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Foreshadowing
Key Examples in The Old Nurse’s Story
Frame Story
Explanation and Analysis—The Old Nurse’s Story:
“The Old Nurse’s Story”—as the title implies—is an example of a frame story, meaning that it contains a story within a story. Gaskell tells the story of an old nanny (Hester) talking to children in her care while the nanny tells the children a story from their mother's childhood. Though Hester acknowledges her young listeners at different points throughout the story, she spends the most time “framing” the story for them at the beginning, as seen in the following passage:
I thought I should like nothing better than to serve the pretty young lady, who was blushing as deep as I was, as she spoke of the coming baby, and what I should have to do with it. However, I see you don’t care so much for this part of my story, as for what you think is to come, so I’ll tell you at once.
Related Themes:
