The Old Curiosity Shop, Chapter 43 summary
Chapter 43 of 73 · 10 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 43, Nell assumes responsibility for her grandfather and accepts a canal boat passage, hoping to prevent feared pursuers from finding them. The boatmen frighten her with drinking and fighting, then demand songs through the night, before leaving the pair bewildered in a rain-soaked manufacturing town.
What happens
- Nell leads her ashamed grandfather onward through the night, determined to keep him from crime.
- Three boatmen find them sleeping beside the water and offer them passage toward an unnamed town.
- Nell accepts to obscure their trail, then spends her scarce money on bread and cheese during a stop.
- The boatmen drink and fight, while Nell stays outside the cabin with her sleeping grandfather.
- Afraid to refuse, Nell sings repeatedly through the night to keep the men cheerful.
- The men shelter them from rain, but their arrival leaves Nell and her grandfather alone in a crowded industrial street.
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Why does Nell accept the boatmen's offer?
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