With Nancy, Dickens provides us answer. Nancy, the harlot, might be perceived as a weakened character although something about her emerges solid and marked. She is like Laura inside the Glass Menagerie, who is apparently the poorest character only to materialize jointly with outstanding strength. Nancy makes the best sacrifice however she will give himself enough credit rating. She is convinced her destiny is covered. When the lady at London Bridge offers her any help, she denies, stating she’s “chained to my own life. I detest and hate it now, but I am unable to leave it” (Dickens 406). Nancy purchases into the idea that the girl cannot modify but this does not prevent her from producing moral decisions. She accepts the concept that individuals cannot go above their environment while she masterfully illustrates it is not the case. Her sacrifice remains the actual testament to this. Watt writes Nancy difficulties the view of “once a harlot, usually a harlot” through her gift to Oliver. The girl “dies inside the act of saving, not really in the take action of destroying or corrupting. Her loss of life also brings about the defeat of Bill and Fagin, so includes a power in its passivity” (Watt). Nancy triumphs over what your woman perceives to get her limitations and actually goes up above the meaningful boundaries of numerous good persons in the novel. Dickens offers readers Nancy to project not only the limitations but likewise the capacities of gentleman. Nancy does one of the most sensible acts of compassion in literature once she hazards her your life in an attempt to help Oliver. This kind of cannot be rejected; the action is good. Readers are playing the reality that Nancy was still a harlot. In addition , readers should also attempt to solution the question who also, if not Nancy, in the novel might have committed such an act. The contrast is definitely palpable and it achieves the task of causing visitors to problem the absolutes associated with environment.
Nancy is a paragon of decency in Oliver Twist and it is just fitting that Dickens select a harlot and thief to make his point about world. While it is straightforward to judge persons by their earlier and their environment, it is extremely hard to form an exact opinion of them this way. Ultimately, people are in charge of their own behavior and while Nancy should have never cared for Oliver, she did. Compassion knows no bounds. Nancy is known as a human being and so, capable of affection and consideration. We see that she enjoys Sikes and also understand she has a deep weakness for Oliver. In fact , she is Oliver’s salvation. Her sacrifice allowed him the opportunity to are in a healthy, happy home. We’re able to argue Nancy sees youngsters and purity in Oliver and frantically wants him to have a better life than she did under the palm of Fagin. She may have known it absolutely was too late for her but she believed Oliver could have more. She seems to lose her existence but the lady triumphs eventually – above Fagin, nasty, and the never ending judging attention of culture.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New Jersey: Watermill Press. 1983.
Watt, George. “Nancy. ” The “Fallen Woman” inside the Nineteenth Hundred years English Novel. Gale 08. Literature Resource Center. Internet.