Filia respondet se in prora stetisse, matrem in puppi sedisse, et nodum firmum facere didicisse.

After respondet, Latin is using an indirect statement.

In English, we usually say she replies that.... In Latin, that that-clause is normally turned into:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive verb

So:

• se ... stetisse = that she had stood
• matrem ... sedisse = that her mother had sat
• understood se ... didicisse = that she had learned

Se is the reflexive pronoun, and it refers back to the subject of the main verb, filia.

So filia respondet se... means the daughter replies that she...

Because this is indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive must be in the accusative, so we get se, not a nominative form.

A useful contrast:

• se = herself, referring back to filia
• eam = her, referring to some other female

In an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative.

So matrem sedisse does not mean to have sat the mother. It means that the mother had sat, with matrem acting as the subject of sedisse.

That is one of the most important features of Latin indirect statement.

Latin often leaves out a possessive word like suam when the relationship is already obvious from context.

So matrem here naturally means her mother, especially since the sentence is about the daughter and her report.

If Latin wanted extra emphasis or clarity, it could say matrem suam, but it does not need to.

They are infinitives because indirect statement uses infinitives instead of finite verbs.

They are perfect infinitives because the actions happened before the time of respondet.

So the sense is:

• she replies that she had stood
• her mother had sat
• she had learned

In Latin indirect statement, infinitive tense shows time relative to the main verb:

• present infinitive = same time
• perfect infinitive = earlier time
• future infinitive = later time

Yes, normally se is understood again with didicisse.

Latin often does not repeat a word if it is clear from the context. So the sentence works like this:

• se ... stetisse
• matrem ... sedisse
• (se) ... didicisse

That means the daughter says:

• she had stood on the prow,
• her mother had sat on the stern,
• and she had learned to make a firm knot.

Because in with the ablative usually expresses location.

So:

• in prora = on/in the prow
• in puppi = on/in the stern

If there were motion into or onto a place, Latin would normally use in with the accusative instead.

Also, the forms are just from different declensions:

• prora is first declension
• puppis is a third-declension i-stem noun, so its ablative singular is puppi

These are all perfect active infinitives, usually formed from the perfect stem + -isse.

For example:

• sto, stare, steti → perfect stem stet- → stetisse
• sedeo, sedere, sedi → perfect stem sed- → sedisse
• disco, discere, didici → perfect stem didic- → didicisse

So even if the forms look unfamiliar at first, they follow a standard pattern.

Literally, it means to make a firm knot.

In smoother English, that often comes out as to tie a firm knot or to make a secure knot.

A few details:

• nodum is the direct object, knot
• firmum agrees with nodum, so it means firm/secure
• facere means to make/do

With didicisse, the whole phrase means to have learned to make/tie a secure knot.

It can simply mean she replies in the present, or it may be a historical present, where Latin uses the present to make a past narrative more vivid.

Either way, the perfect infinitives still show that the standing, sitting, and learning happened before the replying.

So Latin can say respondet ... stetisse and mean something like:

• she replies that she had stood, or
• in a narrative, she replied that she had stood

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show how the words function.

So Latin does not need a fixed English-style order like subject + verb + object. Instead, it can arrange words for emphasis or style.

Here the sentence first gives the main action, filia respondet, and then lays out the three reported ideas:

• se in prora stetisse
• matrem in puppi sedisse
• et nodum firmum facere didicisse

A Latin reader understands the structure mainly from the forms, not from rigid word position.