# Margaret — The Portent character guide

> Margaret in The Portent by George MacDonald.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Margaret, Dear old Margaret, dear Margaret

**First appearance:** 0004-iii-my-old-nurses-story

## Snapshot

An old Highland nurse with second sight and a fierce, patient love for the boy she raised, who alone can read the shadows gathering around him.

## Who they are

Margaret has carried Duncan in her heart since infancy, and her love persists even when she cannot see him — a blindness she treats as a sign rather than a grief. Frail, one-handed, and steeped in the old ways, she listens to his tale of Lady Alice without interruption and promises help. Her willingness to enter the unseen on his behalf makes her the story's quiet anchor of faith and affection.

## Relationships

### [Duncan Campbell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/duncan_campbell)

_family_

Duncan Campbell is Margaret's father or close male guardian, deeply protective of her and aware of her tragic destiny.

### [Janet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/janet)

_friendship_

Janet is Margaret's close companion and confidante, sharing in her secrets and offering emotional support.

### [Nurse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/nurse)

_professional_

Margaret and the nurse have a caregiver-patient relationship, with the nurse attending to Margaret's health and episodes.

### [Duncan Campbell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/duncan_campbell)

_family_

Duncan Campbell is Margaret's father or close male guardian, deeply protective of her and aware of her tragic destiny.

### [Janet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/janet)

_friendship_

Janet is Margaret's close companion and confidante, sharing in her secrets and offering emotional support.

### [Janet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/janet)

_friendship_

Janet is Margaret's close companion and confidante, sharing in her secrets and offering emotional support.

## In the story

### [III: My Old Nurse's Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/iii-my-old-nurses-story)

The old nurse, Margaret, tells Duncan the legend of the doomed horseman. She possesses second sight, having seen Duncan wounded in battle and the phantom rider. She believes Duncan may be the reincarnation of the murdered brother.

### [Old Friends](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/xviii-old-friends)

Mentioned as alive and bedridden, still in her old cottage, with a mysterious power over the new laird.

### [Chapter XX: Margaret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/xx-margaret)

The old seeress who, despite her frailty, uses her powers to help Duncan, and dies after her final vision.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/margaret
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters