# Nancy — Oliver Twist character guide > Nancy in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Miss Nancy, Nance **First appearance:** 0008-ix-containing-further-particulars-concerning-the-pleasant-old-gentleman-and-his-hopeful-pupils ## Snapshot A young woman of the streets who belongs to Sikes and to Fagin's trade, yet risks everything to shield the boy they mean to ruin. ## Who they are Nancy moves between the gang's squalid rooms and the respectable world she can only watch through windows, and she is the one who overhears Monks bargaining with Fagin over Oliver's fate. Her loyalty to Sikes and her pity for Oliver pull in opposite directions, and she knows the cost of choosing. She matters because she is the novel's bridge between the criminals and the gentry — the only person who can carry the truth from one side to the other. ## Relationships ### [Fagin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/fagin) _psychological_ Fagin exerts a manipulative, paternalistic control over Nancy, exploiting her loyalty and fear. ### [Bill Sikes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/bill_sikes) _romantic_ They are in a violent, abusive relationship; Sikes dominates and ultimately murders Nancy. ### [Fagin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/fagin) _psychological_ Fagin exerts a manipulative, paternalistic control over Nancy, exploiting her loyalty and fear. ### [Bill Sikes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/bill_sikes) _romantic_ They are in a violent, abusive relationship; Sikes dominates and ultimately murders Nancy. ### [Bill Sikes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/bill_sikes) _romantic_ They are in a violent, abusive relationship; Sikes dominates and ultimately murders Nancy. ### [Fagin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/fagin) _psychological_ Fagin exerts a manipulative, paternalistic control over Nancy, exploiting her loyalty and fear. ## In the story ### [XIII: Some New Acquaintances Are Introduced to the Intelligent Reader, Connected with Whom Various Pleasant Matters Are Related, Appertaining to This History](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xiii-some-new-acquaintances-are-introduced-to-the-intelligent-reader-connected-with-whom-various-pleasant-matters-are-related-appertaining-to-this-history) Nancy initially resists but is ultimately persuaded by Sikes and Fagin to go to the police office pretending to be Oliver's sister; she successfully obtains information about Oliver's whereabouts. ### [XV: Showing How Very Fond of Oliver Twist the Merry Old Jew and Miss Nancy Were](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xv-showing-how-very-fond-of-oliver-twist-the-merry-old-jew-and-miss-nancy-were) Nancy pretends to be Oliver's sister in the street, crying and claiming he ran away from his parents, to deceive bystanders and help Sikes recapture Oliver. ### [XVI: Relates What Became of Oliver Twist, After He Had Been Claimed by Nancy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xvi-relates-what-became-of-oliver-twist-after-he-had-been-claimed-by-nancy) Nancy holds Oliver's hand, trembles at the thought of executions, and later fiercely defends Oliver from Fagin's beating and Sikes's dog, revealing her conflicted conscience. ### [XIX: In Which a Notable Plan Is Discussed and Determined On](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xix-in-which-a-notable-plan-is-discussed-and-determined-on) Reluctantly agrees to bring Oliver to Sikes, showing no flinching when Fagin scrutinizes her loyalty. ### [XX: Wherein Oliver Is Delivered Over to Mr. William Sikes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xx-wherein-oliver-is-delivered-over-to-mr-william-sikes) Brings Oliver to Sikes; shows bruises from past abuse and pleads for his silence. ### [Chapter XXVI: In Which a Mysterious Character Appears Upon the Scene; and Many Things, Inseparable from This History, Are Done and Performed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxvi-in-which-a-mysterious-character-appears-upon-the-scene-and-many-things-inseparable-from-this-history-are-done-and-performed) Nancy is drunk and defiant when Fagin confronts her; she refuses to cooperate and expresses hope that Oliver is dead. ### [Chapter XXXIX: Introduces Some Respectable Characters with Whom the Reader Is Already Acquainted, and Shows How Monks and the Jew Laid Their Worthy Heads Together](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xxxix-introduces-some-respectable-characters-with-whom-the-reader-is-already-acquainted-and-shows-how-monks-and-the-jew-laid-their-worthy-heads-together) Pale and exhausted from nursing Sikes, faints after being struck, then hides her bonnet and shawl upon Monks' arrival. ### [A Strange Interview, Which Is a Sequel to the Last Chapter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xl-a-strange-interview-which-is-a-sequel-to-the-last-chapter) Nancy secretly meets Rose Maylie to reveal Monks' plot against Oliver, but refuses to leave her life with Sikes. ### [The Time Arrives for Nancy to Redeem Her Pledge to Rose Maylie. She Fails](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xliv-the-time-arrives-for-nancy-to-redeem-her-pledge-to-rose-maylie-she-fails) Grows pale and thin, oscillates between laughter and dejection, and is resolved to keep her secret despite internal conflict. ### [Noah Claypole Is Employed by Fagin on a Secret Mission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xlv-noah-claypole-is-employed-by-fagin-on-a-secret-mission) Nancy is the target of Fagin's surveillance; she is followed by Noah as she leaves the public-house at night. ### [XLVI: The Appointment Kept](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xlvi-the-appointment-kept) Meets Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie on London Bridge to provide information about Monks, but refuses their offer of escape. ### [Fatal Consequences](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xlvii-fatal-consequences) Is confronted by Sikes at home, pleads for her life, but is brutally murdered by him. ### [XLVIII: The Flight of Sikes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xlviii-the-flight-of-sikes) Though deceased, Nancy's corpse and ghostly presence haunt Sikes throughout his flight, symbolizing his inescapable guilt. ### [Monks and Mr. Brownlow at Length Meet. Their Conversation, and the Intelligence That Interrupts It](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/xlix-monks-and-mr-brownlow-at-length-meet-their-conversation-and-the-intelligence-that-interrupts-it) Her murder is referenced as a crime to which Monks was morally a party. ### [LIII: And Last](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/chapters/liii-and-last) Mentioned in the context of her sister Agnes's memory. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters/nancy - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oliver_twist_se/characters