Spoon River Anthology, Nancy Knapp summary
Nancy Knapp of 246 · 1 min to read the chapter
In Nancy Knapp, Nancy describes how buying a farm with her husband's inheritance brings family hostility, financial losses, and isolation rather than security. When dreadful smells fill the rooms, she sets the beds alight and dances outside as the house burns and her husband weeps.
What happens
- Nancy and her husband buy a farm with his inheritance, while his siblings accuse him of turning their father against them.
- Disease kills their livestock, crops fail, and lightning hits the granary, forcing them to mortgage the farm.
- Her husband becomes withdrawn and anxious, and some neighbors side with his siblings and stop speaking to them.
- Nancy feels she has no escape, and dreadful smells fill the rooms.
- She ignites the beds and dances in the yard as the house burns and her husband cries.
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What to notice
Nancy contrasts inherited wealth with the distress that accompanies it. The line links the family quarrel to her account of losses and isolation.
Quick check
Where does Nancy start the fire?
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