"Nancy, indeed, was not exempt from a failing which was very common among the Jew’s female pupils; and in which, in their tenderer years, they were rather encouraged than checked. Her disordered appearance, and a wholesale perfume of Geneva which pervaded the apartment, afforded strong confirmatory evidence of the justice of the Jew’s supposition; . . . that she was very far gone indeed."
― Chapter 26
Nancy is a prostitute who is a loyal member in Fagin’s gang and Bill Sikes’ girlfriend. She pities Oliver when he is brought back to the gang and is determined to protect and help him, while expressing guilt for the life she has chosen.
Despite her life of crime and poverty, Nancy is a sympathetic, caring woman who still has morality and goodness inside of her. Even with her low social status and criminal life, she is always hopeful to make things right and never has bad intentions to cause harm, but despite her efforts, she is often overlooked since she is considered a lowlife. When she meets Oliver, she understands his innocence and doesn’t want him to get involved in the gang’s crimes, mainly that his young age reminds her that she had joined the criminal world when she was around his age, and is determined not to allow him to make the same mistakes she made.