Nancy is the pretty, caring, and stubborn young lady whom Godfrey marries. Like Godfrey, her father is a man who values moral rectitude, thrift, and hard work. 

Nancy has inherited these strict values and looks disapprovingly on what she sees as Godfrey’s weakness of character. She is, simultaneously, exhilarated by Godfrey’s attention and status. Nancy lives her life according to an inflexible code of behavior and belief. She seems to have already decided how she feels about every question that might come up in her life, not necessarily on the basis of any reason or thought, but simply because anything else would represent a sort of weakness in her own eyes. When Nancy is younger, this “code” of hers demands that she and her sister dress alike on formal occasions. When she is older, Nancy’s code forbids her to adopt a child, as in her mind such an action represents a defiance of God’s plan. George Eliot seems to convey through her character that excessive rigidity is undesirable in man. To grow one must learn and come out of one’s comfort zone.