Oliver Twist

The presentation of Nancy in Oliver Twist

How would a poverty stricken woman feel to be defined as ‘fallen’ in Oliver Twist?

Charles Dickens uses Nancy as a tragic allegory to symbolise to his readers that she is not just the victim of her brutally abusive lover, Bill Sykes, but of society in general.

Her ultimate downfall, begins with the immensity of societal pressures and relentless expectations of women (the ulterior position of oppressive gender roles which Dickens commonly incorporated into his writing) which suffocated women into believing that their fate was inevitable, despite their efforts.

Nancy is presented as loyally devoted to Bill Sykes while also being slightly ashamed of their attachment. This is made clear from the quote “I am chained to my old life. I loathe and hate it now but I cannot leave it. I must have gone too far to turn back.” This shows that doubtless of Nancy’s yearning for change, she won’t leave the little sense of belonging that she feels with him.

Hence, “I love him and I’ll never leave him.” She believes entirely that the worst thing she could possibly do is to abandon and fall under the name ‘traitor’ to whom she calls family. 

Upon meeting Rose, the respectable lady that Nancy almost idolises for her kindness, Nancy still conveys her loyalty to the gang. After Nancy has been given a small possession of hers, she prays to it as though this kindness is a rare opportunity to her. 

Even once given the option of refuge from her home in the streets, Nancy refuses, feeling that it’s her utmost duty to return to Oliver, the boy who has changed her life, and Bill, the man who could end it. 

Nancy is also presented as motherly, defensive and interposing when it comes to the fates of whom she saves. Upon the threats to Oliver, she demands justice by announcing that they “let him be” or she’ll “put that mark on your face that’ll send you to the gallows before your time.”

During the Victorian era, undermining typical rules like obeying and following your husband was obvious. Yet the clear avoidance which Nancy exhibits displays how she would do all in her power, even if it meant going against the men who were seen as her superiors, to protect who she cares for. The quote, “the child shan’t be torn down by the dog” also goes against normal stereotypes, yet she was determined to overrule it and practically speak for women who wouldn’t. 

Her maternal position towards the manipulated children of Fagan’s gang also implied that she was the best person in all of their lives. At her demise, the children rioted in realisation of the control that had been forced upon them, attacking Bill in full awareness of his power, experience and gruesome aspects, to avenge their poor Nancy. 

The complete difference between Nancy and Oliver was that Oliver was the boy who could be saved. As his life unfolded, from being taken into the streets of London, to witnessing and knowing of murder in and outside of court, following his adoption with the gracious Mr. Brownlow, we can see that no matter his previous situation, he continued to end up in a good place.

Yet on the other hand, Nancy was seen as a fallen woman, meaning a woman that had fallen from the grace of God. In literature, the use of Adam and Eve often occurs where Eve eats the apple and is portrayed as the villain. Similarly, Nancy had joined the gang and felt the same way.

Dickens often wrote characters that had lost their innocence as not having an uplifting ending. This was clearly to motion that because they were no longer fit for society, he could kill them off.

This evoked the maximum sympathy from the readers of the Victorian times. From the quote, the “alley and the gutter were mine, as they will be my deathbed,” we can see that Nancy has lost all sense of hope in herself and thinks of herself as a lost cause.

Dickens also fails to reference Nancy’s job as a prostitute. For as an omniscient narrator of third person, Dickens wanted to give the idea that it was non-biased. It brought light to certain aspects of the characters prior views of well-respected people of the Victorian era as they would have thought of a prostitute as a bad person. Yet, from the perspective that Dickens wrote the novel from, it completely transformed their previous ideas.

The book is written from the eyes of the innocent Oliver Twist. This is because as a young boy, not even a teen, he would be hardly educated on prostitution. The quote, “in the case of the girl, in particular, I kept this intention constantly and view,” we can see that although Dickens didn’t mention her job, he frequently referenced back to it in the making of her character.

Bets and Nancy are also addressed as “not exactly pretty perhaps, but they had a great deal of colour on their faces and looked quite stout and hearty.” This draws absolutely no attention to their characteristics and traits yet strips them of any individuality by looking at how they are literally presented rather than internal their qualities.

The childhood of Dickens heavily influenced how his opinion was shaped. When he was but a teenager, his father was sent to prison and he was sent to the workhouse. He experienced poverty first-hand and identified class prejudice.

This inspired him to desire a change, which he felt he could show through writing. As his story on Oliver Twist broadened, so did his need to make a difference. The poor law of 1834 was designed to maximise lower class pain as the choices for their future were minimised to high taxes or the workhouse. Dickens used his authorial intent within the novel to establish that social responsibility and encourage regular upper class people to understand it.

To conclude, I believe that Nancy was sympathised for many reasons. Her loyalty to the gang and empathy to those within and also because she died as a martyr. A woman who died for a  monumental cause. Her death was not just a mere murder, but a heroic sacrifice and a fight for justice throughout the book.

Nancy’s need to create difference was heightened as her energy lowered, from the bubbly girl capable of holding down a man with her bare arms, she turned into a tiny woman. She was described as “so pale and reduced with watching and privation that there would have been considerable difficulty in recognising her as the same Nancy who has already figured in this tale.”

This description makes the audience sympathise fully for this woman who just wanted justice. To illustrate her as an unimportant side character would be to shame her. She stood up when others would lower, she held her head high, when others would ask, “do you know who you are? And what you are?”

Nancy was what Victorian England needed in order to understand their faults dehumanising people who were simply a victim of circumstance. Nancy changed a country’s view by leading a book with the respectful kindness and loyalty that no other character could show.