Charles Dickens’ novel “Great Expectations” is known as a bildungsroman because it revolves around the growth and development of the protagonist, Pip, who also serves as the narrator. Understanding and analyzing Pip’s character is crucial in order to draw conclusions from his actions throughout the novel.
The aim of this essay is to discuss the themes of love and guilt in this mid-Victorian novel, focusing on the main characters Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, Biddy, Herbert, and Joe. From the early chapters, it becomes clear that Pip feels closer to Joe, his brother-in-law, than his own sister Mrs. Joe. Mrs. Joe lacks affection for Pip and even uses physical threats against him.
As a result, it is not strange that Pip develops a stronger affection for Joe compared to her. In this aspect, Joe represents qualities such as goodness, kindness, and loyalty despite his lack of education. He continues to care for Pip even after Pip departs and partially forgets about Joe. Eventually, Pip starts to disdain Joe (and Biddy) once he goes to London with the intention of becoming a gentleman after learning about his secret benefactor. However, the reader senses that Pip still harbors love for Joe, although he avoids seeing him due to his lack of education and potentially embarrassing uncultivated manners.
Despite Pip seemingly forgetting about Joe, he still possesses a strong conscience that drives him to rediscover his genuine, untainted sentiments towards Joe. As the narrator, Pip is capable of impartially assessing his past misdeeds, particularly those committed against Joe, and experiences a profound sense of guilt as a result. Conversely, Joe recognizes that his lack of education will be a burden to Pip if they remain in close proximity and hence addresses him respectfully as ‘sir’ after Pip relocates to London, understanding the need to maintain some distance between them.
After Magwitch’s death, Pip becomes ill and Joe comes to take care of him. However, once Pip recovers, Joe distances himself from Pip again. This is because Pip neglected Joe after he moved to London. Luckily, Joe and Biddy are understanding enough to forgive Pip when he hurries home after Joe’s departure (originally to propose to Biddy). Finally, they are truly reconciled.
It is a great surprise to Pip when he discovers that Joe has cleared his debts before leaving. This serves as a valuable lesson for Pip, as Dickens often includes moral lessons in his works. Here, he aims to show the reader that someone from a lower class, such as Joe, can serve as a role model for a snobbish individual like Pip. This is further evident when Pip tries to inform Joe about his mysterious benefactor, but Joe refuses to acknowledge it. This clearly demonstrates that Joe’s assistance towards Pip is purely out of love, unlike Pumblechook.
Despite feeling guilty towards Joe, Pip eventually realizes his mistake and understands it. While in London, he forms a lasting friendship with Herbert Pocket. They initially met at Miss Havisham’s Satis House, where Herbert had challenged Pip to a fight. Herbert plays a significant role in helping Pip become a gentleman, and they have a strong bond. For Herbert, his future aspiration is to become a successful merchant and earn enough money to marry his kind-hearted Clara.
Pip is such close friends with Joe that he secretly helps him financially, even though Pip is in debt himself. Despite this, Pip must prioritize his “Great Expectations” and build a closer relationship with Herbert. Overall, being a gentleman in the 19th century meant excluding people like Joe and neglecting the warmth and instinctual life symbolized by the forge. Biddy is kind, moral, and sympathetic at heart, but her appearance as a plain country girl prevents Pip from falling in love with her. However, Pip is grateful to Biddy for his basic education and admires her ability to learn everything he knows. When Pip meets Estella, he cannot emotionally love Biddy anymore. Biddy and Joe are reluctant for Pip to leave for London because they know he may never return. Eventually, both Biddy and Joe forgive Pip due to their sympathetic natures.Despite knowing that Pip is deeply in love with Estella, it is clear that this love is unattainable for him. In other words, Pip loves Estella passionately but also recognizes that his love is without hope. Estella herself admits that she has no capacity for love, which only further emphasizes the impossibility of their relationship. Despite discovering that Miss Havisham groomed Estella to break men’s hearts as a form of revenge, Pip continues to love her intensely. He remains nothing more than a plaything in Estella’s hands.
Pip’s realization of Estella’s marriage to Bentley Drummle raises his awareness of the unworthiness of his love. Once faithful to his love, Pip now leaves his past behind. On one side, there is a simple but kindhearted country girl, while on the other side, Estella remains cruel and cold. Pip’s expectations are so high that he cannot help but love a girl who is beyond his reach. In fact, his main desire to become a gentleman is motivated by his wish to marry Estella. Pip longs for educational improvement.
This desire is closely tied to his social ambition and his longing to marry Estella: he believes that a full education is a requirement for being a gentleman. It is unclear whether Pip wanted to keep Biddy away from Orlick out of jealousy or because he had romantic feelings for her while Orlick was pursuing her. However, when Pip ultimately decides to marry Biddy at the end of the novel, it becomes clear that he does not feel passionate love for her. Instead, he feels affectionate towards her and envisions a marriage based on affection if they were to be married.
Therefore, after learning that Biddy and Joe have already tied the knot, Pip does not sink into profound sadness; in fact, he is pleased to hear about their union. However, his heartache is profound when he learns of Estella’s intention to marry Drummle. At the conclusion of the novel, it is highly likely that Pip’s love for Estella resurfaces as he witnesses her transformation from someone unaware of love to someone who now appreciates genuine affection.
In the novel, Miss Havisham is depicted as an unusual, idiosyncratic, vengeful, and affluent woman. She is jilted by Compeyson on their wedding day, which leads her to adopt Estella as a means of seeking revenge. It appears that Miss Havisham had sincerely fallen in love with Compeyson. Instead of moving on and starting afresh without him, she chooses to isolate herself indoors, perpetually donning her tattered wedding gown and having all the clocks in her house frozen at the exact moment when she discovered Compeyson’s betrayal.
Despite Miss Havisham’s wealth, she was blind to the fact that Compeyson was a con artist who only cared for her money. She fell in love with him and agreed to marry him, which made her susceptible to his manipulation. Ignoring Mr. Pocket’s advice, Miss Havisham was persuaded by Compeyson to buy her brother’s share in the brewery. This decision ultimately led to Pip being the target of her revenge as she repeatedly emphasized the importance of loving Estella. However, near the end of the novel, Miss Havisham starts to feel remorse for her actions and repeatedly asks Pip for forgiveness. This highlights that her cruelty stems from her traumatic past and she now recognizes her mistakes. Instead of easing her pain caused by Compeyson by seeking revenge on someone else like Pip, she unintentionally inflicts more and more suffering, especially on Pip.
Despite Pip claiming to forgive her, the woman still struggles to forgive herself, repeatedly expressing regret with the words “What have I done!” Overall, these instances greatly impact the characters, often leading to intense and intricate developments. The lesson drawn from these experiences is that morality, encompassing loyalty, affection, and conscience, holds significant importance in life and should never be abandoned. Alternatively, one can enhance their weaknesses through empathy and remorse. As the events of Pip’s life unfold, he gradually realizes the true worth of the individuals he has encountered.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sell, Roger edited Great Expectations: Contemporary Critical Essays. This book was published in London by Macmillan in 1994.
2. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/themes.html
3. http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/dickens-expect.html
4. http://www. umd. umich. edu/casl/hum/eng/classes/434/geweb/WOMENAND. htm
