Nell Character Analysis in Fever 1793

Nell is an abandoned orphan girl, no more than a toddler, whom Mattie finds and keeps during the epidemic. Nell quickly bonds with Mattie. Though Mother Smith urges Mattie to take Nell to the orphan house, Mattie decides to keep her. Nell comes to live at the reopened coffeehouse with Mattie, Mother, and Eliza’s family.

Nell Quotes in Fever 1793

The Fever 1793 quotes below are all either spoken by Nell or refer to Nell. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Don’t love her,” warned Mother Smith.

“Pardon me?”

“I said, don’t you fall in love with that baby girl. She’s not yours. You can’t keep her. You had any sense, you’d take her right down to the orphan house tomorrow and hand her over. Don’t look back […] She stays with you, you feed her, wash her, sing to her, mother her, then give her away. How’s that going to make her feel? You’re the cruel one.”

Related Characters: Mother Smith (speaker), Matilda “Mattie” Cook (speaker), Nell

Page Number and Citation: 180

Explanation and Analysis:

After Mattie unofficially adopts Nell, an orphaned girl abandoned during the epidemic, Mother Smith warns Mattie not to become too attached. It would be much more compassionate, she explains, to surrender Nell to the orphan house before she and Mattie are too closely bonded. It’s important to note that Mother Smith’s advice isn’t rooted in cruelty. As a Free African Society volunteer—and a former slave herself—Mother Smith has no doubt witnessed terrible suffering, including the consequences of bonds too quickly broken by separation. It could also be argued that Mattie’s choice to keep Nell is reckless. After all, she can’t Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque

Nell Character Timeline in Fever 1793

The timeline below shows where the character Nell appears in Fever 1793. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Tiny Nell’s mother is dead, her body still in the house. Before she quite realizes what she’s... (full context)

Mothers, Daughters, and Familial Love Theme Icon

...taller of the two women looks familiar. Suddenly Mattie screams, “Eliza!” and starts running, with Nell clinging to her for dear life. One of the drunken men intercepts Mattie, inviting her... (full context)

Mattie has lost sight of the two women. Nell is getting heavy. She speaks to a tired-looking woman who’s hanging out her laundry. The... (full context)

...suffering. Eliza tells Mattie it’s getting dark, and they’ll talk about everything later. She gives Nell a roll and offers to carry the child, but Nell clings to Mattie’s neck. Soon... (full context)

Eliza leads Mattie and Nell into Joseph’s small, tidy rooms above the cooperage. She explains that Joseph’s wife died last... (full context)

Ingenuity, Ambition, and Survival Theme Icon

Eliza watches Nell sleeping and tells Mattie that both she and Nell should probably go to the orphan... (full context)

The next morning, Mattie wakes to find that Nell has wet the bed they’re sharing. She scrubs Nell’s and the twins’ bedding in the... (full context)

As Mother Smith is leaving that night, she sees Mattie patting a sleeping Nell and warns, “Don’t love her […] She’s not yours. You can’t keep her.” It’s cruel,... (full context)

Early the next morning, Mattie talks to Eliza about Nell. She agrees with Mother Smith that she has to think about Nell’s future. If Lucille... (full context)

As Eliza, Nell, and Mattie walk to the orphan house, Mattie tries to distract herself from heartbreak, telling... (full context)

Mattie looks into Nell’s trusting eyes and “[wants] to dance.” She thanks the woman and dashes down the steps... (full context)

They pass the Ogilvie mansion, and Eliza tells Nell a story she’s heard about Colette Ogilvie. Colette almost died from the fever, but on... (full context)

...with his face in his hands; he’s weeping. The twins are panting on the bed; Nell is feverish, too. Seeing their condition, even Eliza is shaken. Mattie thinks about what to... (full context)

...sends a mule cart to the cooperage, and Mattie and Eliza pack the twins and Nell securely inside. Mattie “asked my heart to be hard,” knowing she can’t be helpful if... (full context)

...difficult, though. As soon as one twin is made comfortable, the other jolts awake, screaming. Nell has nightmares and doesn’t recognize Mattie. One day blends into the next as they try... (full context)

...Eliza’s money; she wants to share the business with her. This way, the twins and Nell can stay at the coffeehouse as well. (full context)

...is going to get the house stirring.” She hurriedly gets dressed, careful not to wake Nell. In the next bed, Mother is still sleeping. Mattie lets her rest—she’d coughed late into... (full context)

Nell Character Analysis

Nell Quotes in Fever 1793

Chapter 23 Quotes

Nell Character Timeline in Fever 1793