GREAT EXPECTATIONS
1) INTRODUCTIONGreat Expectations is considered, if not the best, one of Charles Dickens latter books. It brgan to be published in the magazine All the Year Round on December, the 1st of 1860 and concluded to be so in August, the 3rd of 1861. As Hard Times and A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations was published weekly.
Great Expectations is divided in 59 chapters. The structural separarion is made in 4 parts. The first part goes from chapter I to chapter XIX and it tells Pip´s hopes. The second part starts in chapter XX and finishes in chapter XXXIX, with the discovery of the real origin of Pip´s hopes. The third part goes from chapter XL to chapter L. And finally, the last part goes from chapter LI to chapter LI.
Great Expectations has been seen as a reworking of David Copperfield. Even the own Dickens thought so when finishing the former. Then, he wrote a letter to his great friend E. M. Forster in which he asked for advice. But there is a clear difference between the starrings of the two novels. In Great Expectations the thoughts we hear in the 1st chapter are Pip´s first thoughts and he has no life before them. On the contrary, David Copperfield has existed much before his own thoughts: "...as I have been informed and believed...".2) SUMMARY
2.1.- A brief summary
This book, which begins with such an absurdity as Pip´s name, tells us the story of an orphan child called Pip. He gives food and a file, stolen from his home, to a convict who has escaped from a nearby prisonship, but is soon recaptured. He receives a strange invitation from a rich lady in the neighbouring town, Miss havisham, to visit her often. There, in Satis House, Pip fall in love with Estella, a girl of his own age, whom Miss Havisham has reared to be cruel and distant with the male sex. The visits cease when, at 14, Pip ia apprenticed to his friend and foster-father Joe Gargery, the blacksmith. Four years later, Pip discovers that he has "great expectations" from a mysteryous benefactor, who wishes him to be educated as a gentleman. Pip believes that he owes this to Miss Havisham, and that she wants him to marry Estella. Then, Pip goes to London for his education and there he neglects his childhood friends. He lives idly and unhappily during this time, constantly snubbed by Estella. When he is 23, Pip meets his true benefactor, who ironically turns out to be the convict. Here is where Dickens´ "tragicomic conception" appears.
The fact that Pip owes his fortune to the convict he befriended on the marshes and who has grown rich in Australia does not lack to be also ironic. Pip slowly conquers his aversion from the punishment which he has earned by coming back. Magwitch is finally retaken, and dies under sentence of death, but Pip has learned his lesson and is a changed man.2.2.- A large summary
As the novel opens, Pip is wandering amongst his parents’ tombstones in the churchyard. Here, Pip meets an escaped convict. Pip brings the man nourishment and a file to free himself of the iron chain of bondage. Pip returns home to his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, and his brother-in-law and best friend, Joe Gargery. Pip does not tell either of them about the convict. The next day, policemen arrive at the Gargery house, and Pip and Joe assist them in their search for the two convicts; the convict Pip helped, and another man (Note: that while Pip and Joe do assist in the search, Pip does not reveal any knowledge of either convict). A few weeks later, Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s house. He discovers that she is an old, rich, and eccentric lady that seeks revenge on mankind. She has an adopted daughter, Estella, with whom Pip becomes infatuated. While there, Pip has a fight with a “pale young gentleman”. Also at Miss Havisham’s, Pip begins to feel ashamed of himself and seeks a richer and more “uncommon” status. After visiting with Miss Havisham for several months, Pip is apprenticed to Joe, who runs the forge. One night Pip recieves a surprise visit from a Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer in London. He tells Pip of “great expectations” from a secret benefactor. Pip is very excited and looks forward to the journey of becoming a “gentleman”. He leaves Joe and Biddy, a friend of Pip's who is in love with him, and starts off for London. he leaves thinking that Miss Havisham is his benefactor, and that he is being groomed into a gentleman, so that someday he may marry Estella.
After this, Pip leaves the forge upon learning of his great expectations (chapter 20). It documents his life in London, his progress towards becoming a "gentleman" and his discovery of the true identity of his benefactor (chapter 39). Many of the main characters in the novel are introduced in this stage. It is while in London that Pip meets Herbert, Wemmick, Compeyson, Mr. Pocket, Bently Drummle, Clara, and Molly. In addition, this stage reveals to us much more about Mr. Jaggers. In Chapter twenty-one, Pip is taken to Mr. Jaggers office and makes the acquaintance of Wemmick and is greatly disturbed by the condition of the office of Mr. Jaggers. As the chapter closes, he meets Herbert Pocket and discovers that his new roommate is the "pale young gentleman" that he beat up in the boxing match at Ms. Havisham's house. in chapter twenty-two, Herbert nicknames Pip "Handel" and they exchange pleasantries. Here, Pip learns from Herbert the history behind Ms. Havisham's actions and is introduced to the rest of Herbert Pocket's family. The entire of Chapter twenty-three was spent in the Pocket household having dinner. During the course of this chapter it became apparent that Mrs. Pocket is very concerned with appearances while Mr. Pocket is more involved with the truth of situations. Also, it becomes apparent that Flopson and Sophia, the two maids, are much more involved as parents to the young Pockets than are their parents. Chapter twenty-four outlines the first withdrawal that Pip makes from Mr. Jaggers office and displays the resolution that Mr. Jaggers has in avoiding making any suggestions at all, in order to avoid lawsuits against him. Also, Pip sees the fear that Mr. Jaggers instills in every participant of a hearing, due to his fierce oratorical powers. Chapter twenty-five fightly covers Pip's life at tutoring with Mr. Pocket, but the majority of the chapter is about Wemmick's home. It is in this chapter that Pip meets "the Aged P." and discovers that Wemmick's home and his home disposition are vastly different from his work and his attitude at home. Wemmick's house is actually a castle-type building, complete with a tower, moat and drawbridge. As chapter twenty-six opens, Pip discovers Mr. Jaggers washing his hands with scented soap and is invited to dinner by his guardian. At this dinner, Pip's acquaintances, Bently Drummle and Startop, got into a discussion with him over strength, and they began to show off for one another (and probably Mr. Jaggers). Mr. Jaggers put an end to it by showing them ail Molly1s wrists (Molly was Mr. Jaggers servant), but he apparently takes a liking to Drummle as he makes a point of asking Pip about him. A letter to Pip from Joe (through Biddy) opens chapter twenty-seven, and the rest of the chapter discusses Joe's subsequent visit. Pip flnds out that Mr. Wopsle has become an actor in a local theater and also that Estella has returned from Paris and would be glad to see him. As Joe leaves, something in him startles Pip and makes him see the value in his simplicity, if only for a moment. In chapter twenty-eight, Pip, with much reluctance, decides that he must go back to his home town. However, he is able to convince himself that it would be impracticale and rude to stay at Joe's house, so he must stay at the Blue Boar. The stage-coach that he takes back home is simultaneously carting prisoners to the hulks, and one of them is the one that gave him two one-pound notes. the convict and one of his friends discuss this within earshot of Pip and greatly rattle him. When he finally arrives at the Blue Boar, however, he discovers that Mr. Pumblechook has established himself as "Pip's earliest benefactor and the founder of his fortunes". In chapter thirty, we learn of Pip's aspirations to becoming Estella's knight in shining armour, who would restore Satis house to its former glory. He discovers, upon his arrival at Ms. Havisharn's home, that Orlick is empoyed as a porter there, and he discovers that Estella no longer treats him contemptuously, but simply lures him on. In this chapter also, Pip learns of Ms. Havisham's great need for him to love Estella and he once again thinks with regret about Joe, but only for a moment. In chapter thirty, Pip has Orlick fired from his new post as porter at Ms. Havisharn's house and was harassed by Trabb's boy for his pompous behavior. In addition, Herbert attempts to convince Pip of the wisdom of estranging himself from Estella, but Pip declares this to be impossible and Herbert reveals that he is secretly engaged to Clara. Chapter thirty-one finds Pip and Herbert going to the theater to see Mr. Wopsle perform. Wopsle didn't perform well, and was harassed by the crowd. Mr. Wopsle has also changed his name (like Pip did) to Mr. Waldengarver. Pip finishes the chapter in misery over Estella and the lack of any accomplishment that is truly his own. As chapter thirty-two unfolds, we find that Pip receives a letter from Estella telling him that he is to meet her at the station the next day. While waiting for Estella, he meets Wemmick and accepts his invitation to visit the jail. He finds that Wemmick is very popular at the jail and is the go-between for almost all of Jaggers' clients. Chapter thirty-three begins with Estella arriving at the station, where te informs him that she is continuing on to Richmond, but is to have some tea here with Pip, in the meantime. Estella reveals to Pip that the entire Pocket family, save Matthew, is jealous beyond belief ofhim, and he also discovers that Ms. Havisham has finally sent Estella out into the world to d her damage to it. Chapter thirty-four is dedicated entirely to the recounting of Pip and Herbert's financial affairs. They both spent quite large amounts of money for very little, and were very unhappy. They both ran up huge debts and would occasionally count them up, but they never paid them, however. At the end of the chapter, Pip learns that Mrs. Joe Gargery has died. Upon returning to the forge for Mrs. Joe's funeral in chapter thirty-five, Pip seems touched by some of his old life and decides to sleep in his old room. He also is "hurt" by Biddy's not telling him of his sister's impending death. He promises to visit frequently, but Biddy doesn't believe him. Tn chapter thirty-six, Pip turns twenty-one and visits Mr. Jaggers. When lie visits Jaggers, he learns that he is to live on a sum of 500 pounds per annum and no more and he discovers that he will not know the identity of his benefactor in the foreseeable future. He also, at this point, decides to sponsor Herbert in his search for ajob and asks the opinion of Wemmiek on the subject. Wemmick tells him that doing such would be as good as throwing his money off a bridge. In chapter thirty-seven, Pip visits Walworth in an attempt to get Wemmick'end the rest of the evening listening to the Aged P. and visiting with Mrs. Skiffins, who appears to be Wemmick's romantic interest. As the chapter closes, we see that Pip has indeed gotten Herbert a job at Clarricker's House as an assistant. Chapter thirty-eight is reserved for Pip's reflections on Estella. Pip reflects on how he shadowed Estella at her housed in Richmond very often during his stay in London, and how he witnessed the falling out between Estella and Ms. Havisham in which Ms. Liavisham cannot understand why Bstella doesn't love her, although she never taught Estella anything but contempt. He also comments on his arguments with Drummle over Estella at The Finches of the Grove. The chapter closes with Estella revealing that Pip is the only man that she does not lead on and play with. However, he doesn't take her words to heart and still insists that she is injuring him through her actions. Chapter thirty-nine consists wholly of the revelation to Pip of his benefactor. In this chapter he meets with a dirty old man, who is the convict that he met in the marshes as a child. This old man reveals to Pip that all the money he has been living off of was earned by this convict in Australia in the penal colony. The chapter closes with Pip fully despairing his future now that he is indebted to a convict and has no promise of Estella that he thought he had.
In the latter chapters, we see Magwitch (Provis) happy with Pip as a gentleman. He sees Pip as his revenge against all, self-centered, materialistic, gentlemen in the world. Magwitch then tells Pip and Herbert of his life. He then tells the reader of Compeyson(the other convict), a man who made Miss Havisham who she is. He also got Magwitch a life sentence and for this Magwitch hates Compeyson. Pip then goes to visit Miss Havisham where he sees that Estella will be married to Drummle. Pip then comes home to London and finds out that Compeyson is watching Magwitch. Magwitch then goes to live with Herbert's future wife, Clara. Pip also learns that Molly is Estella's mother and learns of Molly's past, which he links to Magwitch's past. Pip then concluds that Magwitch is Estella's father. The time has now come where Magwitch is to be snuck out of England by boat. Pip then recieves a note concerning himself and Magwitch. He must go to the marshes alone. Upon arriving to the shack he was told to go to, Pip is grabbed by Orlick who says he will kill Pip. Orlick admits to attacking Mrs. Joe and to being affiliated with Compeyson. Herbert and Startop find the note which Pip dropped to the ground and they come to his rescue. The next day Pip, Herbert, and Startop row Magwitch down the river. Compeyson and some policemen in another boat follow the four, however. Magwitch then grabs Compeyson and drowns him. Magwitch is hurt badly and is arrested by the police. Herbert then goes to work at Clarriker's and leaves Pip to be with Magwitch. Pip takes very good care of Magwitch, who dies before he can be hung. After Magwitch's death, Pip becomes extremly ill. Joe then comes and nurses Pip back to health. Pip now remembers his days at the forge. Pip learns that Miss Havisham is also dead. Pip gets well and goes home and is forgiven by Joe. Pip also proposes to Biddy, but finds out that Joe and Biddy are being married on that very day. Pip then rejoins Herbert and after many years goes back to Miss Havisham's house. He sees Estella, who is now a widow. The story concludes as the two take a long walk together and find out how much each has changed.3) CHARACTERS
The characters in Dickens´novels are real in the same way that characters in plays are real, and in the same way that living people seem real to each other. E.M. Forster, one of the best friends and critics on Charles Dickens, is right in associating Dickens´closeness ti his characters with his dramatic sense. Forster goes a little further in Aspects of the Novel, when he says that Dickens is the creator of lovable but "two-dimensional" characters, that is, characters drawn in detail, but with no convincing relationship to the real world and with no inner life. But it can be denied that Dickens is also a great caricaturist and a perfect comedian.
The originality which Dickens exercised in naming characters suggests that they were never conceived purely as types, but as real as human beings. In fact, Dickens always claimed that all his characters "being made out of many people, were unique and individual". So, Dickens´characters enjoyed a free and autonomous life, uncircumscribed by the works in which they appear.
It is a recognized fact that Dickens´ humorous vein runs most richly trough the early novels, we also find some grotesque villains in his early writing. In Great Expectations, we have the example of Orlick, which has been criticised for a lack of realism. What is clear is that he is the opposite character of Pip. Orlick tries to destroy all that Pip makes. He even makes several attempts to kill Philip Pirrip (Pip).
Now, I am going to number the main characters of the novel and some of their most important features:1) Compeyson was the perfect image of what Dickens saw as wrong about the existing stereotype of a gentleman. Compeyson was well groomed and economically successful. However, he was corrupt to the core and was the very antithesis of what a true gentleman was. This contrast between appearances and reality is a prominent theme throughout the story.
2) Bentley Drummle is Pip's rival for Estella's affections. He is introduced early as Pip's roommate at the Pocket residence, but it is only mentioned that Pip is not very fond of Bentley. He is smug and very ill at ease in nature. Bentley is proud and of high social position. His character fits in perfectly with the nonsensical gentleman's club, Finches of the Grove. Because of his disagreeable qualities, Pip can not understand why both Jaggers and Estella favor Bentley. Jaggers affectionately refers to him as "Spider." When Bentley toasts Estella, Pip is furious and becomes even angrier when Estella acknowledges Bentley as a possible husband. Eventually, Bentley does marry Estella. He abuses Estella terribly and his brutal treatment of her plays a major role in humanizing Estella. He is eventually killed by a horse which he was abusing at the time.
3) Estella Havisham.Most readers are appalled at the cold-hearted and cruel ways of Estella, but any criticism directed at her is largely undeserved. She was simply raised in a controlled environment where she was, in essence, brainwashed by Miss Havisham. Nonetheless, her demeanor might lead one to suspect that she was a girl with a heart of ice. Estella is scornful from the moment she is introduced, when she remarks on Pip's coarse hands and thick boots. However, her beauty soon captivates Pip and she is instilled as the focal point of his thoughts for much of the remainder of the novel. The fact that Pip becomes infatuated with her is also not Estella's fault. By no means is there any evidence that she loved him. She does not flirt with him in any way. Rather, she tortures Pip with her cruel treatment. Despite her abhorrent quality, Estella is extremely candid; because she seems to have no need for affection, she is able to tell things as she sees them without a thought of what someone else may think. This is in contrast to Pip's obsession of his every action being approved by Miss Havisham and Estella. Estella is also quite intelligent. She is very aware of the manner in which Miss Havisham raised her. She tells Miss Havisham, "I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure; in short, take me." (Chapter 38). Finally, by the end of the novel, Estella has changed. Through her marriage with Bentley Drummle, she has suffered to learn some valuable life lessons that have transformed her character. Pip remarks on the stark reversal of the once hard Estella, "...what I had never seen before, was the saddened softened light of the once proud eyes; what I had never felt before, was the friendly touch of the once insensible hand." (Chapter 59).
4) Joe Gargery is the only one of Dickens' characters who stands opposed to and apart from the main current of action. He stays away from London, for the most part, and only intervenes when needed. He is always present in Pip's mind, and tends to remind both Pip and the reader of those values in Pip that were crushed during the evolution of his expectations. Joe is an honest and industrious fellow, although he sometimes comes across as foolish to other characters in the novel. He is also a generous and forgiving man, which is illustrated by his reaction to having some food taken from his house by the convict. Joe tells the convict that he was welcome to it, since it kept the convict from starving. Joe is also the only character in the novel with no real property. All that he counts as his own are his tools; all else, in Joe's mind, belongs to Mrs. Joe. His freedom from material goods and the desire for them sets him apart from the "gentlemen" like Pumblechook in the novel. Joe was a child of an abusive family; his father was a drunkard and beat Joe and his mother. The epitaph that Joe composes for his father reveals the extent of his forgiving nature. The same epitaph, "Whatsum-er the failings on his part, Remember, reader, he were that good in his hart," applies to Pip, as well, as he finishes his adventures. Joe is far more significant than the virtuous and kindly blacksmith he appears to be. Dickens refers to him as "holy", and the cottage has an air of "sanctity" for Pip. Joe is opposed to all false values, and does not present his view in bombastic speeches, but rather within himself and in his convictions. Joe also rejects the importance of property, pretty speech, and manners. Joe is also a very honorable and dignified man, which is sensed immediately by Miss Havisham. His understanding of peopleand his sensitivity allows him to sense intuitively whether he is wanted by Pip or is merely making him uncomfortable. The fire of Joe's forge is the light of the innate goodness of man, and a light of hope amidst the false lights of the world that Dickens presents in Great Expectations.
5) Abel Magwitch first appears in Great Expectations as a vicious and threatening convict, which does not beget much sympathy for him. As time goes by, Magwitch becomes more likable. One of the first signs of Magwitch's decent nature is his confession regarding the food he stole from the blacksmith's house. His good nature is again manifested when the stranger with the file gives Pip two one- pound notes. Magwitch is very similar to Joe in his coarse, common nature. He has become rich through his labors, however, and seeks to use his money to make Pip into a gentleman. Magwitch is also very similar to Miss Havisham in his molding of Pip; his motives are dissimilar, however. Magwitch is motivated by gratitude, which Pip lacks. He desires only to be proud of Pip and his accomplishments. Magwitch resents Compeyson, as well as the authorities, but with good cause. For a good time, Magwitch seems to be a larger than life character, much like Miss Havisham. His hard life shaped him into a hard man, but that facade fades towards the end of the novel. Magwitch, although a broken man, reveals the love and gentleness of his nature while on his deathbed.
6) Miss Havisham was once a beautiful and desirable woman; however, by the time she is first encountered in the novel, she is far from being such. She was the victim of a clever scheme to cheat her out of wealth in which Compeyson, Magwitch's mortal enemy, was involved. After being cheated, she is hurt deeply by being betrayed by a loved one, and pushed into insanity. She devotes her life to wreaking vengeance upon men for the way she was wronged. Estella becomes the vehicle of Miss Havisham's revenge, and Miss Havisham attempts to mold her into a being of pure malevolence. Only in the end of the novel, after the death of Miss Havisham, does Estella's heart change from the block of ice it had become. Pip becomes the victim of Miss Havisham's machination. She fosters his notion that she is his benefactor, and attempts to expand the relationship between Pip and Estella so that Pip will be more deeply hurt when Estella rejects him. Never at one moment does she stop to consider Pip or his feelings. Her warping of Estella was quite inconsiderate as well, and brought a great deal of suffering to the both of them. Miss Havisham is not an evil woman, however. She treats Pip with some kindness when she first meets him, and recognizes Joe as a good man of principle. Miss Havisham also repents her actions compeltely towards the end of the novel. Her repentance comes too late, however, as she has no more life to start anew. The warped nature of her surroundings and herself is a horrifying testament to her powerful passions and forceful will.
7) Molly was raised in a situation much akin to that of Abel Magwitch. Both of them were lower-class people who had few to no advantages. They were married and had a child. Soon afterward, when the child was about three years old, another woman began to take a shine to Abel, and Molly killed the woman in a fit of jealousy. Mr. Jaggers took the case of defending Molly before he was well known, and got her acquitted. He was able to do this by dressing Molly up to appear smaller than she actually was and explaining tampering with physical evidence. The influence of this success, which apparently made him famous and started his career, can be seen in his dealings with Mike in chapter 20. In her attempt to get revenge upon Abel for having let another woman get close to him, she gave her child to Mr. Jaggers and let Abel think that she had killed the child. Mr. Jaggers gave the little girl to Mrs. Havisham in order to give the child a chance to escape the fate of her parents. Molly stayed with Mr. Jaggers and served as his maid and servant from the time that she was acquitted until the end of the book. Molly seems to be a very quiet and reserved woman since the case and whenever she begins to show her wild side again, Mr. Jagger reminds her of the debt that she owes him. She seems to be the evil side of Abel. While Magwitch is dirty, poor and a criminal but good at heart and a borderline gentleman; Molly is a cold, hard woman with little regard for life and apparently a viscous, vengeful temper.
8) Mrs. Joe (Georgiana) Gargery is the wife of Joe Gargery and the sister of Pip (although nearly 20 years his senior). She is an appearance centered woman who is hell-bent on making Pip pay for living and forcing her to take care of him. She is constantly complaining about how ungrateful Pip is for her raising of him by hand , and she beats him frequently with a stick called Tickler . Mrs. Gargery always wears a heavy apron with pins and needles stuck into it, which have a tendency to end up in Joe and Pip's digestive tracts. This apron is almost like a symbolic armor against any kind of tenderness or compassion. She is the one who has Pip shipped off to Mrs. Havisham's house and sets him down the road to self-destruction. Mrs. Gargery is partially paralyzed after she is attacked by Orlick for what he deemed an attempt on her part to get him fired. Ironically, it appears that only after this attack does she truly see the world in its proper perspectives. She calls Orlick in and seems to forgive him (or maybe she was trying to tell Joe who attacked her) and before she dies, she says three words implying that she wishes Joe to forgive Pip. It is quite possible that she has seen what wealth has done to Pip and realizes her mistake.
Mrs. Joe is the initiating factor in Pip's moral decline and it is very probable that Charles Dickens was attempting to speak about the problems he saw with the beating of children, and the aspirations that some parents place on their children ( r foster children) to become more than they are.9) Orlick is Pip's lifelong enemy. He is a big, strong bully with a bad temper who despises Pip. Orlick has lived a difficult life and seems to blame Pip for everything that has gone wrong in his life. He says to Pip, "You was always in old Orlick's way since ever you was a child." (Chapter 53) He claims that Pip was favored by Mrs. Joe and that he was bullied by her. Therefore, Orlick reasons, it was really Pip's fault that he assaulted Mrs. Joe. Orlick also resents Pip having gotten him fired from his job at the Satis House. Orlick further accuses Pip of coming between him and Biddy. Orlick uses all of these accusations against Pip to justify his murder of Pip. In fact, Orlick's scene with Pip tied up is the only sequence in the book in which Orlick has a major impact. It is during this strenuous time that the reader can clearly see Pip's sudden unselfishness. While Orlick stalks Pip before his seemingly eminent death, Pip can only think of his loved ones. In Great Expectations Orlick plays the role of the disgruntled bully. He lives a criminal life and ends up working for another villain, Compeyson. His hot temper results in the death of Mrs. Joe, and almost the death of Pip.
10) Philip Pirrip (Pip) is both the central character and narrarator of Great Expectations. The entire story is told through the eyes of an adult Pip, even though Pip is a small child during parts of it. In his early years, Pip was strongly influenced by his guardians, Joe Gargery and his wife, Mrs. Joe. Joe instills a sense of honesty, industry, and friendliness in Pip, while Mrs. Joe does a great deal to contribute to his desires and ambitions through her constant emphasis on pomp and property. Pip is generally good-natured and thoughtful, and very imaginative. His false values, which are bolstered by his love of Estella, decrease the amount of respect that he has for Joe. His alienation from Joe and Joe's values builds through the second part of the novel, as Pip becomes selfish, greedy, and foolish. During the period when his expectations are intact, his only morally positive act was to secretly help Herbert Pocket into a good position. Upon discovering that Magwitch is his benefactor, a new phase begins in Pip's moral evolution. At first, Pip no longer feels the same human compassion for Magwitch that he did the first time he saw him out on the marshes. Gradually, Pip changes his perception of Magwitch, unlearning what he has learned. Pip becomes concerned with the man, and not the expectations that he could provide. When Jaggers presents the thought that there may be a way for Pip to get his hands on Magwitch's property, the idea sounds hollow and utterly empty to Pip. Pip learns about Estella's parentage through Magwitch, and that his aspirations were falsely based. When Pip is arrested for his debts and becomes too ill to go to prison, Joe tends to him. Thus, the positive values which Joe had shown Pip as a child are reinforced. After the ruination of Pip's expectations, the only good he experiences comes directly from the only good he did for others while his expectations where intact. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Pip loses and then rediscovers the importance of human relationships and virtue over wealth and position.
Pip is represented as a sensitive boy, acutely conscious of guilt. Guilt is expressed on page after page of the childhood of Pip: for stealing from Mrs. Joe, for lying about Miss Havisham to his elders, for contributing the weapon for the assault on his sister and for coming into his expectations, which he cannot meet Joe´s or Biddy´s eyes. But Pip changes from this boy with guilt apparently incapable of a good action to a man who sets up his friend in business, tries to save the life of his benefactor and burns himself for the sake of a woman who has done him nothing but harm.
One of Pip´s accomplishments is when he becomes a gentleman, one of his childish dreams. The concept of the gentleman has been central in the life of the English society of the XVIIIth century until the Second World War, but it is in the Victorian literature when the topic has more importance and meaning. In Our Mutual Friend, Dickens continues with the idea of the gentleman after Great Expectations.11) Mr. Pumblechook is definitely one of the most distasteful and deplorable characters of the novel. Pumblechook remains static throughout the novel as a pompous and obsequious sycophant. During Pip's childhood, Pumblechook derides Pip as an ungrateful child who will never amount to anything. He puts the utmost value on material possessions and thus has no true friends. He attempts to shadow his ignorance with his "sophisticated" conversations in which he has completely no idea of what he is talking about. In Pumblechook, Dickens created a monster that he believed represented the abhorrent middle class of England. The only thing that changes in Pumblechook is his treatment of Pip. This treatment only further stresses Pumblecook's perogative of placing wealth and the upper class on a pedestal. As a result of Pip's sudden inheritance, Pumblechook abruptly changes his attitude towards Pip and instead of insulting and condemning Pip, he endlessly praises Pip for his new lifestyle. He actually relates to Pip as his equal. Pumblechook, in stride with his character, continually credits himself for Pip's status and even publicly wraps himself in self-pity on the account of Pip not recognizing him as such. When Pip loses all of his possessions, he suddenly, though certainly not surpi singly, falls out of Pumblechook's favor. Pumblechook moans at Pip's aloof attitude towards him. The reader can only cringe at Pumblechook's unbelievably pompous demeanor because it is quite obvious that he had no hand in Pip's good fortune. He merely exposed Pip to the snobbish and cold world of Miss Havisham and Estella.
12) Wemmick is the clerk and closest assistant to Mr. Jaggers. He has two lives: one at the office and one at home. At the office, he is stern, cold and described as having a wooden face with chiseled features. Wemmick is a yes man for Mr. Jaggers at the office, imitating him in almost every way, including the dispersions that he constantly casts at his customers. Wemmick becomes acquaintances with Pip through their dealings with Mr. Jaggers. When Wemmick invites Pip over to his home, he sees another side of Wemmick that is never seen at the office. Wemmick visibly softens as they near his house and becomes quite amiable. In addition, Wemmick has a home made to seem like a castle, complete with a moat, drawbridge, and cannon that Wemmick fires every night before he goes to sleep. This very idealized home scene is in direct contrast with Wemmick's office life and accentuates Dickens's implications about reality vs. appearances. While Wemmick is a good man, he is very false and is forced to put on a mask of indifference in order to survive all of the horrible, seedy acts and people that he must deal with on a daily basis. Without this defense, he would probably go crazy. Wemmick proves to be Pip's most loyal friend (along with Herbert) and aids him in many legal and criminal matters. Wemmick helps Pip to avoid being discovered as Provis's abetter and allows him to secretly support the advancement of Herbert's future, the one charitable act that he performs with his money. Wemmick has an aged father who is hard of hearing and a romantic interest that he finally marries in Ms. Skiffins. Wemmick, when at his home, is a good example of what a true gentleman is, however, his character is somewhat adulterated by his change of character when at the office.
4)THE CONCEPT OF THE FAIRY-TALE
Part of the strength of Great Expectations lies in the elements that Dickens takes over from the fairy-tales, which he never forgot.. It is a kind of inverted Cinderella, where the ugly sisters, Joe and Magwitch, are in the right, the fairy grandmother, Miss Havisham, is a witch after all, and the princess, Estella, is a gleaming fake. As a matter of fact, most critics reduce this novel to a simple fairy-tale of godmothers and princesses. However, Great Expectations can be read on many other levels. It can be seen as a morality play of a young boy´s coming of age and his sudden and unexpected rise from the lower to that of the leisure class (due to the anonymous efforts of a mysteryous benefactor). The novel can also be read as an ironic commentary: a social critique on money (as commodity) and how that commodity affects everyone around it. It can also be enjoyed as a rattling good mystery replete with secrets, as well as with shady characters, thieves and murderers of all stripes. In the end, Great Expectations is an unforgetable tale about fate.
Imagery is another important aspect of the novel related to that one of the fairy-tales. It takes the form of individual visualizable images, metaphor and other kinds of figurative language, simple and complex allusions to fairytales and other literature, entire scenes that function analogically or metaphorically and set up reverberations throughout the entire text. Here are some examples:1) Dickens characteristically makes heavy use of visualizable images, such as the stopped clock at Miss Havisham's and the handcuffs held up by the soldiers at the end of Chapter 4. "I ran no farther than the house door, for there I ran head foremost into a party of soldiers with their muskets; one of whom held out a pair of handcuffs to me saying, 'Here you are, look sharp, come on!'" Note that these images take the form of real objects in the novel and that the mind of narrator endows them with additional meaning.
2) Entire scenes also function as analogies or metaphors, such as that in the churchyard in Chapter 1 and the scene that opens Chapter 3:
It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window as a pocket handkerchief. Now, I saw the damp lying on the bare hedges and spare grass, like a coarser sort of spider's webs; hanging itself from twig to twig and blade to blade. On every rail and gate, wet lay clammy; and the marsh-mist was so thick, that the wooden finger on the post directing people to our village -- a direction which they never accepted, for they never came there -- was invisible to me until I was quite close under it. Then, as I looked up at it, while it dripped, it seemed to my oppressed conscience like a phantom devoting me to the Hulks.Note how many different uses of figurative language shape this brief passage, which itself serves as an image and analogy. How does this scene embody Pip's guilty state of mind, hyper-imaginativeness, and sense of existence?3) Elaborate allusions to fairy and folktales take on reverberations, as in the passage that closes Chapter 38, and so do dreams -- see that which ends Chapter 10 and look for other examples.
REFERENCES
For this page, I have consulted the following information:
1) Carlyle, Thomas: Selected writings. Ed. Alan Sherston (Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1971).
2) Coleridge, S.T.: Biographia literaria. Ed. George Watson (Dent, London,1975).
3) Dickens, Charles: American notes and pictures from Italy. Library edition (Chapman and Hall, London,1874).
4) Dickens, Charles: Great Expectations. Ed. Angus Calder (Penguin, Harmondsworth,1973).
5) James, Henry: The House of Fiction. Ed.. Leon Edel (Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1957).
6) Brook, G.L.: The Language of Dickens. (Andre Deutsch, London 1970).
7) Chesney, Kellow: The Victorian Underworld. (Pelican, Harmondswoth, 1972).
8) Dyson, A.E.: Dickens, modern judgements. (Macmillan, London, 1970).
9) Hardy, Barbara: The moral art of Dickens. (Athlone Press, London, 1979).
10) Horton, Susan: The reader in the Dickens world. (macmillan, London,1981).
11) Price, Martin: Dickens: A collection of critical essays.(Prentice Hall, New Jersey,1967).