Power of Women

In Pip’s life, there are many very powerful women. Starting with his sister, he encounters three that are of particular importance. Mrs. Joe truly “wears the pants,” as she has the ability to control her husband and her brother in every aspect of home life, from when they eat to what time they are expected to be home: even employing The Tickler at times. Later in life Pip meets Miss Havisham and Estella, both of whom are adept at controlling men – as Estella proves by using the lessons taught by Miss Havisham to repetitively lead on the novel’s protagonist. In Dickens’ time, women were just starting to gain their independence. The three major women in Pip’s life show this newfound independence at its extremes, controlling men as women had been previously controlled for centuries.

Helping the Criminals

Throughout the novel, Dickens portrays Pip as an aide to escaped criminals, first the criminals in the graveyard and then Magwitch. However, his reasons for doing so show the marked change he goes through throughout the course of his lifetime. At the beginning of his life, Pip’s facilitation of the criminal’s temporary escape made him anxious: he knew what he was doing was wrong, and yet did it to protect his safety. Later, Pip helps Magwitch because he is responsible for the social climb Pip had undertaken. Pip helps Magwitch, even though he doesn’t particularly care for him, in an attempt to preserve his lifestyle. While Pip is looking out for what he thinks are his best interests in both situations, the younger Pip has a much stronger moral compass – proven by his much more pure and less selfish motives.

EDIT: With these situations, Dickens is proving to readers that it is not always outward appearances that matter. To the people of the Victorian Era, criminals were the low lives of society and yet Magwitch is obviously a noble individual. Through his relationship with Pip, the latter realizes that there are more important things in life than being a gentleman - like being a good person. This is one of the main ideals that Victorian artists aimed to push on their patrons.

“. . . the rich man and the kingdom of Heaven . . .” (141)

The kingdom of Heaven is the promise that is central to all Christian religions: after death, souls have a chance of salvation with Jesus and God regardless of many things, including their social standing on Earth. It is ironic that Dickens includes this as the sermon that Pip hears on his day of departure. It is ironic because even if Pip is able to achieve his status as “a gentleman,” his status in Heaven is apt to be no different than if he were to remain a commoner. In fact, in the reading being alluded to, the rich man does not in fact end up in heaven, because he was so greedy and mean-hearted during his lifetime. Matthew 19:23 plainly states that it is “hard for the rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Source:

Matthew. King James Bible. Print.

“. . . for their days were long before the days of photographs . . .” (3)

Photography was invented in 1839 by William Henry Fox Talbot and Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre. Pip, who doesn’t even truly understand what his parents’ names are, never specifically states when they died or even what year he is living in. However, by dating them as having lived before photography, Dickens makes it clear that the novel begins as the world was transitioning into the Victorian Age.

Source:

Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. Infoplease.com. Web. 10 Jan. 2010. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860364.html.

EDIT: By placing Pip's parents in the days before photographs, the orphan does not even have an image of his parents to connect himself with. He doesn't grasp the concept of a family because he lacks tangible evidence that he has ever had one. In a time when family bonds were considered to be of extreme importance, Pip lacks such connections which undoubtedly impacts his development. Without a family, Pip sees material goods as being an appropriate replacement and therefore spends a good part of his life in the quest for excess that consumed so many of his generation.

“. . . a green farthingale . . .” (261)

A farthingale is a hooped underskirt, all the rage in Victorian England because of the way it pushed the wearer’s skirt out and gave it the appearance of fullness, and therefore made the waist look smaller in comparison: two necessities of style during Dickens’ age. Even Pip, a male, knows about this – proving that it permeated every part of life at the time and therefore is important enough that it deserves mentioning within the novel.

Source:



"Farthingale - definition of farthingale by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 09 Jan. 2010. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/farthingale.

Photo Credits:

Farthingale. Digital image. LJ Johnson. Web. 9 Jan. 2010. http://www.ljjohnson.org/Art/Madrigal/interior/farthingale.jpg.

EDIT: The farthingale is significant because it shows the demands placed by society on citizens to conform. Women and men alike were expected to dress, speak, and behave in a certain manner - like the members of the upper class that so many wanted to be a part of. Even Pip falls victim to this desire to conform as he thinks that "the grass is greener" as a gentleman than as a common man.

“He was tried again for prison breaking, and got made a Lifer.” (221)

In Victorian England, a “Lifer” was an individual who had been sentenced to life in prison – a sentencing that condemned them to do hard labor until they died. In exchange for their lives being spared from hanging, prisoners were sent to British colonies, most notably Australia, from where they could theoretically never make their return. In this way, Dickens is showing the harsh realities of Victorian life for those who made mistakes – while those who followed the rules of society could make amends easily, the penalties were much stiffer for those who broke these rules.

Source:

"A Victorian Prison." The National Archives. Web. 09 Jan. 2010. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/lesson24.htm.

“She’s a Tartar.” (168)

The Tartars – also called the Mongols – are a group of people in Central Asia. Calling an individual a “Tartar” gives the connotation that the individual is mean spirited and gains enjoyment from causing others pain – much like the Mongols who in their prime were known for their vicious spirits and quest for domination. By describing Estella in this fashion, Dickens is alluding to her true nature before there is a chance for it to be explained.

Source:

"Tartars - definition of Tartars by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 09 Jan. 2010. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Tartars.

“‘I think I shall trade, also,’ said he, putting his hands in his waistcoat pockets, ‘to the West Indies, for sugar, tobacco, and rum . . .’” (175)

During Dickens’ time, slavery in America was at its peak, resulting in a great fortune available for those who captured and sold these slaves. Accordingly, trade routes across the Atlantic developed to transport slaves between Africa and America – triangular trade. Through triangular trade, many of the slaves exported from Africa made it to the West Indies, where they could be exchanged for, as Herbert states, “sugar, tobacco, and rum . . .” However, obviously not everyone who attempted this was able to succeed in making a fortune. Herbert’s plan to regain his fortune through this method implies that he may not realize what dire straits he is in financially and therefore is not prepared to take adequate efforts to make amends.

Source:

"Triangular Trade." Lyles Web Network. Web. 09 Jan. 2010. http://lylesj.tripod.com/trade/tritrade.html.

EDIT: Herbert's innocence is significant because it is a symbol of the naivety of most individuals of the day. Because it has been easy for Herbert to achieve the social status he has once, he assumes that it will be easy to reach it again once he begins to fall. Just as is being experienced now, the ease with which an individual could climb the social ladder caused many to being living beyond their means and eventually resulted in many being in worse financial situations than they were at the beginning - all because they have never had to work for what they have had. Herbert sees trade as a means to an end or a quick fix so he can resume his lavish lifestyle.

Money Does Not Buy Happiness

Throughout the novel, Pip is convinced that Estella is “out of his league.” Dickens eventually reveals to both Pip and the reader that this is not the case: she is the daughter of Magwitch, a convict. While she has been fortunate enough to have been raised by an individual with money – Miss Havisham – and eventually marries a man with money – Drummle – neither of these individuals have a positive impact on her life. In fact, she goes through life very unhappy despite her circumstance. The case could be made that had she been raised by her father and permitted to marry Pip, she would have been poor financially but rich in other ways.

EDIT: This is yet another example of Dickens' use of understated social commentary throughout the novel. Without ever directly saying it, he uses Pip as a warning to many who strive to follow a similar path: just because the wealthy appear to have the best lives does not mean this is exactly the case. This is a "be careful what you wish for" style warning, as getting the social standing that everyone wishes for obviously does not always have a positive impact on the quality of life for the individual.

Two Pips

In Great Expectations, Pip exists as both a child – the character of the story being told – and as an adult – the narrator of his own tale. This duality is especially apparent at the start of the novel, when Pip is at his youngest. Dickens uses this tool to impart upon the reader how much Pip matures and develops over his lifetime, to the point that he can look back on the events that seemed catastrophic or horrible and see benefit or humor in them.

EDIT: This contributes to the theme of the novel by showing substantial growth in an individual. The Victorian Era was a time of self-improvement and most people aimed to become better people - to grow as people - over the course of their lives. Having the two Pips shows in a very black and white fashion the way he changes by juxtaposing them throughout the novel.

Apologies

Late in life, Miss Havisham realizes that her broken heart has been the root of Pip’s similar fate. By raising Estella to spurn men, she may have gotten a twisted “revenge” for being left at the altar, but it has actually negatively impacted real people. As a person who knows the torment of heartbreak, Miss Havisham understands the pain she has caused Pip and begs his forgiveness. With this forgiveness, Dickens makes one of the main morals or themes of the story clear: admission of one’s sin, sympathy for those wronged, and a change of behavior are sufficient atonement for any wrong.

EDIT: Miss Havisham admits to Pip that she has been overly harsh, saying that she wants "to show [him] that [she is] not all stone. But perhaps [he] can never believe, now, that there is anything human in [her] heart." (385). This is an apology, proving that she does want to right the injustices she has caused.

Misty Marshes

Dickens uses the setting of the novel to better portray the tone of the tale, specifically the misty marshes near which Pip grows up. These marshes are used to evoke a feeling of uncertainty and danger, from meeting the convicts in them with the file and food to being kidnapped and nearly murdered in them later in his life. This tone that accompanies the marshes is foreboding of Pip’s mysterious fortune given to him, as he has to walk through the marshes to London to begin his new life.

EDIT: During Pip's first trip into the marshes, he relates them perfectly to how he feels internally, saying that "the damp cold seemed riveted, as the iron was riveted to the leg of the man." (17) Pip feels contained and threatened in the marshes, as though they know that he has stolen food from his sister and is doing something illegal: helping an escaped criminal.

Social Class

Obviously, social class is a driving factor throughout the novel as it was in the world during Dickens’s lifetime. In the novel, there are characters that represent every class that existed in England during the Victorian age from the criminals – Magwitch – to the obscenely wealthy – Miss Havisham – and every level in between. However, these class ranks are not fixed, as they were in pre-Industrial Revolution times. For example, Miss Havisham’s fortune was not inherited “old money” but instead earned by the successful brewery. In the same vein, Pip’s future is not decided by the situation into which he was born, as is shown when he advances his status later in life.

“. . . Joe . . . had told me that when I was ‘prentice to him . . .” (17-18)

Pip is to become an apprentice blacksmith to Joe when he comes of age – a common experience for young men in Dickens’s time. Even though he is an orphan, Joe is giving Pip a chance to better his situation by teaching him a trade to pursue. This is a unique opportunity for an orphan to have, because frequently a family had to pay for the son to be an apprentice which obviously an orphan likely could not afford. Even though Pip is an orphan, he obviously is in a better situation than most and is going to get the chance to improve his standing through mastering a trade.

EDIT: Even though this is in fact an improvement in social class for Pip - orphans were considered to be the lowest of the low in Victorian society - becoming an apprentice and learning a trade is not enough for a boy who strives to be a "gentleman." This proves that Pip is really the embodiment of most of what the Victorian artists objected to: the society of excess. Pip will not be happy until he feels as though he is the top of the social ladder, no matter what other opportunities he is given. Because of the Victorian's penchant for excess, it is likely that his thirst for his own version of success will remain unsatisfied - someone will always have more.

“. . . Miss Havisham's house, which was of old brick and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it. Some of the windows had been walled up; of thos

Dickens describes Satis House to look like a prison, with Miss Havisham as its warden – controlling right down to her efforts to master time by stopping the clocks. She has been so jilted by her abandonment at the altar that she refuses to trust anyone or give anyone that chance to hurt her again. While she may be of questionable mental integrity – always wearing her wedding dress and only one shoe – she is the woman who has raised Estella and therefore is significant in Pip’s life as the driving force between how Estella sees men.

Guilt

As Pip is stealing food for the convicts from Joe and Mrs. Joe, he is wracked by guilt based on his theft and is paranoid that he is about to be caught in the act. The stereotype surrounding thieves and orphans is that they are lawless individuals who don’t have any fear for the consequences of their actions. Dickens uses this incident as one of the first blatant examples of how Pip defies convention and attempts to be more than what his humble upbringing might initially dictate him to be.