# Nurse — The Portent character guide

> Nurse in The Portent by George MacDonald.

**Role:** supporting

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

## Snapshot

The narrator's childhood nurse, keeper of an old story about strange sounds, whose promise to explain them hangs over his departure for Hilton Hall.

## Who they are

Nurse has raised Duncan from infancy and knows the family's older secrets, including a tale she cannot bring herself to tell when he first asks. Her terror at the sounds he hears, and her promise to reveal all before he leaves home, plant the mystery that will follow him into his new life. Her dread and her love together make her the first keeper of the book's uncanny thread.

## Relationships

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

_professional_

Duncan Campbell and the nurse interact as caretakers of the narrator and Margaret, coordinating care and sharing observations.

### [Margaret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/characters/margaret)

_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)

_professional_

Duncan Campbell and the nurse interact as caretakers of the narrator and Margaret, coordinating care and sharing observations.

## In the story

### [My Boyhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/i-my-boyhood)

Mentioned as the source of tales about the narrator's ancestors having the gift of second sight.

### [II: The Second Hearing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/ii-the-second-hearing)

Shows signs of second sight, becomes distressed upon hearing of the sound, and promises to reveal the legend later.

### [XV: The Chamber of Ghosts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/xv-the-chamber-of-ghosts)

Referenced as the old foster-mother who told the legend of the galloping horse to Duncan, which he recounts to Alice.

### [The Clanking Shoe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_portent_se/chapters/xvi-the-clanking-shoe)

Mentioned as living at the lodge gate, helping with the elopement plan.

## Links

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