Great Expectations by
Charles Dickens 1860 -1861
TheBestNotes Study Guide by TheBestNotes.com Staff
Reprinted with permission from TheBestNotes.com Copyright © 2003, All Rights Reserved Distribution without the written consent of TheBestNotes.com is strictly prohibited.
LITERARY ELEMENTS
SETTING
The action of Great Expectations takes place in a limited geography between a small village at the edge of the North Kent marshes, a market town in which Satis House is located, and the greater city of London. The protagonist, Pip, grows up in the marsh village. Eventually he becomes a frequent visitor to Satis House, located in the market town. Upon inheriting a good deal of money, he moves to London, where he is taught to be a gentleman. Throughout the novel, Pip travels between these three locations in pursuit of his great expectations.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Major Characters
Pip - Philip Pirip He is the narrator and hero of the novel. He is a sensitive orphan raised by his sister and brother-in-law in rural Kent. After showing kindness to an escaped convict, he becomes the beneficiary of a great estate. He rejects his common upbringing in favor of a more refined life in London, unaware that his benefactor is actually the convict. By the end of the novel he learns a great lesson about friendship and loyalty, and gives up his “great expectations” in order to be more true to his past.
Joe Gargery A simple and honest blacksmith, and the long-suffering husband of Mrs. Joe. He is Pip’s brother-in-law, as well as a loyal friend and ally. He loves and supports Pip unconditionally, even when Pip is ashamed of him and abandons him. By the end of the novel, Pip realizes the true worth of Joe’s friendship.
Miss Havisham A bitter and eccentric old lady who was long ago jilted on her wedding day. She continues to wear her faded wedding gown, though it is old and yellowed. The cake, rotted after all these years, still adorns her dining room table. Twisted by her own hatred and resentment, she lives in cobwebbed darkness with her adopted daughter Estella, whom she has raised to be a man-hater.
Estella The beautiful adopted daughter of Miss Havisham. Haughty and contemptuous, she is a girl with a very cold heart. She has been brought up to wreak revenge on the male sex on Miss Havisham's behalf. She is honest with Pip when she tells him she is incapable of returning his love.
Magwitch (also known as Provis and Campbell) An escaped convict who initially bullies Pip into bringing him food and a file. Unbeknownst to Pip, the convict later rewards him by bequeathing him a large amount of money anonymously. He comes back into Pip’s life when Pip is an adult, revealing himself as the donor, and asks for help in escaping the death sentence he has been given as a result of his life of crime.
Minor Characters
Mrs. Joe Gargery Pip’s sister. She is a short-tempered woman who resents Pip because he is a burden to her. She is attacked with a leg-iron and spends the rest of her life unable to communicate because of a brain-injury. She learns to be patient and forgiving as a result of the attack.
Biddy Wopsle Pip's confidante and teacher. As a child, she develops a crush on Pip. She runs the house after Mrs. Joe’s accident and later marries Joe.
Mr. Wopsle A parish lay clerk who had formerly wanted to be a clergyman. He leaves his church to become a not-so-successful actor in London. His “great expectations” are in comic parallel to Pip’s.
Mr. Pumblechook Joe's uncle. He joins Mrs. Joe in bullying and resenting Pip, then takes some credit for Pip's good fortune.
Mr. and Mrs. Hubble Friends of Mrs. Joe.
Orlick Joe's employee. He is an evil character who attacks Mrs. Joe and also attempts to take Pip's life. Later he robs Mr. Pumblechook and ends up in jail.
Mr. Jaggers A criminal lawyer in London. He is well respected in his own dubious social circle, and is most well known for his ability to defend even the dregs of society. He is the administrator of Pip’s inheritance.
Wemmick Jaggers' confidential clerk. He is a good-natured man in his personal life, but is incredibly stern and officious in his professional life. Pip often remarks that Wemmick has two personalities. He becomes an advisor and friend to Pip.
Herbert Pocket Pip's elegant and artlessly optimistic best friend. Though living in genteel poverty, he is an example of an uncommon gentleman.
Mr. Matthew Pocket Pip’s teacher and Herbert’s father. He is a thoroughly educated gentleman under whom Pip is to learn. He is the only member of the family who does not flatter Mrs. Havisham; as a result, she is not happy with him.
Bentley Drummle A sulking brute who eventually marries Estella then mistreats her.
Startop A tenant of Mr. Pocket and a friend of Pip.
Molly Jaggers’ housekeeper. She was once accused of murder but acquitted. She turns out to be Estella’s mother.
Miss Skiffins Wemmick’s girlfriend and later, bride.
Clara Herbert Pocket’s girlfriend and later, bride.
Mrs. Brandley The old widow with whom Estella lives in Richmond.
Mrs. Whimple An elderly woman at whose house Pip and Herbert lodge Magwitch in order to hide him.
Compeyson Magwitch's onetime partner in crime. It is his fault Magwitch is sentenced to prison. He becomes an informant to the police and helps recapture Magwitch.
CONFLICT
Protagonist
The protagonist of this novel is Philip Pirip, called Pip. Pip is a sensitive child, orphaned and living under the care of his sister and her husband. His sister resents him and continually reminds him that he is a burden. His brother-in-law, Joe, is kind to him; in fact, he is the only one who shows Pip any love.
An encounter in his childhood leads Pip to aid an escaped convict. In order to repay Pip, the convict secretly bestows him with large sums of money, so that Pip's dream of becoming a gentleman is realized. Pip changes on acquiring wealth and status; his childhood home and friends are embarrassing to him. In trying to live up to his own great expectations, he loses his sense of judgment and begins to value material possessions and gentlemanly pretensions more than kindness and friendship. On realizing that his patron is a convict, and that he has forsaken everyone who loved him in this false attempt to be a gentleman, Pip mends his way of life and returns to his good-natured self, more mature as a result of his experience.
Antagonist
The antagonist in this novel is not a person as much as it is an expectation, or rather, a set of expectations. Pip is led into making grave mistakes based on his false expectation of being a gentleman, his false expectation of marrying Estella, and his general false expectation of rising above his past. In the process of living out these expectations, Pip hurts the people who have been kindest to him -- namely Joe and Biddy. In the end, he learns that all his aspirations have been based on a false presumption that he could rise above his past and be something better than Joe or Biddy. His wealth comes from a convict, and his newfound airs of being a gentleman dissolve in the realization that things are not what he has thought. He learns that true worth comes from inside a man, and turns away from his once-great expectations.
At times, actual characters seem menacing or dangerous, qualities usually associated with antagonists. Orlick, for example, is Pip’s first enemy. He resents Pip and seriously wounds Mrs. Joe. Later, he tries to kill Pip. Drummle, for his part, is known as the “Spider.” He baits Pip continually and steals Estella away as his wife, only to abuse her. Compeyson haunts Pip and Magwitch, eventually causing Magwitch serious wounds and successfully aiding the police in capturing him. These three, more than any other characters, provide the texture of the dramatic tension in the novel.
Estella and Miss Havisham occupy a special place in the dramatic breakdown of the novel as well. For some time, both are mildly threatening characters; Estella with her alternating cruelty and kindness and Miss Havisham with her morbid dress and rotten cake. Bitterness has led Miss Havisham to train Estella in coldness. And Estella herself warns Pip with certainty that she can only hurt him and that she is not capable of returning his love. In the end, Miss Havisham repents of her bitterness and Estella and Pip part as friends, but roles of these two women in sustaining the dramatic tension of the novel cannot be ignored.
Climax
The climax occurs when Pip learns the identity of his benefactor. In that moment, all his great expectations dissolve into shame of the convict and disgust with himself for his gradual change. He knows now that he is not destined to marry Estella, nor is he any less common than he was as a blacksmith’s apprentice. As well, he is obligated to protect his benefactor out of loyalty and gratitude. The foundation of assumptions and expectations on which he has built his life is completely shaken.
Outcome
Pip lays aside his expectations of greatness. He protects his benefactor and realizes that this convict has been more loyal to him than he has been to Joe. He makes sure he will not have access to any more of the convict’s money and acknowledges the dignity of laboring for his own keep. He apologizes to Joe and Biddy for his lack of loyalty to them. Finally, eleven years later, he meets Estella and is able to part from her as friends.
SHORT PLOT / CHAPTER SUMMARY (Synopsis)
As a young child, the orphan Pip lives with his sister and brother-in-law, the village blacksmith. On Christmas Eve, Pip is walking through the marshes when he meets an escaped convict who threatens him into bringing back food and a file to break the leg-irons. On Christmas Day, the convict is captured and returned to the prison ships known as The Hulks. He never reveals Pip’s assistance when he is caught and asked how he escaped his irons.
Much later, young Pip is sent to entertain Miss Havisham, a wealthy old lady who lives in a mansion known as Satis House. Miss Havisham is a bitter woman who was jilted on her wedding day long ago. She still wears her wedding gown, and the now-rotten wedding cake sits atop her dining room table. Her adopted daughter, Estella, is beautiful, and Pip instantly falls in love with her. But Estella is cold and distant. Over time, she softens somewhat toward Pip, but her affection is erratic. She tells him she can never love anyone.
Pip is dismissed from Miss Havisham’s service and becomes an apprentice to Joe. But Estella has instilled in him a shame in his commonness. He longs to be a gentleman, not a blacksmith. His discontent grows. One day he learns that an anonymous benefactor has left him an enormous sum of money. He is to move to London, where he will be trained to act as a gentleman. A lawyer, Jaggers, will oversee his inheritance. Pip is certain his benefactor is Miss Havisham, and believes he is being trained as Estella’s future husband. Pip's happiness is unfathomable as he moves to London, away from the only family and friends he has ever known. He is educated by Mr. Mathew Pocket and strikes a great friendship with his son, Herbert.
His wealth and position changes him, and soon Pip leads a dissipated life full of idleness. He is ashamed of Joe and Biddy, and wants little to do with them. He thinks association with them will lower him in Estella’s eyes. Estella continues to be a powerful factor in his life. She has been trained by Miss Havisham to break men’s hearts, and is constantly put in Pip’s life to toy with him. Even though she warns him she cannot love him, Pip persists in loving her.
On his twenty-fourth birthday, Pip learns that his benefactor is not Miss Havisham, but the convict from long ago. He realizes he is not meant for Estella, and also that Miss Havisham deliberately let him assume incorrectly. As well, he realizes with shame that he has mistreated his good friend Joe, who was always faithful to him. Though Pip is ashamed of the convict, Magwitch, he is grateful and loyal, so he commits himself to protecting Magwitch from the police, who are looking for him. His friend, Herbert Pocket, helps him.
Pip's moral education begins. He decides he can no longer accept the convict’s money. He becomes compassionate towards Magwitch, realizing the depth of the convict’s love for him. He tries to help Magwitch escape, but in the chaos, Magwitch is injured and caught. Magwitch dies, but not before Pip discovers that adopted Estella is Magwitch’s daughter and tells Magwitch how lovely she is. Estella marries Pip’s enemy, Drummle. Miss Havisham dies, but not before repenting of the bitterness that has ruined her life. She leaves a good deal of money to Herbert Pocket, at Pip’s request, in the hope that it will earn her forgiveness. Pip goes to Joe and Biddy, who have married one another since the death of Pip’s sister. He atones for his sins against them then sets off on his own, determined to make things right in his life. The novel ends when he meets Estella after many years. She has left Drummle, who has since died. She is remarried. She and Pip part as friends and Pip realizes she will always be a part of his life, as surely as all the other memories of his once- great expectations.
THEMES
The major themes in the novel are all related to ambition, i.e. “great expectations.”
Some issues explored under this umbrella theme are greed, envy, pride, arrogance, ingratitude and unkindness. The primary lesson Pip learns is that uncommon-ness on the inside is more important than uncommon-ness on the outside. He learns contentment and humility and returns to the kindness and generosity that characterized him when he was young. The themes are related to and presented in the Bildungsroman genre, which is explained in the “Background” section of this guide.
MOOD
Great Expectations is regarded as Dickens “grotesque tragicomic” conception, probably because of the mix of comedy and tragedy that adorns most of his novels. The opening of the novel is a perfect example of the dual mood. There are moments of touching tragedy and sadness, such as young Pip in a cemetery surrounded by his dead family, and Pip being mistreated by his only surviving relative, Mrs. Joe. At the same time, there is lighthearted comedy, such as when Mr. Pumblechook and Mr. Wopsle weave their tales of how the thief must have stolen the pork pie, when all the time, it was no thief but Pip. Though some of the comic mood is sustained throughout the book, it is definitely not the predominant mood. In fact, the darker moods dominate the text, with mystery and danger always lurking beyond the next page. Miss Havisham presents a grotesque mystery, as does Jaggers’ housekeeper Molly. The unknown and the dreaded are always present, especially toward the end of the novel, when grave events and serious complications completely envelop the plot.
Charles Dickens - BIOGRAPHY
Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. His father, a clerk in the Naval Pay Office, was sent to prison for debt. Young Charles was only twelve years old when he was sent to work at Warren's Blacking Factory, while the rest of his family joined his father in the Marshalsea Prison. During this time, Charles lived alone in a lodging house, ashamed and frightened. These early experiences became a source of creative energy and a reason for his preoccupation with themes of alienation and betrayal. These early experiences also made him self-reliant, a trait which would later turn him into a hard-working and dedicated writer.
Dickens returned to school after the financial difficulties were over. When he was fifteen, he went to work as a clerk in a law firm. Later he became a free-lance reporter, first reporting on dull law cases and then the more exciting parliamentary debates. These experiences helped shape his social consciousness. In 1830, he fell in love with Maria Beadwell, the daughter of a banker. The relationship was short-lived, since Dickens was not considered a good match for her, by her parents’ standards. He then met and married Catherine Hogarth on April 2, 1836.
Dickens’ first published story appeared in 1835. He also started writing under the famous pseudonym "Boz", with the first sketches published in 1836. His success as a writer truly began with the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836-37), now known as The Pickwick Papers. Its popularity allowed him to embark on a full-time career as a novelist. He wrote Oliver Twist in 1837, followed by Nicholas Nickleby, The Olde Curiosity Shop, and Barnaby Rudge. Dickens also had a social conscience. He visited Canada and the United States in 1842 and advocated international copyright laws and the abolition of slavery. His American Notes appeared in October of that year and, along with the novel Martin Chuzzlewit, did not portray America flatteringly.
Dickens' enormously successful A Christmas Carol was published in 1844. From 1844 onward, the family spent a lot of time abroad, especially in Italy, Switzerland, and France. The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, and Pictures from Italy belong to this period. He published Domby and Son in 1846, and began the serial David Copperfield in 1849. He published Bleak House in 1852, Hard Times in 1854, Little Dorrit in 1855, and collaborated with W. Collins on a play, The Frozen Deep, in 1856. He also founded and became the editor of the weekly Household Words and opened a theatrical company. In 1859 he began to edit All the Year Round, a weekly magazine. A serialization of A Tale of Two Cities appeared in this weekly in 1859. Great Expectations began to appear in 1860 and ended in 1861.
Dickens, being a much loved author, started the public reading of his works in 1853; this activity continued until 1870, when he gave his final public reading. He suffered a stroke on June 8, 1870, at Gad's Hill, the estate he had bought. He died on June 9, 1870. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, and his unfinished work, The Mystery of Edward Drood, appeared in September.
Dickens, who addressed social issues and historic events with penetrating insight, is regarded as the greatest British author of all times. The power of his novels, which are rich, diverse, and intense, lies in his ability to report accurately and to transform the ordinary into something magical. His concern for modern society is evident in all his novels. He emerges as a social reformer with a deep compassion for the working class. His works, which are complex, deep, and perceptive, are also marked with melodramatic intensity and humor. Many of his themes and images are recurrent. The image of a corrupt judicial system, especially the condition of prisons, occupies a central spot in both Bleak House and Little Dorrit. At times, Dickens exposes the humorous face of a sadly comic world with which he has gradually become disillusioned. He presents the failures of both business ethics and revolutionary zeal. In A Tale of Two Cities, he depicts both the excitement and the chaos of revolution.
Charles Dickens was a prolific writer of quality works that have remained popular through the years for their intensity and social conscience. In spite of his lack of formal education, he reveals in his novels a mastery of the English language and a sophisticated depth of thought that has endeared him to many generations of students and readers.
LITERARY/HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Great Expectations was published serially in Dickens’ weekly periodical, All the Year Round, from December 1860 until June 1861. This serialization was done in order to restore the dwindling readership of the magazine and was a wonderful success. There have been countless adaptations of the novel for the stage and screen and it is often credited as Dickens’ greatest work.
Some critics and historians suggest that Dickens wrote Great Expectations from an autobiographical perspective, drawing on his own experience as a discontent child. As well, two literary terms are commonly used in describing the style and development of Great Expectations. First, the novel is picaresque. This term applies to plots that are episodic in nature. As a serial novel, Great Expectations is necessarily picaresque. Pip’s story is told in small portions, each chapter having a self-contained event or situation that combines with the others to form the greater plot. Second, the novel is in the Bildungsroman genre. This means the main character’s self-development comes about as a result of trying to find his place in society. Some common elements of the Bildungsroman genre are the following: discontentment with society and one’s lot in life, a long and difficult maturation period in which the discontented lashes out against the world, and a resolution in which he is restored to the world and renewed or invigorated with his place in the world.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND NOTES
CHAPTER 1
Summary
Philip Pirip, known as Pip, is a young orphan being brought up by his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and her husband the blacksmith. One Christmas Eve, Pip visits the graves of his parents and five dead brothers, trying to imagine what they looked like. He has never known them. He is interrupted by a frightening man, large and mud-smeared, with prison irons attached to his leg. The man demands to know Pip’s name, then turns him upside down trying to empty his pockets of any money. Young Pip has only a piece of bread, much to the stranger’s disappointment. The man finds out that Pip lives with his brother-in-law, the blacksmith, and demands that Pip bring him a file and some food. The man tells the terrified seven-year old that if he fails to bring these things the next day, his heart and liver will be torn out. He also warns Pip not to breathe a word about their encounter to anyone.
Notes
The first few lines of Great Expectations establish with immediacy the sad plot of the orphan Pip. He has never known his parents and is completely alone in a desolate cemetery trying to imagine what they looked like. No other introduction is needed, since this situation is at once compelling and dramatic; after all, the child is only seven years old. It can be assumed he has little history with which to begin his tale; therefore, the reader is thrown at once into his life by means of the narrative action.
Structurally, the novel establishes itself as a first-person retrospective; that means the narrator is remembering the events of his life and has arranged them to suit his fashion in telling the tale. The immediate sympathy gained by the situation (an orphan alone in a cemetery) also reinforces the credibility of the narrator (the older orphan looking back on his life); the audience is compelled to like the narrator, to trust him and want the best for him.
The author, Charles Dickens, displays mastery of setting and tone in these first few moments, describing vividly the marshes surrounding the small village at the edge of North Kent. In this lonely and serene environment, young Pip turns into “a bundle of shivers.” The stranger with leg irons still attached is ominous and instantly threatening, causing Pip to fear for his life. And yet the convict displays his own vulnerability when he asks for a file to free himself from his chains and some food to relieve his hunger. He alone is not strong enough to sever his chains, nor can he survive without food. These observations, of course, rest solely in the minds of the readers. Young Pip is no less terrified.
Young Pip’s willingness to provide information about his family and to deliver help, albeit out of fear, reflects his natural giving nature. As well, it sets him up for the future events of the novel. Interestingly, the turning upside down of Pip by the stranger becomes a symbolic moment in the boy’s life; after meeting this man, Pip’s world is turned upside down.
As an introduction to this serial novel, the first chapter succeeds admirably in establishing setting, tone, and character. A troubling dilemma happens almost right away, and the entire novel follows as a consequence.
CHAPTER 2
Summary
Pip returns to his home and interacts with his sister and her husband. His sister Georgiana, known as Mrs. Joe, is two decades Pip’s senior, and a vigorous bully. Joe and Pip are comrades in the household, both victims of Mrs. Joe’s bad temper and rough spirit. In her customarily gruff way, Mrs. Joe gives both Pip and Joe bread and butter for their supper. Pip hides his in his trousers, to take to the stranger. That night, Joe tells Pip that two convicts have escaped from the nearby Hulks, which are prison ships. Young Pip is so frightened by his secret acquaintance with one of these convicts that he cannot sleep. Early the next morning, Christmas Day, he collects food from the pantry, including a pork pie specially made for dinner. He also pours out some brandy from the brandy bottle and replaces it with water, so as not to get caught. Having stolen Joe’s file from the forge, he runs off in search of the convict.
Notes
This chapter describes Pip’s guardians, Mr. and Mrs. Joe. The formal relationship between Pip and his sister is evident, as he calls her Mrs. Joe. She is the dictator of the house and commands unchallenged obedience not only from Pip but also from her husband. She frequently vents her anger on both of them, often without justification or excuse. When she believes that Pip has swallowed his bread in one bite, she gives him foul tasting tar water as punishment.
Mrs. Joe always wears an apron with an “impregnable” bib, which is a palpable symbol for the drudgery she imposes on herself. The pins and needles attached to her bib signify her self-punishing aggressiveness, which is in forceful contrast to Joe’s mild-natured simplicity. She seems to resent the burden of Pip on her household and makes Pip aware of his imposing existence.
Joe and Pip share a very tender relationship. They are exceedingly fond of each other mainly because they are victims of the same terror. At the dinner table, they share moments of comraderie; Joe is concerned for Pip when he thinks the child has eaten too quickly. Joe has paternal affection for Pip, and Pip loves Joe as well.
This chapter highlights the strong differences between Pip’s relationship to his sister and his relationship to Joe. The latter is much closer, which is of particular importance when one considers the “great expectations” of the plot. Pip will abandon Joe in search of a better life, despite his natural love and affection for the blacksmith.
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CHAPTER 3
Summary
On his way to meet the convict, Pip comes across another convict who startles and runs away. When he reaches the gruff man he met the day before, who hungrily devours the food, Pip tells him about the other convict. The stranger becomes very angry and excited, hurriedly trying to file away the chains on his leg. Pip realizes the stranger is too busy to notice, so he slips away and rushes home, knowing his absence will have been noticed.
Notes
The primary effect of this chapter is a fuller characterization of Pip, and also of an enormously influential friendship which will shape the novel. It begins with a scene loaded with aspects of character: a young, innocent boy seeks to reconcile the necessary theft of food and drink from his own family for the sake of a convicted felon. Clearly, his actions go against the good behavior he has been taught. Still, he covers his tracks artfully when he fills the brandy decanter with water. Such skill would seem to indicate practice at deception, were it not for the boy’s all too apparent innocent nature. This naivete is most easily apparent when he takes the pork pie, since he must surely know he will be caught. But it is obvious he is not even thinking about consequences. And as he watches the convict eat, he is filled with satisfaction that his efforts have been appreciated, despite their dubious moral qualities. Young Pip feels immense sympathy toward the man, as he has been alone without food, drink or shelter in the wilderness of the marshes. He empathizes with the feeling of isolation and seems to almost forget the threatening demeanor of the felon. Most evident and remarkable about this chapter is Pip’s concern for the convict and the convict’s gratitude towards Pip. A friendship is forged which will go on to shape Pip’s entire future.
CHAPTER 4
Summary
Pip rushes home, certain that his theft of the pork pie has been discovered. To his relief, the crime is still unknown. Mrs. Joe is busy arranging for the grand Christmas dinner to which Uncle Pumblechook, Mr. Wopsle and Mr. and Mrs. Hubble have been invited.
Mrs. Joe customarily serves Pip the worst food and the smallest portions, commenting on what a burden he is. Joe is helpless to intercede on behalf of his little friend; instead, he tries to sneak him larger portions of the Christmas meal. During the meal, Mrs. Joe goes to get the pork pie. Full of fear, Pip decides to run for the door. When he pulls it open, he is stunned to see a party of officers holding handcuffs out to him.
Notes
Though the scene is rife with comic incidents (Joe described as a scarecrow, Mr. Pumblechook taking a swig of the watered-down brandy) it also contains some heart-wrenching drama. Pip is made to feel like an unwanted responsibility and is forced to express his constant gratitude to Mrs. Joe. For her part, she simply abuses Pip and then insists he flatter her with praise and thanks. Joe does his best to counter his wife’s dour disposition and horrid treatment in the only way he is able: he heaps ladling spoonfuls of gravy into Pip’s plate. This sweet, pathetic gesture on Joe’s part once again brings out the love between him and the young boy. Both have experienced the pain of Mrs. Joe’s neglect. They are in this together.
The whole time, Pip’s mind is preoccupied with impending doom. Mrs. Joe will certainly find out about his theft, and he will certainly pay. The suspense through the meal is incredible; when she rises to get the pie, Pip’s fear is palpable. It carries him to the door consumed only by flight. And the shock of being greeted by outstretched hands holding handcuffs is a dramatic pay-off only a master storyteller could have envisioned.
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CHAPTER 5
Summary
Mrs. Joe’s discovery is lost in the chaos of the arrival of soldiers at the door. To Pip’s relief, they have not come for him; instead, they need the help of the blacksmith to repair the handcuffs. Also, they tell of the search for fugitives in the area and Mr. Wopsle, Joe and Pip make plans to join the party of soldiers in their task.
After much searching they find the two fugitives, whom Pip has already encountered, engaged in a bloody fight. The one to whom Pip has spoken is named Magwitch, and Pip tries desperately but without words to let the man know he did not turn him in. Magwitch seems to understand, then tells the soldiers he was capturing the other prisoner to return him to the ship. Further, he confesses to Joe that he stole some food from his house. Joe is benevolent and Pip is relieved he is off the hook. The convicts are taken back to the Hulks.
Notes
This chapter brings out the good nature of Joe, who is always ready to help. The appealing humanity in him is evident even as he replies to the apologetic confession of Magwitch, saying, “God knows you’re welcome to it”, when Magwitch confesses to stealing food.
Joe is not the only benevolent person in this scene. The convict Magwitch performs his share of goodness on Christmas day when he admits to having stolen food from Joe’s house, rather than acknowledge Pip’s involvement. It shows his concern for Pip, because the little boy would be made responsible for the missing food. This confession can also be seen as the first installation of the convict’s gratitude toward Pip, a significant moment in the development of the novel.
CHAPTER 6
Summary
In spite of his pangs of conscience, Pip does not reveal the truth to anyone, even to Joe. Upon returning to Mrs. Joe and the other guests, Joe tells the party about the fugitive’s confession, which arouses much excitement among the guests.
Notes
More than once the tenderness of Joe toward Pip moves the young boy to confess his involvement. But Pip is deeply ashamed of his deceit, and is afraid that a confession would mean eternal suspicion. He is sure that if he admits the truth to Joe, he will be suspect anytime something is misplaced. As for Mrs. Joe, Pip feels no guilt at having deceived her.
This chapter has a small but ironic moment when, as Pip trudges overcome with fatigue to his bed, he hears everyone giving his or her own version of how the convict must have broken into the house to steal the pork pie.
CHAPTER 7
Summary
Till Pip is old enough to be apprenticed to Joe as a blacksmith, he attends school at Mr. Wopsle’s great aunt’s evening school. Here he meets Biddy, the old woman’s granddaughter. Biddy looks after the old woman and her little shop.
At home, Joe is very impressed with Pip’s progress in education, and Pip makes a special point to teach Joe everything he knows.
One evening, about a year after the incident with the convicts, Mrs. Joe returns from shopping radiating with happiness. She tells both Pip and Joe that a rich old lady, Miss Havisham, has asked Mr. Pumblechook to send her a boy to wait upon her and that Pumblechook had suggested Pip. Pip is cleaned and made presentable and Mr. Pumblechook takes Pip to meet Miss Havisham.
Notes
Joe’s paternal pride in Pip’s educational accomplishments is evident in this chapter, and Pip’s devotion to his best friend is exhibited in the way he calmly teaches Joe everything he has learned. Joe is happy to be taught by Pip, but asks his assistance in keeping the learning secret, since Mrs. Joe would not approve. Joe speaks highly of Mrs. Joe despite her cruelty, saying he prefers to be “inconvenienced” rather than assert his independence on his wife by being educated.
The monumentally important invitation from Miss Havisham is at this time a simple opportunity. Mrs. Joe is convinced the position will make Pip’s entire future and works to make him presentable. Pip, for his part, is nonplussed and a little confused about the entire ordeal, but he readily agrees.
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CHAPTER 8
Summary
That night Pip stays with Mr. Pumblechook. The next morning he is taken to Miss Havisham’s grand mansion, The Satis House. The house, with its rusty doors and windows, is a dismal sight. The courtyard is barred from inside. A useless brewery stands off to the side of the dilapidated monument that is the old lady’s home.
The sour young lady who greets them at the gate admits only Pip, whom she leads to the parlor. It is a dark room lighted with candles. There, Miss Havisham is dressed in rich garments that must have once been bridal finery. Now they are old and faded, and hang loosely on her body. To Pip, the old lady seems like “a ghastly wax work” and “a skeleton in the ashes.” She tells Pip she is old and heart-broken, that she never goes outside, and that she has called him here to play with her adopted daughter Estella (the girl who answered the door).
She calls for Estella and commands the two to play cards. Estella, who is both beautiful and proud, plays with Pip scornfully, noting his impoverished appearance. She defeats him at cards and continually insults him by pointing out his “common-ness.” When they are finished, Estella gives him bread, meat, and beer, and Miss Havisham instructs him to return in six days. Pip returns home to Joe and Mrs. Joe, embarrassed and confused.
Notes
This chapter is of extreme importance in the development of Pip’s character. Pip is overwhelmed by the gloom of Satis House, but Estella shines like a beacon. She is young and beautiful, and Pip is inexplicably drawn to her. So when she reacts to him so negatively, full of insults and disdain, Pip is crushed. To Estella, he is beneath respect. She makes fun of everything about him, even his boots, and takes delight in attacking his pride. Pip is left feeling embarrassed and helpless, ashamed of his own existence. It is such a strong, helpless feeling Pip can only kick the wall in frustration. This vented anger is over the injustice of being treated like a dog simply because he is common. It is because of Estella’s cruel snubs that young Pip becomes ashamed of his own common-ness. The desire to be “uncommon” is born and follows him most of his life.
Pip contemplates the injustice of life, since he has no choice in his upbringing. First Mrs. Joe and now Estella seem to blame him for his lowly position. The injustice overwhelms him at first, then simply makes him angry. The chapter ends with his determination to make of himself something strong enough to combat the injustice.
CHAPTER 9
Summary
Pip returns home to face the curious questions of Mrs. Joe and Mr. Pumblechook. Pip is reluctant to share his day with them, and invents a fantastic story about gold and silver, about majestic dogs fighting over fine food on silver plates, and a game with flags. His listeners are rapt with attention and fascination. Later, Pip confesses to Joe that all that he said was a lie. He tells Joe what really happened and asks why he must be so “common.” Joe is saddened by the story and by his young friend’s experience. He asks Pip not to lie again.
Notes
Pip’s fantastic tale is in part to thwart the intrusive inquiries of his sister and Mr. Pumblechook, since he finds both of them bothersome and noisy. But it is also in part derived from his own feeling of shame -- a feeling Estella provoked in him that he cannot shake. It is obvious how deeply the disappointing feeling of unimportance has taken root in Pip’s young heart. He seems determined to overcome his social common-ness. He voices his grief to Joe, who simply consoles him by explaining that his goodness makes him uncommon. In response to Pip’s lie (to Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook) Joe tells him it is more important to be uncommon in honest ways than in crooked ones.
CHAPTER 10
Summary
His desire to be uncommon takes Pip again to Biddy, who promises to teach him whatever she knows. One Saturday evening while Joe and Pip are at the Three Jolly Bargemen bar, they meet a strange man who offers Joe a drink and inquires about Pip. Pip notices that the man stirs his drink with the file he had taken a long time again and given to the convict. The boy has often dreamed that the stolen file will come back to haunt him, and now fears it has. The stranger gives Pip a shilling wrapped in paper. When they return home, Pip and Joe discover the papers are actually one-pound notes. They run to look for the man, thinking it to be a mistake, but never find him
Notes
An evening out with Joe loses all its delight when Pip sees the strange man carrying Joe’s stolen file. The fear that the convict will return and he will be exposed as an accomplice causes Pip to sleep restlessly, if at all. Pip sees the appearance of the stranger as an omen of his own bad luck; he does not realize the significance of the man, or the impact he will have on Pip’s life for the better.
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CHAPTER 11
Summary
Pip makes a second visit to Miss Havisham’s house. He sees some other people who wait on her, most of them cousins and various other relations. He is taken into a room where a table is decorated with a wedding cake that has long since rotted and is now full of insects. Miss Havisham tells Pip that when she dies, they will put her body on the table. Then Pip plays cards with Estella. On his way back, he comes across a thin, pale boy who dares him to fight. Pip knocks the boy down and Estella grants him the reward of kissing her cheek.
Notes
Pip’s second visit proves to be an important one, though the significance is for now unrealized. He meets two people with whom he will have a long association: Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer, and the boy with whom he fights. The boy will become his most trusted friend in a few years.
The room with the wedding cake is yet another symbol in the novel to mark the house that has been forgotten by time. The cake and Miss Havisham’s dress are eerie monuments to the unfulfilled past—monuments that have rotted and yellowed with age, but that still stand.
Estella’s reward is only a temporary victory for Pip; it does not mean he has become less common, at least to her.
CHAPTERS 12 - 14
Summary
Pip is now expected to be at Miss Havisham’s every afternoon. This arrangement continues for ten months. Estella’s behavior during this time alternates between indifference and friendliness, confusing Pip and stringing him along.
Miss Havisham knows that when Pip is old enough, he will be apprenticed to Joe. One day, she asks the young boy to bring his mentor along. A few days later, when the visit takes place, Joe’s behavior embarrasses Pip. Miss Havisham rewards Pip with a generous sum of twenty-five guineas and reminds him that he is now a servant of Joe. The apprenticeship will sever his ties with Satis House.
Once Pip had looked forward to working with Joe. After all, the two were as close as brothers. But now the work seems like drudgery; Pip is constantly aware of the “common-ness” of it all. He often wonders what Estella would think if she saw him working as a blacksmith. His discontent grows daily.
Notes
Joe’s “common” behavior at Miss Havisham’s is the first in a long series of things that Pip becomes ashamed of as a result of his time with Estella. He watches Estella smile at Joe and imagines she is laughing at his base ways and lowly mannerisms, and Pip is embarrassed.
Ultimately, Pip’s apprenticeship takes him away from Satis House and the taste of uncommon-ness he had enjoyed there. He becomes preoccupied with thoughts of Estella and Miss Havisham, and his dissatisfaction with his old life grows steadily. He becomes more ashamed of home, and of Joe. Both are constant reminders that his station in life will never meet Estella’s standards and this troubles him greatly.
CHAPTERS 15 AND 16
Summary
Against Joe’s better wishes, Pip takes half a day off from work to visit Miss Havisham. Orlick, Joe’s employee, is jealous and requests half a day off as well. When Joe grants it, Mrs. Joe interrupts and this leads to a quarrel between her and Orlick, and subsequently between Orlick and Mrs. Joe. Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s only to discover Estella is away in France, being educated as a lady.
Upon arrival at his home, Pip discovers that someone has broken in and injured Mrs. Joe. A leg-iron that was long ago filed away lies on the ground next to her, and she is permanently brain-damaged. She is bed-ridden, hearing-impaired, and unable to speak. Biddy moves in to be her nurse and look after Joe and Pip.
Notes
The story takes an unprecedented turn with the near-fatal wounding of Mrs. Joe. Her incapacity to do work and impaired senses create a lot of stress in the household until Biddy comes to stay. Then she becomes an invaluable member of the family. Joe finds a consoler in her and Pip finds a close entrusted friend. Biddy also takes up the responsibility of taking care of Mrs. Joe. One good thing about the accident is that it makes Mrs. Joe a much nicer person. She is suddenly patient and bearable. She even apologizes to Orlick and becomes kind and gentle at heart.
The perpetrator of the evil deed is not found, but to his own horror, Pip suspects the convict he long ago freed. He is glad that Biddy has joined them and he admires the way she conducts herself about the house and helps in his learning.
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CHAPTER 17
Summary
Pip visits Miss. Havisham on his birthday, having been encouraged by the reception he received last time. The old lady gives him a guinea, which he invests in buying books. These visits to Miss Havisham’s house only serve to make Pip more aware of his discontentment with his present life; he becomes increasingly frustrated. One day Pip confesses to Biddy that he wants to become a gentleman in order to win Estella’s love. Biddy wisely replies that if it is necessary to change in order to win a woman’s love, then the woman is not worth it. Pip says things would be so much simpler if he were in love with Biddy instead of Estella.
Notes
This chapter is solely dedicated to Pip’s struggle for contentment. He finds himself longing for things he cannot or does not have. Biddy is a faithful friend, pragmatic and honest with Pip. She reminds him that one should not have to change to be loved. Even Pip, in his lovesick discontent, realizes that things could be so perfect if he could love Biddy and enjoy working with Joe. Instead, he is consumed by thoughts of Estella and by the knowledge of his own inability to please her, since he is not her kind of person.
CHAPTER 18
Summary
In the fourth year of his apprenticeship to Joe, the lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, presents himself and tells Joe and Pip that an anonymous patron wants to bestow his huge property on Pip; as a result, Pip will be trained to become a gentleman. At present, the patron of this phenomenal gift wishes to remain anonymous. Jaggers goes on to say that Pip will live in London and receive his education under the tutelage of Mr. Matthew Pocket. The news is shocking, and Pip is overwhelmed. At first, he is torn between leaving Joe and Biddy; but his “great expectations” overwhelm him and he decides to go.
Notes
Although Pip’s ambition of becoming a gentleman is about to be fulfilled, he feels guilty about leaving Joe and Biddy. This guilt leads to a struggle in Pip’s mind. He realizes that Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer, is the same man whom he had seen in Miss Havisham’s house and he had heard about Matthew Pocket from a relative of Miss Havisham. He deduces that his patron is none other than the old lady and is honored by the thought. As well, he thinks it is a sign that his dreams of being with Estella will be fulfilled. Joe and Biddy despair that they are losing Pip; but they are kind-hearted and generous to a fault and would never deny Pip the opportunity to become uncommon.
CHAPTER 19
Summary
Joe and Biddy prepare themselves for the heartbreaking day of Pip’s departure. He promises to write often and to help out as much as he can. Then he busies himself shopping for clothes, shoes, hosiery, hats and so on. Before leaving for London he pays a visit to Miss Havisham, who already knows about his good fortune. Joe and Biddy bid him a tearful good-bye.
Notes
The attitudes of people toward Pip begin to change once they learn of his grand inheritance. Even Mr. Pumblechook, who has always commented on Pip as a burden, waxes eloquent on his good fortune and prime position in life. For the first time, Pip tastes the power and respect of money. He is confident he can finally meet Estella’s expectations, and indebted to Miss Havisham, whom he believes is his benefactor
This chapter represents a turning point for young Pip. His fate changes course, but the irony is in which direction it turns.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS PLOT SUMMARY AND NOTES
CHAPTERS 20 AND 21
Summary
Pip reaches London and is both overwhelmed by the size of the city and disgusted by its narrow and dirty roads. The filth of the city with its slaughterhouses and prisons sickens him, and he is relieved when he meets Mr. Jaggers, a familiar face. He is given a handsome allowance as well as credit at several shops. He is told he will temporarily reside with the son of his tutor, Mr. Pocket, at Barnard’s Inn. Mr. Wemmick, Jaggers' clerk, shows Pip the way to the Inn and introduces him to Mr. Herbert Pocket, the young boy Pip once knocked down at Satis House (for which Estella allowed him to kiss her).
Notes
This is the first in a series of scenes in which Pip begins his new life. The cast changes as other faces and characters with whom the reader has yet to be introduced to surround Pip. As the beginning of a new “phase” in Pip’s development, this chapter is marked by two impressions: the size of things to come, and the dirty underworld of London. In this chapter, both are introduced simply as aspects of a new city. In the context of the novel, however, they are highly significant symbols.
Wealth brings a lot of attention for Pip, who enjoys every bit of it. He is proud of his new clothes and his generous allowance and is full of grand thoughts about his life as a gentleman in the big city. He is full of admiration for Jaggers, since he sees the lawyer as a busy and very important man. The fact that all Jaggers’ clients are criminals is lost on young Pip; all he knows is that these men pay Jaggers for saving their lives (from jail or hanging). Jaggers appears to be successful and well respected, and Pip longs for that kind of influence and respectability.
CHAPTERS 22 - 25
Summary
Surprisingly, Herbert Pocket and Pip become very good friends. The fact that Pip had first met Herbert at Miss Havisham’s only encourages him to believe that the eccentric old lady is his benefactress. In fact, he marvels that Herbert is not jealous that Pip was chosen over him. Herbert begins to teach Pip upper class manners, and in the process, tells him what he knows about Miss Havisham.
Miss Havisham was the only daughter of a wealthy man and woman. When her mother died, her father re-married a servant and had a son. The son was bad, and was cut off from his family fortune. But when the father was dying, he brought the son back into his home and gave him his share. The no-good son wasted his inheritance and Miss Havisham refused to help him. Soon, a courtier seduced Miss Havisham on the premise that he was in love with her. In reality, he is in cahoots with her half-brother. According to the story, Miss Havisham was stood up on her wedding day; it was then she received a letter that revealed the alliance between the two men. Time stopped in Satis House. Miss Havisham, her wedding dress, and the rotten wedding cake are the only mementos of that horrible affair.
No one is really clear on how Estella came into the picture. Herbert only knows she was adopted and raised to avenge Miss Havisham by tormenting men, thereby making them pay for Miss Havisham’s tragedy.
Pip pays a visit to Mr. Matthew Pocket, Herbert’s father. He finds the man surrounded by a host of children. Herbert’s father is a good man somewhat overwhelmed by the task of parenthood. His wife is a useless matriarch, unable to control or rear her family. She is an ornament.
Pip also meets Bentley Drummle and Startop, two other characters in the novel who will become very important. They are boarders in the inn.
Pip settles down in London and is zealously tutored by the senior Mr. Pocket. Mr. Jaggers provides him with generous sums of money whenever he needs it. Pip learns further what kind of power and influence Jaggers has when he realizes the nature of the lawyer’s unsavory practice.
Notes
The coincidence of Pip’s having met Herbert long ago at Satis House furthers a very important assumption on Pip’s part that Miss Havisham is the source of his good fortune. Were it not for this misleading coincidence, Pip might look further. As it is, he mistakenly believes he knows the source of his newfound uncommon-ness because of the common faces that keep popping up. The friendship between the two boys is a pleasant surprise, since Pip no longer has Joe and since he needs an ally in the big London city. The blossoming relationship carries itself well in the remaining chapters.
The resulting exposition that explains some of Satis House and its morbid origin is informative not only to Pip but also to the reader. Estella’s cruel mocking behavior and alternating bouts of kindness to Pip are now viewed as acts of calculated abuse, for which Miss Havisham has trained her. Some, but not all, of Satis House begins to make sense.
Many characters in the novel are introduced and fleshed out in these introductory London chapters. Drummle and Startop at first seem insignificant, but later they will play roles of extreme dramatic importance. Drummle, for example, will go on to marry Estella. Startop will become Pip’s friend. For now, all that is significant is that Jaggers warns Pip to avoid Drummle, saying he is trouble. Jaggers must recognize the criminal mind of the young man, since that is his business.
Jaggers and his clerk Wemmick are developed more fully as well. Jaggers is a fearsome opponent whose many clients include the worst criminals of society. Many have long since been hung, but relics of their lives decorate his office. A characterizing detail of Jaggers is that he never locks his doors; he has such power in the underworld that he practically challenges a would-be thief to break in. In his own words, he says he would love to see “the man who’ll rob me.” Pip observes that everyone who comes near Jaggers seems to fear him. For his part, Pip has no reason to fear Jaggers; the lawyer is generous with him and seems very capable of handling his estate. Wemmick, Jaggers' clerk, is a good-natured man who welcomes Pip into his life and brings color and variety. In stark contrast to Jaggers, Wemmick is funny and harmless. Where Jaggers appears formidable and frightening, Wemmick appears faithful and frumpy. He lives with his father, known as “the Aged P,” and has a shelter built up in case of an attack. The Aged P and he can live for a while on the provisions he has stored up. Later, Wemmick will be a good advisor to Pip.
Chapter 25 presents Wemmick in Dickensian duality. He is a man with two distinctly different lives. On one hand he is the stern clerk of a shady defense lawyer. The world in which he works is frightening and morbid, full of reminders of hanged men. But in his personal life, he is the devoted son of a very old, very deaf man. He is charming and idiosyncratic, with lots of colorful detail.
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CHAPTER 26
Summary
Pip, Herbert, Drummle and Startop are invited to Mr. Jaggers' home. Jaggers housekeeper, Molly, is a fierce woman whom Wemmick suggests is barely tamed. Jaggers seems to like Drummle more and more; he nicknames him “the Spider.” Pip and Drummle quarrel.
Notes
Jaggers and his house share a constant gloominess, indicative of the darkness both are shrouded in. Jaggers has a habit of perpetually washing his hands, which symbolizes in part his attempt to absolve himself of guilt in his shady dealings. The sordidness of his taste for men is evident, when in spite of the presence of good honest men like Herbert and Startop, he takes a liking to the sulky and bullying Drummle. As if to top off this morbid characterization, Molly is introduced as a mysterious force to be reckoned with. Earlier, Wemmick had told Pip to notice her. He does, and sees a fierce woman with scarred hands whom Jaggers manages to keep in check. Later, Pip learns she even has a criminal history.
CHAPTER 27
Summary
Joe comes to London to visit. Pip fears his old friend will embarrass him, and is full of apprehensions that any of his newly found refined society friends might see him in the company of a lowly blacksmith. Joe tells Pip all the news of his old home, including word of Biddy and Mrs. Joe. He tells him Mr. Wopsle has taken a turn toward acting and that Estella has come home and would like to see him. Pip’s discomfort with Joe is obvious, and Joe senses that he is no longer suitable company for his young friend. He leaves and when Pip realizes what he has done, he races to find Joe. But his friend is already gone. Pip decides to pay Miss Havisham and Estella a visit.
Notes
The negative effect of Pip’s transformation is painfully obvious here. He is uneasy with a visit from his first dear friend, and thinks himself too good to be seen with a mere blacksmith. Joe’s warm advances are met with cool class- consciousness, and when the humble blacksmith calls Pip “sir” the unkindness reaches a peak. Pip makes his snobbery obvious enough that Joe takes his exit with a few touching words on their past relationship. Pip, shamed by Joe’s dignity and his own appalling behavior, runs to apologize, but Joe is gone.
CHAPTER 28
Summary
Pip hurriedly prepares to visit Estella, excited by the prospect of seeing her now that he is a gentleman. He decides against staying with Joe, since he believes such an arrangement would be inappropriate for his class, and opts instead to stay at the Blue Boar. He shares the coach with two convicts who are being transferred to the Hulks. Pip recognizes one of them as the strange man from long ago whom he had seen with Joe’s file. The man, however, does not recognize Pip in his upper-class finery. Pip dozes, waking in time to hear the familiar convict tell the other about two one-pound notes he once gave a young boy in a bar. Pip listens, recognizing himself as the recipient. The convict tells the other that he was given the two one-pound notes by a “lifer” and told to reward a young boy who had once fed him and given him a file. A lifer is a convict sentenced to stay in prison forever.
Notes
Aside from the interesting dramatic twist provided by the conversation of the two convicts on the coach, the only thing of import is Pip’s rush to visit Estella. Estella has always treated him cruelly, arbitrarily nice and mean. Yet he rushes off to visit her at once. In contrast, he has just snubbed Joe, who has been nothing but kind to him. Pip’s behavior is more than problematic—it is inexcusable.
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CHAPTER 29
Summary
When Pip arrives at Miss Havisham’s, he discovers that Joe’s employee Orlick, is now the old lady’s watchman. Estella is even more beautiful than she was and greets Pip with a pronouncement that he has changed much for the better. She warns him that his choice of company must necessarily change from what it once was, and Pip is convinced this means he must not associate with Joe. Estella recollects the day she watched Pip fight. Pip reminds her that she used to make him cry. She then turns to him and warns him that she has no heart. Pip tries to argue, but she is gravely serious. She warns him again that she has no tenderness or sympathy, and she never has.
Later, in the house, Miss Havisham implores Pip to love Estella, which he already does. Then she faints into his arms. Jaggers comes for dinner. Pip resolves in his heart to love Estella as the old lady has commanded, no matter what.
He closes the chapter with a retrospective lament that he felt no shame or sorrow over his decision to abandon Joe. At the time, he was so caught up with Estella he did not even question his choice.
Notes
This chapter reveals how deeply mired Pip has become in Miss Havisham’s “trap.” Estella is lovely and even more appealing, and Pip fawns over her like a puppy. Even though she warns him that she can never love him, he proceeds to finalize his plan to abandon Joe because he thinks it will please Estella. Pip as narrator is able to step outside these events for a moment and wonder how it was he could make such a choice without regret.
CHAPTER 30
Summary
Pip approaches Jaggers with his concern over the employment of Orlick at Satis House. He tells the lawyer of Orlick’s past and reputation, and Jaggers fires the man. When Pip returns to London, he sends a generous amount of food to Joe to assuage his own guilt. Then he proceeds to tell Herbert about Estella. Herbert already knows, however, and tries to persuade Pip to give up that foolishness. Herbert tells Pip about his girlfriend, Clara.
Notes
This chapter has a significant plot twist in that Pip is responsible for the firing of Orlick. Out of revenge, Orlick will eventually pose a threat to Pip’s life. For the most part, the rest of the chapter serves mainly to establish a pattern of denial and stubbornness on the part of Pip, leading to his continued downward fall. Even Herbert tries to warn Pip against loving Estella, but the boy with great expectations is resolute. The futility of loving Estella is obvious to all but Pip; that tragic love story is contrasted to the simple and sweet love between Herbert and Clara.
CHAPTER 31
Summary
Pip and Herbert go to the theater to see Wopsle’s performance in Hamlet. The play is amusing mostly for its lack of sophistication. Still, Herbert and Pip have a good time and after the play, they take Wopsle home for dinner.
Notes
Wopsle’s ascent to the theater is a comic parallel to the story of Pip’s ascent to high society. Joe had referred to Wopsle’s decision to leave the church as taking a “fall,” since the old man’s dream of being a famous actor seemed an aspiration destined to fail. And Wopsle made it to the big city, which could have been a sign of his success. Nevertheless, the audience reception of the play was exactly as Joe had predicted. The dreamer’s illusion of greatness is shattered by the reality of comic mediocrity. Like Wopsle, Pip’s dreams will never come true exactly as he had imagined. But his “fall” will be tragic where the older man’s is comic.
CHAPTER 32
Summary
Pip receives a letter from Estella saying that she is arriving in London very soon and would like him to meet her. Pip is so excited he can hardly contain himself. He arrives early, so to kill time he visits the Newgate Prison with Wemmick. He is horrified to see filthy conditions of the prison. Wemmick, strangely, is completely at ease. He even introduces Pip to a prisoner who is to be hanged.
Pip greets Estella hours later, and takes her to the house where she will be staying. Estella tells him she will be staying with a lady of good report, but that Pip is allowed to visit as liberally as he would like.
Notes
Aside from the dramatic endeavor of portraying Pip’s anxiety, this chapter also serves to comment in part on the conditions of London’s prisons. The Newgate Prison in London was actually known as one of the worst prisons in all of Europe, at the time the novel was written. Pip is horrified by what he sees, and also moved but the plight of the prisoners.
Pip returns to his world of ambitions and expectations as soon as he steps out of the prison and literally shakes off all the dust of crime and criminals that has collected on his clothes. He sees his great hope Estella waving at him from a coach and is filled with urgency to hide his visit from her. The irony is that prison will later be revealed as an important part of Estella’s past, as well as Pip’s.
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CHAPTER 33
Summary
Pip accompanies Estella to Richmond. Before he can thank her for requesting his company on the trip, she informs him that it is Miss Havisham’s order that she does so. Once again, he is hurt by her cruelty.
Notes
Pip hopes that Estella’s stay at London may bring them closer to each other, but in her company he realizes once again that she teases his emotions and leaves him hurt every-time. Estella, for her part, seems aware of the brutal way in which she hurts Pip. However, as will be clear later, she has no choice. She is a creation of Miss Havisham; she has no choice but to destroy the hearts of men
CHAPTERS 34 AND 35
Summary
Pip’s great expectations and luxurious lifestyle has begun to cause both he and Herbert considerable financial strain. Soon, the news of Mrs. Joe’s death arrives. Pip returns to his childhood home only to find that Joe’s house has been taken over by the tailor, Mr. Trabb. Joe is broken-hearted and Biddy calls Pip “Mr. Pip.” After the funeral, Pip tells Biddy he will visit more often, but she is skeptical. Pip is troubled by pleasant memories of his past and by the way he seems to have neglected his home and friends. He does not even mourn Mrs. Joe. The subtle changes in him over the years seem obvious to everyone but himself. He realizes Biddy has no faith in him and knows that her lack is probably justified; he loves Estella too much to risk her displeasure.
Notes
This chapter poignantly characterizes the depth and constancy of Joe and Biddy’s love for Pip. He returns for the funeral and stays at the Blue Boar. He tries to make them (and himself) believe that he will come to visit more often, but they know he will not. Still, their love for him is strong. Pip is troubled by his own shortcomings in response to their love, but he is so caught up in his expectations, he does not know how to deal with his own downfall. Pip’s growing debt is a dramatic strategy that serves to create suspense and dread. He is headed for a great fall, economically and emotionally.
CHAPTER 36
Summary
On Pip’s twenty-first birthday he is called to Mr. Jaggers’ office and given five hundred pounds. Jaggers tells Pip he will receive that amount annually from this point on until a time when his benefactor chooses to be revealed. Pip will be responsible for managing his own money.
Notes
The five hundred pounds come as a great relief to Pip, whose debt has become of grave concern. However, he had expected the birthday visit to reveal that he might be allowed to marry Estella, whom he continues to believe is being set aside for marriage to him. He still believes Miss Havisham to be his bountiful patron. He is sure that her generosity has a lot to do with her plans for he and Estella.
CHAPTER 37
Summary
Pip approaches Wemmick with his plans to help Herbert succeed in business. Wemmick assists Pip by calling on Clarriker, a young shipping merchant, and giving him money to hire Herbert. Clarriker gives Herbert employment as well as the promise of the bright future he has always dreamed of. As well, he promises to keep Pip’s involvement in the whole affair a secret. Pip is very happy that he has at last been able to do something good for somebody with his new station in life.
Notes
Though in the previous chapters, Pip’s snobbery and selfishness gets the better of him, this chapter re-establishes Pip’s unselfish and once-generous nature when he helps Herbert. Pip’s maturity is evident when he asks his identity to be kept secret. He knows that Herbert’s dignity would be hurt if Pip gave him financial help. It is the only good thing that comes of Pip’s new position.
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CHAPTER 38
Summary
Pip accompanies Estella on a visit to Satis house. Much to Pip’s surprise, Miss Havisham and Estella quarrel. Miss Havisham is troubled by Estella’s lack of devotion toward her, but Estella retorts that Miss Havisham has made her cold and unfeeling. Pip knows Estella has been trained to break his heart, but he feels compelled to continue in his obsessive admiration of her.
Pip and Drummle are members of a prestigious and snobbish men’s club called “The Finches of the Grove.” In one meeting, much to Pip’s horror and outrage, Drummle, the Spider, proposes a toast to Estella. The two fight and Drummle shows Pip Estella’s note confirming her favors for him. Pip is devastated.
Notes
The meeting between Miss. Havisham and Estella is crucially important. Miss Havisham has obsessively raised Estella to wreak havoc in the lives of men. She has trained her beautiful young charge to toy with and destroy men by making them love her with no hope of reciprocation. But Miss Havisham makes a mistake when she asks that Estella love her. Miss Havisham becomes the victim of the sharp weapon that she has created to hurt others. Estella is brought up without love and Miss Havisham’s demand for love can never be met.
Pip is close to realizing his dreams are futile when he sees Drummle, of all men, proposing a toast to Estella. What is worse is that Estella encourages this. Pip and Estella have a conversation in which she warns him that she is out to entrap and deceive men, and does not mind doing so to Drummle. She tells Pip she has never victimized him because he does not understand the way things are. He is naïve. Estella confesses that Pip is the only man whom she has not tried to injure and deceive. Ironically, he is most injured of all, despite her warnings.
CHAPTER 39
Summary
Pip is twenty-three when “his convict” visits him. The man is old and gray, and at first Pip fails to recognize him as the man for whom he furnished food and file so many years ago. The man greets Pip with open arms, but it is not until he produces the file that Pip realizes his identity. The man tells Pip that he has done quite well for himself, and Pip tries to hurry him off by repaying him the two one-pound notes given to him in The Jolly Bargemen. The man burns them and reveals himself as Pip’s benefactor. Oblivious to the shock and repulsion his announcement causes in Pip, the man says he is hiding from his death sentence and asks for help.
Pip is consumed by shock, horror, disappointment, and, finally, shame; he realizes how he has been betrayed and how he has betrayed others. At the close of this chapter, Dickens proclaims “THIS IS THE END OF THE SECOND STAGE OF PIP’S EXPECTATIONS.”
Notes
This chapter can be considered as the climax of the novel. Pip, who has always believed Miss Havisham to be his provider, receives the rudest shock of his life. He realizes that not only has he embarrassed himself by fawning in gratitude for the old lady, he has been tricked by her encouragement to do so. He knows with certainty now that she has not set him aside to marry Estella; she has toyed with him as she does all men.
Fortunately, the convict is so full of love for Pip he fails to notice the horrible effect his announcement has on the boy. While Pip is regretting everything about that meeting long ago, the convict is expecting a grateful reception and shelter from the storm and from death.
The irony that forms the base of the plot of Great Expectations is here played out in its entirety. Pip, with his soaring expectations, has become a gentleman and has been allowed to take part in the world of snobbery and false pride. He now realizes that his great ascent has been tainted by criminal fortunes of less than respectable characters. The fountainhead of his good fortune is a man who makes a complete mockery of his gentlemanly pretensions by being a criminal sentenced to death.
As the second of three stages in Pip’s development, this one is characterized by the weight of responsibility placed on Pip. How he reacts to this news and the new expectations he forms will shape the rest of his destiny.
CHAPTERS 40 - 42
Summary
Pip goes to Jaggers to confirm the name of his patron without revealing his visitor. Jaggers confirms it to be Abel Magwitch, the convict. Jaggers tells Pip he has never encouraged him to think it was Miss Havisham. Pip sees someone outside his door and realizes Magwitch might be in danger. So he finds him a place to live nearby and provides him with new clothes. He tells the servants that Magwitch is his uncle Provis.
When Herbert returns, Pip takes him into his confidence and reveals the identity of his “Uncle.” He tells Herbert he will not accept anything else from Magwitch. Further, he says they need to move Magwitch away from London to a safe place.
Magwitch tells them about his past, beginning with the fact that he does not know anything about his parents. He spent a lot of time in and out of jail. He associated himself with a man called Compeyson and began working for him, stealing, forging, and defrauding people. They were both tried for felonies, but since Compeyson looked the part of a gentleman, he got a lesser sentence. Herbert helps Pip put the facts together and deduce that Compeyson was Miss Havisham’s cheating fiancée long ago. Magwitch and Compeyson are sworn enemies. Compeyson is probably in London as well, posing an immediate threat.
Notes
For the first time, the convict is given a name—Abel Magwitch. Till now, he has been a two-dimensional figure in the novel known only as Pip’s “convict,” but Dickens humanizes him by giving him a name when he comes into Pip’s life directly. Here Magwitch is also given human emotions in striking contrast to his brutal animalistic qualities from years past. Here he is proud, thankful, and happy; in the past he was angry and menacing.
A lot of exposition takes place that paves the way for even more revelations. Of significance is the mention of Magwitch’s wife. She is not named, or even explained, but her existence is a clue to the great unfolding mystery that binds the novel together.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS-SUMMARY NOTES
CHAPTERS 43 AND 44
Summary
Pip decides to visit Estella one last time before going into hiding with Magwitch. He discovers she has gone to Satis House so he follows. He discovers Drummle at the Blue Boar and the two argue over Estella. Drummle says the two have being seeing quite a lot of one another. Pip goes to Satis House and confronts Miss Havisham, telling her he has discovered the identity of his real benefactor. Miss Havisham is indifferent, claiming she never had an obligation to let him know it was not she. He then turns to Estella and tells her he has always loved her. She tells him she is marrying Drummle. Pip tries to dissuade her, pleading with her not to let Miss Havisham ruin her life. But Estella is resolute; she says she wants to marry him.
Broken-hearted, Pip sets out to return home. On the way he receives a note from Wemmick warning him not to go home.
Notes
Pip redeems himself in this chapter by first of all exhibiting calm self-control with Miss Havisham. Rather than exploding in anger with her over her mistreatment, he thinks of Herbert and secures Miss Havisham’s help in maintaining Herbert’s station in the firm. Pip explains he can no longer support his friend financially, since he will not accept Magwitch’s money.
Further, he makes himself entirely vulnerable to Estella by pouring out his heart to her. He tells her of his devotion to her and begs her to love him. But Estella tells Pip she has no love in her heart for him. Even Miss Havisham is moved to regret the way she has trained Estella.
CHAPTERS 45 AND 46
Summary
Pip stays that night in a hotel and goes to visit Wemmick the following day to ask about the warning. Wemmick explains that Pip is being watched and that he fears for the young man’s life. As well, he suspects Compeyson is involved. Pip and Herbert decide to move Magwitch to a remote corner by the river. Magwitch changes his name to Mr. Campbell. Pip and Herbert plan to buy a boat and practice rowing for hours, in order to facilitate Magwitch’s escape. Pip begins to sell things in order to survive, rather than use the money Magwitch has given him.
Notes
These chapters are primarily suspense building. The pressure builds as Pip is threatened and watched. Magwitch is moved again and his name changed. The fear of eminent danger moves the read along at a fairly rapid pace.
CHAPTER 47
Summary
Pip goes to watch Mr. Wopsle’s performance. After the play, Mr. Wopsle informs Pip that the convict that was mauled on Christmas Day so many years ago was sitting behind him during the play. Pip suspects it is Compeyson.
Notes
Pip quickly writes to Wemmick for advice, showing that the relationship between the clerk and the boy is a remarkable one. Wemmick knows Pip is trying to save his patron, but he never speaks of it directly. Instead, he extends his practical advice and support whenever required, in the most efficient and businesslike manner.
STUDY NOTES - GREAT EXPECTATIONS
CHAPTER 48
Summary
Pip dines with Jaggers and Wemmick. Jaggers delivers a message to Pip from Miss Havisham that she would like to see him.
Watching Molly closely, Pip is reminded of Estella. Wemmick narrates Molly’s story to Pip. She was guilty of murder and was acquitted by Mr. Jaggers in a case that made him famous. She later had a baby girl. After she was acquitted of murder, she came to work for Mr. Jaggers and has remained in her services ever since.
Notes
Pip begins to suspect that Estella is Molly’s child because of their similarities and because of the coincidences in their plights. The irony is that Pip has always sought to be uncommon for Estella; in reality, she is not far removed from the low life of crime. Pip has been completely betrayed by his own aspirations.
CHAPTER 49
Summary
Miss Havisham agrees to extend financial help to Herbert on Pip’s request. She seems kinder, almost warm. She wants Pip’s forgiveness for all she has done and she wants to show him she is not a heartless old woman. Pip asks about Estella and has his suspicions confirmed by the news that Jaggers brought Estella to Satis House when the child was barely two or three years old.
Pip goes for a walk to clear his head. When he returns, he sees Miss Havisham and her old faded wedding dress go up in flames. Pip rushes to save her, and once again she begs him to forgive her. The doctor arrives and the badly burnt Miss Havisham is lain on the table where her cake sits. The doctor says that although she has been badly burnt, the greatest danger to her life is the terrible shock. Pip is burnt as well, and he kisses the old lady good-bye and goes off in search of Herbert.
Notes
This part of the novel advances the theme that no matter how one conducts oneself in life, one’s good nature always asserts itself at the end. Miss Havisham--after having manipulated Estella’s life, encouraging false illusions in Pip, and using Pip as an instrument to make her relatives envious--realizes her mistakes and feels remorseful. She begs Pip for forgiveness with a broken heart. Here, Pip sees a different Miss Havisham than he has ever known--a tenderhearted woman who genuinely wishes to help Pip and Herbert and earn forgiveness. She also realizes that Estella and Pip should have been together and that because of her bitter heart Estella was brought up to spite Pip. Miss Havisham holds herself responsible for separating Pip and Estella and making their lives miserable.
CHAPTERS 50 AND 51
Summary
Pip receives severe burns in the attempts to save Miss Havisham, and Herbert nurses his wounds. Herbert tells Pip that he has learned more about Magwitch. From what he tells Pip, Pip realizes Magwitch’s wife is Molly and his daughter is Estella.
Pip goes to Jaggers to collect the money for Herbert’s career and tells Jaggers what he has learned. Jaggers tells Pip this news is better if it is kept secret. He says Estella was the one child through the years whom he could save from the criminal world.
Notes
From this point on, the novel is winding down, tying up loose ends and closing certain mysteries. Pip makes a fascinating deduction about Estella, but he loves her too much to reveal anything that would ruin her life. For him it is merely an exercise in learning more about the young woman.
PLOT ANALYSIS - GREAT EXPECTATIONS
CHAPTER 52
Summary
Two notes arrive for Pip. The first is from Wemmick, telling Pip that despite his burns, Magwitch’s escape must be attempted the following week. The second is anonymous, but promises to reveal information about Uncle Provis if Pip will come to the sluice house near the marshes alone.
Notes
Pip’s worth as a human being seems clear in this chapter. He has followed through on Herbert’s career, making certain his good friend is well provided for. And he has been a loyal protector for his benefactor, despite his own feelings about the whole ordeal. He is redeeming himself by these little things he does.
CHAPTER 53
Summary
The second note is part of a trick, and as soon as Pip enters, he is hit and bound by Orlick, who plans to revenge himself against Pip. Orlick holds Pip responsible for Biddy’s dislike of him and for being fired by Jaggers. He admits it was he who attacked Mrs. Joe, Pip’s sister, years ago. And it was he who spied on Pip the night Magwitch arrived. He reveals he is working with Compeyson. Just as Pip is about to be injured, he is rescued by the arrival of Herbert, Startop and Trabb’s boy, who had followed him to the marshes. Orlick flees and Pip returns to London to help Magwitch escape.
Notes
Another great Dickensian coincidence takes place in this chapter, in which Pip leaves the note at home and Herbert realizes something is suspect. Orlick is revealed as the villain he is, and the mystery of Mrs. Joe’s attack is cleared up at last.
CHAPTER 54
Summary
They now prepare for the ordeal of Magwitch’s escape. The plan is to row all day till they reach between Kent and Essex. They plan to halt ashore at night and take a morning steamer for either Hamburg or Rotterdam. At their night stop, they are informed that there are officers on the prowl. The next morning, just as Magwitch is about to board the steamer, the officers accompanied by Compeyson confront Magwitch. The two convicts fall into the water and fight. Compeyson disappears and Magwitch is seriously injured. The police recover him and take him into custody.
Notes
Magwitch’s capture is a tragic but revealing incident. He is content to be arrested now that he has met Pip and has seen that he is a gentleman. His speech is quite eloquent: “I’ve seen my boy and he can be a gentleman without me.” And Pip, in his wisdom, realizes Magwitch need not know that Pip will not inherit his ill-gained wealth. It will be seized by the state, as Pip had well known. And Pip sees in Magwitch something he had not counted on: honor and respectability. He watches Magwitch in prison and remarks “…my repugnance to him had all melted away and in the hunted, wounded, shackled creature who held my hand in his, I only saw a man who had meant to be my benefactor, and who had felt affection, gratefully, and generously towards me with great constancy through a series of years. I only saw in him a much better man than I had been to Joe.” Pip has learned a great but painful lesson. Further, he has acted out of no “great expectations;” Magwitch has nothing to give that Pip will take. Pip makes sure the money is not his, and then his actions stand solely in light of his character, not greed or ambition.
CHAPTER 55
Summary
Magwitch is sentenced to death, but it seems clear he will die from the injuries Compeyson dealt him in the water.
Wemmick and Pip go for a walk at the end of which Wemmick leads Pip into a church where he is all set to marry Miss Skiffins. The wedding proceeds excellently.
Notes
With the depressing incident of Magwitch’s death sentence being passed, Dickens has added one of hope and happiness each in this chapter to balance his narrative. The offer by Herbert to fill the post of a clerk in his office brings renewed hope to Pip’s heart. And the delightful surprise of Wemmick’s wedding balances out the tragedy that has led up to it. The superb craftsmanship of Dickens is evident with the way he introduces some comic relief when the pace and tone of the novel seems inevitably tragic.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS-CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES
CHAPTER 56
Summary
Pip visits Magwitch on his deathbed and tells him about Estella. Magwitch had always thought Molly killed their daughter. Pip tells him how beautiful she is and how much he has loved her. Magwitch dies happy.
Notes
As the days pass by, Pip begins to care more and more for Magwitch. Pip is a changed man now. He has learned his lessons in life. He realizes that his snobbery has caused deep pain to real people and that a man’s worth has nothing to do with his place in society; instead, it is his actions that define him. He tries to redeem all his misdeeds by serving Magwitch with love and care.
CHAPTER 57
Summary
Magwitch’s death depresses Pip. As well, he is heavily indebted and without money. Poor health overcomes him and he is too ill to even move. Joe arrives to help, nursing him back to health and paying his debts so Pip will not go to jail. Joe tells Pip about Miss Havisham’s death and her wealth, which she left to Estella and to Matthew Pocket. He also tells Pip it is not important to talk about the past. They are friends and friends understand everything. One morning Pip awakens to find Joe has gone. A note left behind tells Pip that Joe thinks he is not good enough for Pip, who will be able to start his life afresh.
Pip determines to sell his belongings and make things right with Joe. He plans to return to his childhood home and has dreams of marrying Biddy.
Notes
The character of Joe once again touches the heart of the reader. Joe is like Pip’s guardian angel that arrives just in time to help him. Pip is extremely ashamed of the way he had treated Joe when he had met him last. But Joe has forgiven and forgotten all of it. They share old memories and go for long drives and Pip relives the world of childhood with his best friend Joe. By nursing Pip, Joe rekindles simple innocence in the boy. Then quietly and humbly, he slips back to his own life, hoping Pip can start his life afresh, without Joe or anyone else to hold him back.
CHAPTER 58
Summary
Pip returns, only to discover to his disappointment that Biddy and Joe are to be married to one another. He wishes them well and decides to take the job offered by Herbert. After a few years of hard work, he becomes a partner; Clarriker tells Herbert the great favor that Pip had done for him by setting him up at as a partner long ago.
Notes
The novel is slowly coming to its end as the major plot lines come to a gradual close. Pip’s love for both his friends is clear from the fact that he shows no disappointment at Biddy’s marriage with Joe. In fact he regards them to be the best husband and wife and worthy of each other.
Pip starts a new life with his job as a clerk and lives with Herbert and his wife Clara. Clarriker divulges to Herbert that the important financial impetus to their company was given by Pip. This strengthens the bond between the two friends. Later, Pip’s hard work earns him the position of a partner.
CHAPTER 59
Summary
Pip returns to visit Joe, Biddy, and their young son, Pip. He learns that Drummle abused Estella and that she left him. Later, Drummle was killed in an unfortunate accident of his own doing, since he was mistreating his horse. Estella remarried.
Pip goes to Satis House, full of memories and regrets. The house is gone, and as he stands on the property, he sees Estella in the distance. They talk as old friends, acknowledging the strange twists their lives have taken. When they part, it is as friends. Pip realizes he will never stop thinking of Estella; in a sense, she will always be with him.
Notes
The final chapter is quintessentially Dickensian. The author neatly resolves all the plot lines and secures a happy resting- place for all his characters. Pip returns to Joe and Biddy after a necessary absence during which he has re-grown, and finds that they have remembered him fondly by naming their son after him. And he meets Estella one last time during which they can declare their friendship. Drummle is dead, killed by his own insensitivity toward a horse, and Estella is presumably attempting happiness with another husband. Pip realizes with fondness that he will never forget her. It is a poignant and fulfilling ending that neatly wraps up all the loose strings created by the master storyteller.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
Pip
Phillip Pirip is aptly nicknamed Pip, a word commonly used to denote the seed of an apple. From early childhood well into adulthood, Pip’s budding maturity is the focus of the novel. In keeping with the Bildungsroman genre, Pip is at first an innocent young child whose place in this world has not been well defined. He is an orphan whose only sister finds him a nuisance and a burden; she resents him to the point of cruelty. Two random events happen which at first seem like mere episodes in the life of a child:
Pip helps an escaped convict by giving him food and means of escape, and Pip is called to the home of Miss Havisham to entertain her and her daughter. The full consequence of these happenings on Pip’s life is not fully known until the end of the novel, but they will determine the next three decades of his life
In true Bildungsroman fashion, the hero must become discontent with his life and his station in society. The visits to Miss Havisham are the catalyst for this discontent. Estella’s disgust for everything “common” introduces young Pip to shame and embarrassment over his family and his appearance. He becomes obsessed with uncommon-ness and the desire to overcome his lowly position in order to impress Estella.
The inheritance he receives becomes the medium for his social transformation. With the money, he can realize his dream of becoming a gentleman. Wealth brings with it many vices and soon Pip starts leading a hollow and purposeless life of luxury. Under the influence of false pride and vanity that comes with gentlemanly pretensions, he rejects his background and snaps all connections with Joe and Biddy. He nurtures the belief that Miss Havisham is his patron and the reason for her generosity is that she wants Pip to marry Estella. Though he occasionally questions the appropriateness of his new behavior, he continues to pursue his expectations. When the truth is unleashed, Pip is rudely awakened from his fantasy world.
The reality that his patron is a convict undermines Pip’s so-called “gentlemanliness.” As well, he realizes at what cost he has pursued his dreams. He comes to accept the fact that his participation in the old dream of great expectations has hurt genuine people who care for him. He refuses all undeserved wealth and undergoes the ordeal of losing Estella to a brute. All these events make him wiser and more mature. At the end of the novel, he is an ordinary man who works to earn his keep. He is able to meet Estella one last time and part as friends, a final testament to the tremendous growth of his spirit.
Interestingly enough, Pip is the only character in the novel that Dickens never describes physically. Some outward characteristic, behavior, or gesture defines nearly all of Dickens’ characters. Pip, however, is a character of transformation. He changes so much in the course of the novel that any attempt to define him by physical expression or appearance might lessen the impact of his journey. This internal growth is the final aspect of the Bildungsroman style Dickens achieves.
Joe Gargery
As the village blacksmith and Pip’s brother-in-law, Joe’s commonness is expressed in his name: simple, short, and undecorative. He is a thorough gentleman at heart and is always helpful. He stands out as a loving figure in Pip’s life. Joe and Pip share a relationship based on love and trust, easily likened to the relationship between father and son, or brothers. They play games and participate in friendly competitions among themselves, in order to enliven the atmosphere of their home.
Joe is a simple man who looks forward to the day when Pip will become his apprentice. He has no aspirations other than to be what he is, and to teach his trade to Pip. This is beautifully dramatized in the scene, where Miss Havisham insists on paying Pip’s premium as an apprentice. Joe had never wanted such a premium, since he was teaching Pip out of love. He cannot decline the money, but he is careful to make sure Pip and Miss Havisham both know he is teaching Pip out of love and concern, not for financial gain.
Joe swells with pride whenever he watches Pip reading or writing. Pip tries to teach Joe all that he learns, and Joe, despite thinking himself “awful dull,” is proud of his learning.
Joe is loyal and humble. When Orlick argues with Mrs. Joe, Joe and Orlick get into a fight. And later, when Pip is in financial trouble, Joe pays his debts. And he is unselfish. He senses that Pip is embarrassed by his simplicity, so he leaves. Finally, he is forgiving. He marries Biddy and they name their son Pip, a gesture of love for the boy who once abandoned them in search of greater things. Joe Gargery, far from being a “mere blacksmith,” is one of the heroes of the novel. Over the years, his forgiving nature and gigantic heart have made him a personal favorite of the readers.
Magwitch
Magwitch is an interesting character on many counts. For most of the novel, he is unnamed, referred to simply as “the convict” or “Pip’s convict.” Coincidentally, it is during these parts of the novel that he appears menacing and evil. He is a dangerous and desperate convict who keeps popping up in Pip’s life. When he finally reveals himself to Pip, however, he expresses love and gratitude, admiration and affection. At the same time, he is given a name: Abel Magwitch. It is as if these human emotions have transformed him, making him worthy of human distinction.
Magwitch is a remarkable man so filled with gratitude over a small incident in the past that he devotes his life to repaying the small boy who helped him. His gesture is so magnanimous that it transforms Pip’s initial disgust into ardent admiration. Pip marvels that Magwitch is a better friend to him than he (Pip) has been to Joe.
Magwitch is responsible for the changes in Pip, though not as directly as it might seem. True, his money has made Pip into a social “gentleman.” But his kindness and loyalty transforms Pip into a responsible adult who regrets his own bad behavior. In short, because of Magwitch, Pip develops into a man who values integrity over wealth.
Estella
Like Joe and Pip, Estella’s name is a reflection on her character. Estella, like a star (stellar), is cold and distant. After all, she has been reared from the tender age of three to conduct herself without emotion. Her bewitching beauty captures Pip’s heart and as a young boy, he is infatuated her. Somehow, despite her cruelty to Pip, she becomes the star of his expectations. Critics have often dismissed Estella as a two-dimensional character without the tug of emotions. Quite to the contrary, Estella is the successful product of Miss Havisham’s upbringing in that she truly does what the old lady raised her to do, but she seems to struggle with it. After all, she seems to warn Pip repeatedly as if she does not want to hurt him. It seems fair to say that beneath that heart of ice is a simple girl who is honest enough to try and explain to others her lack of feeling. Ironically, even Miss Havisham, who has made her the way she is, finds her coldness and lack of love unbearable.
In the end, Estella is redeemed by this hidden goodness. She becomes Drummle’s victim, then overcomes that situation to remarry. Pip meets her one final time and they part as friends. Of all the characters, Estella is remarkable for the perceived commentary she makes on social and class distinctions. She is the daughter of a murderer and a convict. By all practical considerations of society in that time, she is a flawed creature. But it is not her bloodline that tarnishes Estella; instead, it is her vicious and indifferent upbringing. In short, she is ruined by circumstances and not by birth.
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham has lived to be one of the most memorable characters created by Dickens, both for her bizarre appearance and her eccentric behaviors. Betrayed by her lover on her wedding day, she literally freezes time in Satis House. All the clocks have been stopped at twenty minutes to nine, the exact time at which her fiancé had abandoned her. She wears her wedding dress the rest of her life, till it is yellowed with age and drooping on her thin frame. She remains in one shoe, since she had not yet put the other one on. And the cake is left on the table to rot. She is vivid, dressed in satins and lace and adorned with jewels. She confesses not to have seen the daylight in years and has no account of the days or the months or even the years that she has spent in seclusion.
Embittered by the deception of her lover, Miss Havisham seeks to take revenge on the male species. She adopts a girl, Estella, and raises her up with the intention of wreaking revenge on men. Ironically, Miss Havisham has succeeded so well, Estella cannot even love her. Toward the end of her life, Miss Havisham repents of her bitterness and tries to mend the hearts she has broken. She realizes that she is responsible for the suffering of both Estella and Pip. She is redeemed somewhat by her decision to sponsor Herbert Pocket in his career and by the way she begs Pip to forgive her.
Mrs. Joe
What is most interesting about her is that her actual name, Georgiana Maria, is uttered by chance by a character in the 58th chapter, long after her death. All through the book she is called Mrs. Joe. For the most part, she is an unpleasant woman who abuses Pip and makes him feel like a burden. The serious attack by Orlick impairs her speech, hearing, and sight, and she is bedridden for the rest of her life. She is a frustrated woman who has a history of arguing with others, so it becomes difficult to find her attacker. In a sense, she is a victim of her own cruelty, much like Drummle (who is later killed by a horse he abuses). Her illness restores peace and happiness in the house.
Biddy Wopsle
Biddy is a complete antithesis of Mrs. Joe. She is calm, friendly, down to earth and loving. She also becomes Pip’s friend at the evening school where Pip studies. The school belongs to her grandmother. Biddy promises Pip that she will help him become an “uncommon” gentleman and teach him all that she learns. Pip trusts her and often confides in her. In the initial stages of her friendship with Pip, she develops an infatuation for him. She knows that Pip loves Estella. She remarks that she is glad to be Pip’s trusted friend and would be happy to remain so. Pip feels immense admiration for her. At the end, when Biddy marries Joe, Pip realizes that he is not worthy of her. Though he had meant to ask her to marry him, he is glad that Joe did first.
Mr. Jaggers
Jaggers is a powerful and interesting character. As a criminal defense lawyer, he represents a profession that Dickens strongly detested. His unsavory career is reflected in the ominous aura of his office, the dubious nature of his clients, and his mannerism of frequently washing his hands, symbolic of washing the guilt of his underworld clients from his hands.
He is a harsh, businesslike man; everything about him seems fierce and frightening. In the end, though, Jaggers becomes more complex by his admission that he wanted to help Estella when she was a child of three. He pleads with Pip not to ruin her life by telling her who her parents were. Though it contradicts everything he has seemed to stand for, it enriches his character, making him seem more real for his paradoxical behaviors.
Wemmick
Wemmick is Mr. Jaggers’ clerk and one of the most universally good characters in the novel. Interestingly, however, he lives a dual life. At the office, he is stern and officious, in keeping with the nature of his business for Jaggers. At home in Walworth, he is jovial and friendly. He lives with his father, the extremely hard-of-hearing man known as the Aged P. And he is in love with a girl, Miss Skiffins. Wemmick becomes a close friend of Pip’s and advises him on the matter of smuggling Magwitch out of England. When Pip’s life is gloomy with despair, Wemmick surprises him by escorting him to his own marriage with Miss Skiffins.
Herbert Pocket
Herbert is a simple and uncomplicated character. He becomes Pip’s most loyal friend in London. They first meet as young boys at Miss Havisham’s house when Herbert dares Pip to fight, and is promptly knocked down.
As their friendship develops, Herbert helps and supports Pip through hard times. He is a hard-working boy with aspirations of business success that Pip finds unlikely. Later, however, in appreciation of his friendship, Pip secretly extends financial help to Herbert in order to make his dreams a reality. Later, when Pip has realized the futility of his own great expectations, he follows Herbert’s example and even works for him as a clerk. All along, Herbert has been practical while Pip was lost in his dreams. He is a good stabling influence on Pip.
PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS
Charles Dickens is said to have explored a new ground in his novel, Great Expectations. The theme of self-knowledge explored in the novel expresses in part Dickens’ own search for a sense of self. May readers and historians have suggested that Pip has a touch of Dickens in him, making the fictional book feel almost autobiographical.
Structurally, the novel is a narration by a mature and retrospective Pip. It is divided into three distinct “stages,” each labeled as a specific “stage of Pip’s expectations.” In chronological fashion, these chapters trace Pip’s progress from industrious obscurity as a child through willful idleness as an adolescent and young adult, to a resigned and modest acceptance of his true place in society. This is an obvious variation on the picaresque theme and carries with it many of the significant overtones of earlier picaresque novels.
The first stage introduces all the major characters and sets the plot in motion. Pip’s situation is developed fully, including the first seeds of his desire to be “uncommon.” It leads to the revelation by Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer, that Pip is to inherit a huge fortune and become a gentleman. It is something Pip considers as miraculous, though mysterious, as his patron’s identity is not to be revealed for the time being. Mr. Jaggers only imparts to him that his benefactor has great expectations from him and so with the support of his anonymous provider, Pip’s expectations of himself also rise, and the action shifts to London.
The second stage of Pip’s expectations, therefore, has a change of setting. In this section, Pip’s development into a “gentleman” is explored. It describes the spendthrift and idle way Pip squanders wealth and what kind of person he has become. On the surface of things, Pip believes that he is living up to his great expectations. He also expects to have Estella’s hand in marriage. But this stage of his expectations is brutally shattered when Magwitch discloses his identity to Pip.
The third stage of Pip’s expectations explores the complete collapse of Pip’s great expectations, which are replaced by a more mature sense of life and respectability. This section primarily constitutes his transformation, which has been at the heart of the novel. Such a pattern of growth, development and re-education reflects the Bildungsroman tradition of Great Expectations. The novel, though divided into these three stages, is further divided into episodic chapters due to the publication of the novel serially. Each chapter must necessarily have a complete movement as well as some sort of trigger that will induce the reader to buy the magazine the following week in order to see what will happen next.
THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS
Pip’s great expectations are a dramatized exploration of human growth and the pressures that distort the potential of an ordinary individual, especially in the process of growing up. Pip is a simple blacksmith’s boy who aspires to cross social boundaries when he realizes his own upbringing is common; however, he has no means to change. Mysteriously, he is given the means, but wealth only brings with it idleness. He learns that happiness in life can be achieved only by hard work and that great expectations not grounded in reality can only lead to tragedy and heartache.
Part of this theme is an exploration of the dignity of labor. Pip initially feels ashamed to associate himself with Joe but later realizes that hard work brings honor to a man. As for honor, Pip realizes the importance of traits like loyalty and kindness, and eventually understands that no amount of money can make up for the lack of those traits. Supplementary to this theme is the sharp juxtaposition of appearance and reality, as well as the traditional notion that pride comes before a fall. Pip learns valuable lessons from his misguided assumptions. And his pride causes him to do things he is later ashamed of. A final thematic consideration is the belief that goodness is always able to supplant evil, even in characters like Miss Havisham. Mrs. Joe, Magwitch, Estella, and Pip are further examples of characters whose inherent goodness is apparent despite their wrongdoings.
Essentially, it is a novel about contentment and humility, as well as honor. The thematic notion of great expectations touches on every aspect of common emotions like pride, ambition, envy, greed, and arrogance. The lesson Pip learns is that one should never presume he is better than another. As Joe tells him, it is far better to be uncommon on the inside than the outside. A person’s possessions do not matter as much as a person’s actions.
AUTHOR'S STYLE
Dickens has shaped Great Expectations on the lines of the Bildungsroman genre, which closely follows the inner growth of a protagonist from his childhood to middle age. In many respects, it contains themes and emotions directly related to the author’s experience. However, the fictional nature of the story allows Pip to relate incidents and events that are similar to sensitive spots in Dickens’ own life without becoming too deeply involved in the narration himself. For instance, the description of Pip’s childhood has some affinity with Dickens own life. Also, Estella seems directly inspired from Maria Beadwell, a lady whom Dickens loved; Beadwell snubbed him coldly because of his low social status.
Great Expectations boasts a carefully designed structure in three emergent stages. The simplicity of childhood memories in stage one is reflected in the generally direct narrative style. In contrast, the texture of stage three is much more complex, because as the action accelerates, substantial information about the histories of Magwitch, Compeyson, Miss Havisham and Estella are revealed.
Great Expectations is a rich text illustrative of Dickens’ gift for realistic and dramatic speech. The author carefully studied the mannerisms of people and reported them in the depictions of his characters. Joe is a good example. The speech patterns he uses characterize him well and endear him to the reader much more than mere incidents or descriptions that describe him to be soft hearted.
A novel with a vast range of subject and incident like that in Great Expectations has to be written carefully, paying great attention to unity and detail. Of all Dickens’ works, this one is generally thought to be the best. The fine tapestry of the novel is woven with vivid scenes of London as well as misty recollections of the marshlands. The haunted stagnancy of Satis House is an ever-present character in and of itself. In the midst of all this graphic description and palpable action, there is also an internal transformation taking place, one in which Pip learns to appreciate his true self and position in society. The varied texture of the novel in all these aspects sustains and maintains the interest of the reader, highlighting the completely balanced style of Dickens as a master craftsman.
KEY FACTS SUMMARY
Title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Date of first publishing: Published in serial format 1860 -1861.
Setting: England, between a small village at the edge of the North Kent marshes, a market town in which Satis House is located, and the greater city of London.
Meaning of the Title: As a young man, Pip is led into making grave mistakes based on his false expectation of being a gentleman, his false expectation of marrying Estella, and his general false expectation of rising above his past. Ultimately, he learns that true worth comes from inside a man, and turns away from his once-great expectations.
Type of novel/Genre: Victorian, Gothic, Social Criticism, Bildungsroman (depicting growth and personal development). Autobiographical fiction.
Point of view: First person narrative in the past tense.
Narrator: Pip.
Protagonist: Philip Pirip, Pip
Antagonist: Varied: There are many conflicts though Miss Havisham is probably the most memorable. Also note: Magwitch, Mrs. Joe, Drummle, Compeyson.
Internal Conflicts: Miss Havisham had a broken heart and raised Estella to break a mans heart. Magwitch worked his whole life to make Pip a gentleman, yet he could never become one.
External Conflicts: Pip believes that social class determines a person's worth.
Climax: Miss Havisham dies in the fire. Pip attempts to get to London.
Outcome: Pip lays aside his expectations of greatness.
Major Themes: Exploration of human emotional growth; Self-improvement; personal ambition.
Minor Themes: Loyalty, social class, innocence.
Symbolism/Motifs: Satis House, Drummle (upper class); The clocks in Satis House don't work and time has stopped;. The way Estella is talked about, from Pip's point of view. What does the name Estella mean? "Stella" is Latin for star. Estella can be compared to a star as she is cold and distant, as well as being the faroff point that Pip strives to attain. Look at how he talks about her and the references in the text. The name is a big hint. Also, the references to burning. There are a few in there with Miss Havisham and Pip.
Irony: Pip believes Miss Havisham was his benefactor and that he can have Estella but he finds out that Magwitch is his benefactor and Estella was never meant for him.
Mood: Dual; tragedy and sadness.
ESSAY TOPICS / ESSAY IDEAS
1) Is "Great Expectations" like a soap opera?
Comments from readers: Consider all that Pip went through, or just take parts, like his trial with the girl, at first, she didn't like him, and then later on in his life, she loved him. Also, what are the chances that some poor boy that no one knows ends up inheriting a huge sum of money out of the blue one day, and that the person who leaves it to him is an escaped criminal who Pip just happened to help out one day. All of these things are coincidence, and that's mostly what soap operas are based on.
2) What are the 3 stages in Pip's Expectations?
Comments from readers: 1st- He is going to be apprenticed to Joe. 2nd- He is expecting to be of upper class.... a gentlemen. 3rd- His very much lowered expectations.
3) Many of the characters other than Pip have their own expectations as well. Discuss both Herbert Pocket and Pip's expectatons. Compare and contrast.
Comments from readers: Herbert's expectations are different to Pips in that he does not raise his expectations, like Pip does. He wants simple things, like for Clara to marry him; a good life; no complications or distractions.
4) Discuss the alternative endings to the novel?
Comments from readers: In the original ending, Pip learned that it is better to make an honest living and be surrounded by those you love than to have a false fortune and false friends. Here he does not marry Estella and never hears from her again or thinks about her.
In the abridged ending, Pip marries Estella. Here he learns to forgive and forget. Even though Estella has treated him horribly his whole life- used him and then thrown him away- he can still love her and be happy with her. 5) Other characters influence on Pip: Positive or Negative?
Comments from readers: In most ways, Joe is a positive influence. he is kind, simple and just. However he does inadvertantly affect Pip in a negative way because Pip is so ashamed of him, since he is a blacksmith, that he takes pains to avoid being a simple man himself. Magwitch had an overall negative affect on Pip. Besides scaring him to death as a boy, Magwitch's giving him his "great expectations" gave him a chance to turn into a greedy little brat that never did anything for himself! On the other hand, there is that saying that you never know what you have until its gone, in which case it was better that Pip found out what being rich is really like BEFORE he spent his life loathing where he came from.
Estella is a NEGATIVE influence on Pip because it is her comments about how coarse and common he is that lead him to act the way he does, and him wanting so badly to be a gentleman. He also falls in love with her to the point where he cannot see clearly the good intentions of those that he should love and listen too, such as Joe and Biddy!
Magwitch is a good influence in the end. He helps Pip to a better life. After his arrival at the temple pip begins to like him and becomes a little kinder because of it.With the money he gives a partnership to Herbert. Overall, at the end of the story, he is Pip's friend.
6) What are the differences and similarities between Pip and a true gentlemen?
Comments from readers:
Pip is the epitome of the phrase "you can take the boy out of the common but not the common out of the boy". Pip is much like a gentleman on the exterior in regard to his skills and manners which were taught to him, yet his innermost person remains a common boy. For example in Chapter 53 in Pip's confrontation with Orlick, Pip reverts back to his boyhood form when being confronted, he screams and cowers in the shed. But before, in chapters 49 and 50, Pip acts much like a gentleman when dealing with Miss Havisham. He comforts her and helps her in her time of need. 7) What does Pip learn from Mr. Jaggers about his "great expectations"? What three conditions are attached?
Comments from readers:
Pip learns that he will come into a handsome property, and that he is to be taken from Joe, Mrs. Joe, and the village and raised as a gentleman. The three conditions are: 1. He must always bear the name of Pip. 2. The name of his benefactor must remain a secret until the benefactor chooses to reveal it. 3. Pip must not try to find out who his benefactor is.
8) How is wealth or money corrupting?
Comments from readers:
- Pip thinks that he is better than Joe because he has more money, and Pip is very greedy, wanting more stuff, causing him to get very deep in debt. - Pip's morals were truly corrupted by money. He would never have dissed Joe and Biddy if he didn't get all of that money from Magwitch. - Pip's reasoning was affected by money. We can see this because Pip would never had gone for Estella without his new "gentlemanly figure", which was inspired by money.
STUDY QUESTIONS - BOOK REPORT IDEAS
1. What is the Bildungsroman genre and how well does Great Expectations fit into it? Trace Pip’s development under the definition of Bildungsroman using specific examples. 2. Identify the basic plot twists in each of the three stages of Pip’s great expectations. 3. Several of the characters’ names are a symbolic reflection of their personalities. Make a list of them, and explain the appropriateness of their names? 4. Trace the events that cause Pip to erroneously believe Miss Havisham is his patron. List specific scenes and events that support his assumption. 5. Discuss Mr. Wopsle as a comic foil to Pip. 6. Several of the characters seem transformed from bad to good, starting with Mrs. Joe. Make a list and explain how and why they are transformed. 7. Though “great expectations” seem to be the true antagonist in the novel, there are some characters who also provide conflict in Pip’s journey. Who are they? Comment on each of them as “villains”? 8. Dickens seems to be making a criticism of class differences in society in this novel. Discuss Estella as an example of Dickens’ social commentary. This discussion should include references to her parents as well as her upbringing under Miss Havisham. 9. How is irony used in the novel? 10. Compare and contrast the following characters: Estella and Biddy, Joe and Magwitch, Jaggers and Wemmick, Orlick and Compeyson
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