# IV explained — Blind Mice > Chapter companion for Blind Mice by C. Kay Scott. ## What happens This chapter details the early life and marriage of Nannie (Anna Lockhart) Merwent. It describes her privileged but cruel childhood in the South, her manipulative and attention-seeking nature, her family's financial decline, and her calculated courtship and marriage to Arthur Merwent, a young lawyer from the North. The chapter highlights her coquettish behavior, her mother's pragmatic ambitions, and the tense, dramatic events leading up to and including the wedding day. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Class and Ambition Nannie's family's aristocratic pretensions and Mrs. Lockhart's determination to secure a wealthy husband for Nannie drive the plot, highlighting the intersection of class, marriage, and financial survival. ### Manipulation and Control Nannie's lifelong pattern of cruelty, coquettishness, and emotional manipulation is evident in her treatment of animals, servants, friends, and ultimately Arthur, whom she torments before and during the wedding. ### Gender Roles and Identity Nannie performs femininity as a tool for power—using charm, tears, and fashion to control her environment—while Arthur's stoic, reserved masculinity contrasts with her emotional volatility. ## Character check-ins ### Miss Nannie Revealed as Anna Lockhart, born into an aristocratic Southern family; displays cruelty, vanity, and manipulative behavior from childhood; later marries Arthur Merwent after a dramatic courtship. ### Mrs. Merwent Nannie's mother, an efficient and practical woman who orchestrates Nannie's marriage to Arthur Merwent for financial security. ### Arthur Merwent A young lawyer from the North who boards with the Lockharts; becomes engaged to Nannie after a tumultuous courtship and marries her despite her dramatic behavior. ### Mrs. Lockhart Nannie's mother, who initially has reservations about Arthur but eventually encourages the marriage after learning of his family's prosperity. ### Mr. Sprague Nannie's father, described as pompous and weak, who approves of Arthur and is impressed by the Merwent family. ### Aunt Martha Nannie's nurse, an old negress whom Nannie abuses by sticking pins into her arms. ## Key lines > She stuck pins into the arms of Aunt Martha, her nurse, while the old negress was dressing her; she stepped on the bare toes of the small black children on her father's place, and invented punishments for the dogs, cats, and other domestic animals that happened to be at her mercy. Nannie physically abused her nurse, stepped on the toes of enslaved children, and devised cruel punishments for pets. _Illustrates Nannie's early cruelty and sense of entitlement._ > Nannie, who shared the common conviction that Arthur was a rising young lawyer and a desirable catch, consented to become engaged. This did not hinder her from indulging in coquettish tricks of a number and variety that her fiancé found disconcerting. Nannie agreed to marry Arthur because he was seen as a good match, but she continued to play games and tease him, which upset him. _Highlights Nannie's manipulative approach to the engagement._ > You've wrecked my life! I don't know what's to become of me! Nannie accused Arthur of ruining her life the day before the wedding, weeping dramatically. _Shows Nannie's theatrical emotional outbursts and Arthur's patient response._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/blind_mice_se/chapters/iv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/blind_mice_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/blind_mice_se/chapters