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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Nicholas Nickleby, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Greed and Selfishness
Power and Abuse
Altruism and Humility
Family and Loyalty
Injustice, Complicity, and Moral Integrity
Summary
Analysis
After Kate’s first day of work, Miss Knag compliments her to Madame Mantalini. Madame Mantalini says that she’s not sure what Kate did other than upset two customers. She says that Kate is the most awkward person she’s ever met, and she’s not sure why her uncle Ralph said she was pretty. Miss Knag felt threatened by Kate at first. After witnessing Kate’s failure, though, she has developed a strong feeling of affection for her. The next day, Miss Knag tells Kate that she might not be cut out for the work. But, Miss Knag explains that she (Miss Knag) can do a little extra work so Kate can stay in the background. Kate is relieved to hear that and gratefully accepts Miss Knag’s offer without questioning its motives.
Miss Knag has the same tendency as several other characters to say that she is trying to help someone—in this case, Kate—while she is actually acting in her own self-interest. Miss Knag purports to offer to take some of the work off of Kate’s hands to help Kate. In reality, though, Miss Knag offers to take work off of Kate’s hands to ensure that Kate doesn’t move up in the job and remains subservient to Miss Knag. The novel uses Miss Knag as another example of why one should be suspicious of people who loudly proclaim their good intentions because those proclamations may serve to obscure selfish motives.
Themes
After Kate’s second day of work, Miss Knag offers to walk Kate home. Kate tries to say that her mother (Mrs. Nickleby) is waiting for her, but Miss Knag says that’s not a problem. When they reach Kate’s home, Mrs. Nickleby talks to Miss Knag about how clever and appealing Kate is. Miss Knag invites them to eat at the home of her brother, Mortimer. Mortimer runs a private library where people can check out books to read. Miss Knag says he reads all the latest novels. When the three arrive at Mortimer’s house, Mrs. Nickleby and Kate find Mortimer off-putting. They ask Miss Knag if he is ill, and Miss Knag says that he is heartbroken. He had been devoted to Madame Mantalini. When she married, his hopes were dashed. But, Miss Knag says, the disappointment turned him into a genius. He’s completed three novels since becoming heartbroken.
Miss Knag does not seem to respect Kate, as Kate tries to politely excuse herself from Miss Knag, but Miss Knag takes no notice. Dickens uses the character of Mortimer to apparently poke fun at himself or at least satirize writers in general. In this case, Dickens seems to suggest that the recipe for a good writer includes not just a healthy dose of heartbreak but also perhaps a general inability to succeed in other avenues in life, as Mortimer only became a “genius” after he lost Madame Mantalini and seemingly had nowhere else to turn.
Themes
Kate and Miss Knag remain close for three days, surprising the other women who work at Madame Mantalini’s. Miss Knag isn’t known for forming friendships. On that third day, an elderly lord comes into the shop with his much younger fiancée. Miss Knag models bonnets for them. The young woman takes the lord behind a partition and kisses him. Miss Knag happens to walk by and make eye contact with the woman. The woman thinks the moment is awkward and asks Madame Mantalini if there is anyone younger who could attend to them. She hates being attended to by frights and the elderly, she says.
While Miss Knag has used her relative power in the dress shop to strategically sideline Kate, this passage shows that she (Miss Knag) is just as susceptible to being unseated by the whims of the wealthy as Kate is. That suggests a reason why people like Miss Knag might use underhanded means to get what they want: they are used to being deprived of what they want by people more powerful than them and think they must do the same to others in order to have power themselves.
Themes
Madame Mantalini asks Kate to come up and sends Miss Knag away. Kate models bonnets for the couple and blushes as they watch her. When Madame Mantalini says Kate can return downstairs, she’s happy to escape the stares of strangers. Downstairs, though, the mood has shifted. Miss Knag is surrounded by other women who work there. She says that Kate is a conniving weasel who conspired to take her position. She’s been the primary model for Madame Mantalini for 15 years, she says, and it only took Kate three days to find a way to steal her job. Kate is bewildered. She walks away from the group and cries bitter tears.
This passage draws parallels between Miss Knag and Fanny on the one hand and Kate and Nicholas on the other. Miss Knag and Fanny are similar because they incorrectly blame someone else for their own issues. Nicholas and Kate are similar because their honesty and forthrightness make them oblivious to the often underhanded social dynamics at play. Miss Knag then lashes out against Kate just as Fanny lashed out against Nicholas.
Themes
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