Character Analysis
The nurse recognizes Phoenix immediately, and she is familiar with her grandson's case. The few biographical details we get about Phoenix come through her conversation with the nurse. From the nurse, we find out that Phoenix lives in the country off the Natchez Trace and that she was never able to go to school because she was too old by the time of the Surrender (the end of the Civil War) to go. It is through the nurse that we learn of Phoenix's grandson and the reason for her journey.
But there is also a lot about Phoenix that the nurse flat out doesn't get. We've been with Phoenix on her journey and have seen that she's a complex character, but the nurse identifies her as "just old Aunt Phoenix" (75), and like the attendant, marks her as "charity" (92). When Phoenix laments, "I'm an old woman without an education" (87), the nurse does nothing to validate Phoenix's worth in other respects.
In these ways, the nurse seems to reinforce the argument that within the institutions of the city, Phoenix really is just an old woman without much to offer, making the nurse another example of a character who does not recognize Phoenix's value nor her noble purpose, and tying this disregard to public institutions.
The Nurse's Timeline