Great Expectations Themes Social Identity / bettering oneself In the 19th century there was the industrial revolution and agriculture revolution Lots of people getting rich quick and changing class – Dickens explores the idea of changing class through Great Expectations Mrs Joe tries to appear better than she actually is – at the Christmas dinner she ‘uncover*s+ the little state other time, but passed the rest of the year in a cool haze’ Mrs Joe feels that she has married below herself (only married a blacksmith) ‘Perhaps if I warn’t a blacksmith’s wife Mrs Joe always tries to please Uncle Pumplechook – thinking him better than her Pip’s first realisation of his class – Estella makes him feel a ‘dog in disgrace’ and calls him a ‘stupid, clumsy labouring boy’ – ‘what course hands he has. And what thick boots’ – Pip then remarks that he ‘never thought of being ashamed of *his+ hands before’ Pip wants to better himself to please Estella and is desperate to become a Gentleman - ‘I want to be a gentleman on her account’ He starts not being able to separate person and their social status and becomes ashamed of Joe’s ‘mere blacksmith status’ even though Joe himself is a kind and loyal person – Pip is ‘disgusted with my calling and my life ‘I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too’ – not seeing Joe as a man of worth in his kindness – ungrateful for his kindness – focusing on what he doesn’t have – longs to be part of Miss Havisham’s world – even though Satis House is decaying Pip is blind to the life that Miss Havisham and Estella live, an unhappy and lonely, spiteful one – in a decaying old house, but still sees their lives as ones to aspire too – whereas Joe and Biddy are much more content and happy with their status and roles in life but he doesn’t see this as a life to live The jewells that Miss Havisham has and puts on Estella disguise the horrid conditions in which she lives - Pip only sees people from the surface and on a social scale – impressed by how much money people have and not by who they are – looks no deeper than surface beauty and wealth Pip describes Biddy as ‘not beautiful – she was common’ Pip feels that wealth is better than inner kindness and moral goodness – thinking Miss Havisham is better than Joe – avoiding going to see Joe when back in town – he would rather hang out with Drummle (a nasty, brutal aristocrat) than with Joe (a loyal, kind man) Pip wants to pay for Joe to be ‘less ignorant and common, that he might be worthier of my society and less open to Estella’s reproach’ Pip learns that social and educational improvement is irrelevant to one’s real worth and that conscience and affection are to be valued above erudition and social standing. Affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Dickens establishes the theme and shows Pip learning this lesson, largely by exploring ideas of ambition and selfimprovement
What is Dickens trying portray in the characters about social class? Happiest and kindest people in the book are Joe and Biddy – content with their lowly class – happy to be who they are Upper Class Characters: o Miss Havisham is a monster who lives in a large house ‘uptown’ – it is dismal and grey and in ruins – she represents the aristocracy who hasn’t had to work a day in her life – her money and social has brought her no happiness and she a sad pathetic character – a slave to the corruption that has gone
on in her life – Compeyson leaving her at the alter and only her money – she was only seen as a rich lady – lonely and sad and vindictive – her family (her father and brother) were both very corrupt o Estella – proud and haughty – insulting – snooty and snobby – crushes men – lonely – has no heart o Compeyson – who is a gentleman – evil and corrupt – greedy and ends up as a criminal – “no varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself." o Drummle – a filthy rich ‘gentleman’ who is a brutal monster – arrogant and haughty –even though he is nasty and horrible - important contrast with Pip and represents the nature of class distinctions In his mind, Pip has connected the ideas of moral, social, and educational advancement so that each depends on the others - Drummle, a member of the upper class, provides Pip with proof that social advancement has no inherent connection to intelligence or moral worth. Drummle is a lout who has inherited immense wealth, while Pip’s friend and brother-in-law Joe is a good man who works hard for the little he earns. Drummle’s negative example helps Pip to see the inner worth of characters such as Magwitch and Joe, and eventually to discard his immature fantasies about wealth and class in favor of a new understanding that is both more compassionate and more realistic. o All of these characters are unhappy or brutal and corrupt – representing what Dickens feels about the upper class and the aristocracy – corrupt and devious – people who haven’t worked a day in their lives but feel superior to all those who have Middle Class Characters: o Mr Wemmick – content but keeps work and private lives very separate – at work he is heartless and disdainful – but at home is very pleasant and nice – ‘the office is one thing, and private life is another, when I go into the office I leave the castle behind me’ o Mr Jaggers - he is opposite of Wemmick – he is defined by his work – his work is his life – content in his own way – OCD about cleanliness – cruel and heartless – cares only about winning cases – but works very hard o Mr Pumplechook – another character who wants to appear upper class – pretends that he is best friends with Miss Havisham and thinks that he is the architect behind Pip’s precious fortune o All work for their money – some more esteemed than others – all have climbed the class system through hard work – not always nice – Wemmick has to put on a persona of cruelness and unfeelingness to climb the social status and earn money – this is what you have to be like to earn money and climb the class system Lower Class/ poorer characters o Joe – happiest character in the book – content and happy with his position and status – doesn’t want to move up – loyal and kind – has inner worth but not rich - honest o Biddy – kind and happy – educated but has no intention of bettering herself and moving up the class system – content with where she is – helps children by running a school – noble in her own right – honest o Herbert – a poor gentleman – happy and content – honest – marries Clara for love – a real gentleman even though not rich – not corrupted by money o Magwitch – poor, bottom of the social scale, scoundrel and criminal – however has inner worth – however when he has money he controls Pip o All these characters represent the fact that you can be happy and honest without having money – the nicest people are those who are happy with who they are o Orlick has grown up in the same place as Pip – wants to better himself – Pip squashes all of his dreams (job at Miss H’s and marrying Biddy) – Pip (with money) ruins him and Orlick ends up as a criminal Dickens wanted to shift the idea that social class and being a gentlemen was to do with monetary value and ‘old money’ aristocracy – but actually to do with hard work and honesty and virtue Only when Pip, at the end, goes and works for a living has he achieved full redemption and learning about life
Being a Gentleman One idea in the novel, portrayed by the younger Pip, is that a gentleman has to have social status and this is measured on his understanding of rules and social etiquettes, habits of dress and speech and the standing of his family – also wealth is very important However we get the sense, as readers, that a true gentleman is a matter of virtue and honesty – and also having a station or occupation in life which one can fill with dignity In Dickens’ time people were usually gentleman if they were in the upper class and had inherited wealth – however times were also changing where the industrial revolution enabled men of humble backgrounds to achieve immense wealth Herbert comments on the absurdity of the requirements for being a gentleman ‘I don’t know why it should be a crack thing to be a brewer; but… while you cannot possibly be genteel and bake, you may be as genteel as never was and brew’ (commenting of Miss Havisham’s family) Magwitch has this idea of ‘buying a gentleman’ – returning to the idea that being a gentleman is connected with wealth – but also making it seem absurd as the idea is laughable Money has seemed to buy status for Estella – as no one knows who her parents are and so the idea that being of the genteel class comes with ‘good breeding’ is also disrupted as she is the daughter of a criminal but still considered a lady Dress and speech also play a big part in being a gentleman – one of the first things Estella comments on is that Pip calls the ‘knaves jack’ – apparently a un-gentlemanly thing to do and also that he has thick boots that are common Pip also repeatedly comments on how well Joe looks in his working clothes (again reflecting the theme that you are defined by your occupation) but looks terrible in his Sunday dress – out of character and not like Joe When Pip becomes a ‘gentleman’ – which is his goal – he is called ‘Sir’ by Joe and Biddy When Magwitch returns it is impossible for Pip to disguise him as a gentleman as whatever he wears he still looks like a convict – reflecting the comment that Mr Pocket makes about you can’t hide a grain of wood – the more varnish you put on it the more it shows up – you have to be a gentleman on the inside, it doesn’t matter what you wear or have (wealth wise) o This sums up what Dickens wants you to take from the novel – Pip has to become a gentleman on the inside and no amount of etiquette and dress and money will make him one – he only becomes a true Gentleman at the end when he works honestly for a living and acts well and with gratitude to everyone o Trabb’s boy, Joe, Estella etc. can see that Pip is not a gentleman when he is in his finery because he hasn’t reached that status on the inside In the book the true genteel people are those who act with integrity, and dignity and occupies their place in society well We can contrast someone like Joe and Drummle - in Victorian terms Drummle would be the gentleman, however Dickens challenges this as Joe is more honest and mannerly – more like a gentleman, but without the status in society Pumplechook and other characters that think that being a gentleman is about a matter of show and outward conduct are made to look silly and ridiculous – another way Dickens shows that being a true gentleman isn’t about money or dress
Guilt and Crime /Morals In Victorian Britain there was an anxiety about crime Pip always is made to feel guilt – Mrs Joe always makes him feel guilty for being alive when the rest of the family are dead – says that he should be lucky that she took on the awful job of bringing him up ‘by hand’ Told that the young are ‘naturally wicious’
When Pip steals food for the convict he feels his whole life and town ‘seemed to run at *him+’ – the stairs creek and Pip seems to think that they are ‘calling after’ him and the same with the cows and the mist – town is turning against him – he feels alone in the village – doesn’t fit in there The Hulks (prison ship) loom over Pip’s village as the theme of guilt looms over Pip – Pip lives in a guilt ridden environment Mrs Joe says that people who go to prison ‘always begin by asking questions’ – Pip feels it is in his nature to end up in prison – ‘the Hulks were handy for me. I clearly on my way there. I had begun by asking questions, and I was going to rob Mrs Joe’ Pip always feels guilt about his social status – and ashamed of it – when he is apprentice to Joe all he can think about is the shame he would feel if Estella saw him When Mrs Joe gets assaulted Pip feels guilt for it – he wanted it to happen – Orlick does the deed for him – Orlick represents the part of him he wants to quash – he also feels guilt as the weapon (Magwitch’s leg iron) used to assault her was the one that he had stolen from the forge to give to Magwitch and Magwitch had used to get off the leg iron – at first making him think he assaulted her Pip becomes ashamed by his home and occupation and is desperate to rise socially – this is because Estella makes him feel guilt and shame about being a ‘common labouring boy’ He feels guilt about the way he treats Joe and Biddy and how he disregards them and is ‘aware of *his+ own ingratitude’ Mr Jaggers – the lawyer that oversees Pip’s expectations – he deals with guilty criminals on a daily basis – In place of the Hulks that loom over the marshes, Newgate prison looms over London When Wemmick takes Pip to Newgate prison and he can’t shake the dust of the prison off of him – symbolizing the feeling that Pip has that he is going to end up a criminal – the more he tries to shake it off the more it sticks to him By making Pip a gentleman with a convict as his benefactor – Dickens portrays that the Upper Class world of the gentleman is propped up by the criminality of the underclass – each class depends on each other to thrive – they have a connection Mr Jaggers always obsessively washes his hands all the time – attempting the wash off the dirt and grime of his clients guilt However at the end Pip realises the difference between the criminal by choice (Compeyson) and the criminal driven to crime by desperation (Magwitch) Pip feels guilt about his ‘worthless conduct to [Joe and Biddy]’ after he realised that Magwitch was his benefactor Pip is always to avoid going to prison – but in the very end he ends up in prison – finalizing his cycle of learning – the guilt that shaped his life experiences made him a better and stronger man in the end
Women Patriarchal society – when women get married they give everything to their husbands The two nice women in the novel (Biddy and Clara) are domesticated and the Victorian ideal of women – accepting and caring – soft spoken – apart from Clara and Biddy, most of the women in the book are angry, bitter and have a negative influence on Pip’s life decisions and relationships Mrs Joe – had the most negative influence over Pip – she was the one who made him leave his life at the forge and make him feel guilty and unwelcome in the life the led – however she was beaten and broken by Orlick that brings her to submission o Mrs Joe is dominating and wouldn’t ‘be over partial to *Joe+ being a scholar, for fear *he+ might rise’ Estella is the second woman that has so much power over Pip – she is ‘pretty’ yet ‘proud’ and ‘insulting’ – she is the one that creates the destruction of Pip’s other relationships with people – she makes him feel shame and lowliness towards himself, Joe and honest life he leads – Estella made him unhappy o Estella two gets beaten into submission by Bentley Drummle before she can be with Pip
Miss Havisham, who’s aim in life is to wreak havoc by means of Estella on all men, controls Pip and leads him into the trap that she has made for him through Estella – ‘giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter – as I did’ (Miss Havisham) o However Miss Havishams’s whole existence and life revolves around and is controlled by the wrongdoings that Compeyson did to her when he left her at the alter – her pain drives her to be very vindictive o This leaves her pathetic and lonely at the end – begging for forgiveness - left by Estella and Pip Dickens portrayal of women is not positive for most of the women in the book – the more positive characters are Joe, Magwitch and Mr Wemmick – they teach and show Pip the error of his ways and teach him the ultimate teaching of the whole book – a true gentleman is not defined by their social status and wealth but by their inner moral values and honesty The women in the novel are Pip’s obstacles and are the people that pose a threat to his way of life
Money and Property Money and property defines you Drummle can mix with the right people because he is rich – although he is a scoundrel Joe, who is a nice and honest man, is looked down upon because he is not rich and Pip is worried he will suffer from reproach Mr Wemmick – a man obsessed by ‘portable property’ – this portable property defines you
Relationships with different Characters Pip and Joe’s relationship
Pip thought that Joe was mild and good-natured – says that they are both ‘fellow sufferers’ of Mrs Joe’s ‘bringing up by hand’ Pip says that he always regarded Joe as ‘a larger species of a child, and no more than my equal’ (Chapter 2) – showing that Joe and him were friends of equal status When Pip steals from his sister he feels no remorse stealing from her, but does feel guilty about not confessing to Joe – this represents the first separation from Joe – he doesn’t tell him everything anymore (Chapter 3) At the end of his visit to Satis House he lies to Joe, Mrs Joe and Mr Pumplechook – later he confesses this lie to Joe – signifying their still close and loyal relationship As soon as Pip starts to go up to Satis House and realises that he is a ‘common labouring boy’ and how ‘common Estella would consider Joe’ – this starts to drive a wedge through Joe and Pip’s relationship as Estella and Miss Havisham start to replace Joe – they destroy and override his relationships with Joe – the more he thrives to be like them and to have a relationship with them, the more unhappy he gets As Pip starts getting influenced by Miss Havisham and Estella, he becomes embarrassed by Joe’s ‘mere blacksmith’s status’ and lack of education – he realises that he is superior to Joe in educationing skills, disrupting their once ‘equal’ relationship When Pip gets his ‘Great Expectations’ in Chapter 19, he feels a patronising superiority towards the forge and the village – he suggests to Biddy that Joe should have better education for a higher station in life – not considering that Joe might be content where he is and proud to fill his occupation as a blacksmith – representing the distance he has grown from Joe, where once he might of looked forward to having ‘such larks’ by being an apprentice to Joe as a blacksmith, to now not understanding who Joe is, and how proud he is to fill his job ‘well’ When Pip is measured for a new suit and leaves for London, he departs from the forge alone so that him a Joe don’t have to walk together – fear of being seen with him, shows the final stage of ending his relationship with Joe
When in Chapter 27, Joe comes to visit Pip in London – Joe calls Pip ‘Sir’ – showing that their relationship has grown from being equal friends, to being quite cold, distant and formal – where Pip takes the higher status o Joe also tries to dress in a gentlemanly way to try and honour Pip and not embarrass him – this happens both in Chapter 27, when he visits him and in Chapter 13 when they visit Miss Havisham At the end of the novel Pip and Joe are reconciled, when Joe nurses him back to health – Joe tries to apologise to Pip as he blames himself for their estrangement – Joe feels guilty for not intervening when Mrs Joe was beating up Pip – both forgive each other and Pip again depends on Joe like when he is younger – their relationship takes a cyclical journey
Pip’s Relationship with Miss Havisham
Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham, where he sees the horrors of the house and how it has been left to ruin – he is unhappy at the house but has an attraction to Estella – Miss Havisham treats him coldly and mysteriously – she tells Estella to ‘break his heart’ – they both mock and are cruel about his ‘common’ clothes Miss Havisham orders Pip to sing ‘Old Clem’ with her – this is a song that he sings with Joe – Miss H is trying to replace Joe The first stage of breaking his heart is when she ties him to an apprenticeship with Joe – when she knows that he now wants to do something different and he expects to be able to climb the social status – also she is separating him from Estella, who she knows that Pip loves When Pip receives his good fortunes he immediately assumes that the benefactor must be Miss Havisham – she plays along to this and lets Pip believe that he is destined to marry Estella Miss Havisham now is seen by Pip as a ‘fairy godmother’ rather than the ‘witch of the place’ – Pip feels that he is in her debt because he thinks that she is his benefactor – he thinks, as she adopted Estella, she has ‘as good as adopted’ him too – showing he feels like she is a kind of parent figure When he visits Miss Havisham and Estella again, Miss Havisham cruelly mocks him and says that she wants to feel the pain of ‘real love…as *she+ did’ In Chapter 44, Miss Havisham admits to using Pip’s good fortune to torture her relatives – showing that their whole relationship was always a lie that Pip built around himself Miss Havisham gives Pip nine hundred pounds to endorse Herbert and offers him money – he refuses – she begs him for forgiveness and he gives it to him – this shows that underneath her craving for revenge she became attached to Pip and didn’t want to break his heart – seeking this revenge didn’t make her any happier – she is now vulnerable and the roles in the relationship have switched Both Pip and Miss Havisham’s love has been rejected by Estella – so both find common ground in this She sets alight and Pip saves her
