Nicholas Nickleby, Chapter 18 summary
Chapter 18 of 65 · 21 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 18, Kate Nickleby receives Miss Knag’s patronizing friendship, visits her home with her mother, and then becomes the target of her anger when customers prefer Kate’s service. Miss Knag treats this public rejection as Kate’s fault, and the other workers join her hostility, leaving Kate isolated and privately distressed.
What happens
- The narrator contrasts enthusiasm for unusual charitable causes with neglect of ordinary suffering, including Kate’s exhausting working life.
- Miss Knag welcomes Kate’s apparent awkwardness and urges her to stay unnoticed by customers.
- Kate and Mrs. Nickleby visit the Knags, where supper includes a servant’s protest and stories about Mortimer’s disappointed love and writing.
- On the fourth day, a lord’s intended bride rejects Miss Knag’s service and asks for Kate instead.
- Miss Knag attacks Kate before the other workers, who support their forewoman and mock the bewildered apprentice.
- Kate recognizes Miss Knag’s motives, refuses to answer her insults, and returns to work while secretly crying.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Miss Knag turns personal humiliation into a demand for Kate’s exclusion. The other workers’ support makes her anger a threat to Kate’s daily working life.
Quick check
What immediately causes Miss Knag’s hostility toward Kate?
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