help with something so embarrassing. At six hearts players learn Penny is a questionable cook despite pouring her soul into it, and then at eight hearts she asks the player to be help on a field trip. Here players learn Penny is interested in having a big family to share the kind of domestic bliss she never got, and then at 10 hearts she confesses her feelings during a romantic evening at the spa.
This desire to settle down is reflected after marriage, at which point Penny’s life centers primarily around her taking care of the farmhouse and even redecorating it. She builds out a personal study with a veritable library of her own in the side room and starts a garden behind the house, where she often goes to read.
It’s a happy ending for Penny as much as the player, and what’s even better is this can be achieved while also helping Pam - at that point the player’s mother-in-law. Not only can players get the Junimos to fix the bus, they can also rally the community to help build a new house in place of her trailer. Accomplishing all of this makes Penny’s relationship one of the more fulfilling options in the game.
Stardew Valley is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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