# XLVI explained — The Old Curiosity Shop > Chapter companion for The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. ## What happens The schoolmaster finds Nell and her grandfather in a state of exhaustion and carries her to an inn, where she is cared for. He reveals he has been appointed clerk and schoolmaster to a distant village at five-and-thirty pounds a year. Nell confides in him about their flight to save her grandfather from a madhouse and his own temptations. They agree to travel together to the village, where the schoolmaster will help them find humble work. They depart by stage-wagon, with Nell inside among the packages. ## Themes in this chapter ### Poverty and Suffering Nell's exhaustion and near-collapse highlight the physical toll of their flight and poverty. ### Sacrifice and Devotion Nell's heroic perseverance to save her grandfather from a madhouse and his own temptations is central to the chapter. ### Death and Transcendence The schoolmaster reflects on his love for a deceased person being transferred to Nell, suggesting transcendence through compassion. ## Character check-ins ### Nell Trent Exhausted and weeping, she confides in the schoolmaster about their flight and fears for her grandfather. ### The Schoolmaster Discovers Nell and her grandfather, carries her to an inn, and shares his new appointment; he offers them a new start. ### Mr. Trent Present and anxious, he wrings his hands and implores Nell to speak; later retires to an inner room. ## Key lines > It makes me unhappy even in the midst of all this kindness said the child, to think that we should be a burden upon you. How can I ever thank you? If I had not met you so far from home, I must have died, and he would have been left alone. Nell expresses sorrow at being a burden despite the schoolmaster's kindness, acknowledging that without him she would have died and her grandfather would be alone. _Highlights Nell's gratitude and the precariousness of their situation._ > I have been appointed clerk and schoolmaster to a village a long way from here—and a long way from the old one as you may suppose—at five-and-thirty pounds a year. Five-and-thirty pounds! The schoolmaster announces his new position as clerk and schoolmaster in a distant village, earning thirty-five pounds annually. _Shows the schoolmaster's improved fortune and his willingness to share it._ > She told him all—that they had no friend or relative—that she had fled with the old man, to save him from a madhouse and all the miseries he dreaded—that she was flying now, to save him from himself—and that she sought an asylum in some remote and primitive place, where the temptation before which he fell would never enter, and her late sorrows and distresses could have no place. Nell confides her entire story: they are alone, she fled to prevent her grandfather's confinement, and now seeks a remote refuge to protect him from his own weaknesses. _Reveals the depth of Nell's sacrifice and the reason for their flight._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters/xlvi - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_curiosity_shop_se/chapters