Re: Nancy's character


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Posted by Robert Hill on August 20, 1998 at 12:41:22:

In Reply to: Re: Nancy's character posted by Jenna Darter on August 19, 1998 at 17:48:15:

On the other hand, there are a lot of occasions when Nancy shows a lack
of fairness or tolerance in her attitude to others, especially Captain
Flint - but then if she were always as thoughtful as Susan or John she
could hardly be a pirate! If someone frustrates her plans she often
says things like "let's blow them out of the water!". To some extent
this is superficial, and at a deeper level she is more understanding,
and this shows up at some key moments.

Kate Crosby suggests that Nancy is rude to the boatbuilder in
[Chapter 2 of] The Picts and the Martyrs. I'm inclined to regard
this as within the bounds of justifiable harmless banter, given that
(i) Nancy has probably known the boatbuilder for years,
(ii) she is in part only quoting Captain Flint (the Noah bit) rather
than advancing her own views, and (iii) the Scarab IS late after all.

In a later post Kate says that this may be "a class thing". Perhaps so
in the sense that Nancy would not have addressed the boatbuilder in
such terms if she herself had been (say) a farm labourer's daughter,
but not in the sense that she would be any more rude to the boatbuilder
than to a higher-status person such as the doctor.

But there is one place in the series where Nancy's behaviour makes me
feel uneasy for what do seem to be class-related reasons.
This is in chapter 24 of Swallows and Amazons, where Nancy finds
Sammy the policeman enquiring among the Swallows after the houseboat
burglary, and sends him away with a flea in his ear, though he's only
doing his job. I always squirm a bit when I read that.


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