Great Expectations Characters edexcel 3-19th-Century-Novel

Characters

It is vital that you understand that characters are often used symbolically to express ideas. Dickens uses all of his characters to symbolise various ideas prevalent in his society, and the differences between characters reflect contemporary debates. Therefore, it is very useful not only to learn about each character individually, but how they compare and contrast to other characters in the novel. 

It is important to consider the range of strategies used by Dickens to create and develop characters within Great Expectations. This includes: 

• how characters are established 

• how characters are presented: 

  • physical appearance or suggestions about this 

  • actions and motives for them

  • what they say and think

  • how they interact with others

  • what others say and think about them 

• how far the characters conform to or subvert stereotypes 

• their relationships between other characters

Below you will find character profiles of:

• Pip

• Estella

• Miss Havisham

• Abel Magwitch

• Joe Gargery

• Mrs Joe Gargery

• Biddy

Minor characters:

• Compeyson

• Dogle Orlick

• Mr Jaggers

• Herbert Pocket

Pip

• Dickens establishes Pip’s virtuous character in the opening chapters of the novel

• The difficult conditions of Pip’s early upbringing greatly impact his kind and sensitive demeanour:

  • Pip is in a world dominated by adults, sustained only by Joe’s affection and a deep sense of outrage and injustice

  • He possesses a strong moral compass and is significantly impacted by his conscience

• Pip experiences intense fear and dread when first confronted by Magwitch on the marshes, which compels him to make a pact to steal food and a file:

  • This causes Pip to experience an intense internal moral conflict as he is torn between keeping his promise to Magwitch and betraying his beloved Joe

  • However, encountering the convict also prompts the emergence of his innate kindness and sympathy, which were perhaps suppressed due to the dominating presence of Mrs Joe 

• His first visit to Satis House is a significant event in his moral and spiritual development, as it becomes the root of Pip’s dissatisfaction with his life:

  • As a result, Pip almost instantly begins to abandon his moral compass while also losing respect for his loving and innocent foster father, Joe

• In Pip’s first meeting with Estella, his innocence is also shattered:

  • By agreeing with Estella’s assessment of him, his conduct is one of passive acceptance: he not only denounces himself but also the environment that has moulded him into who he is

• His initial encounter with Estella and Miss Havisham leads him to confuse arrogance and meanness with superiority:

  • Along with Estella’s beauty, this ignites an obsessive admiration that drives Pip’s pursuit of social status instead of honesty and integrity 

  • His aspiration to become an apprentice, which was previously cherished by both Pip and Joe, is now deemed unworthy

• Pip aspires intensely to adopt the manners and behaviour of a gentleman to prove himself worthy of Estella:

  • As Volume I comes to a close, Pip’s aspiration to become a gentleman is fulfilled, which adds to the fairy-tale quality of the narrative

• In Volume II of the book, life as a gentleman leads Pip to live recklessly and extravagantly, resulting in debt, emotional distress, and a sense of aimlessness:

  • Further, Pip’s lavish lifestyle negatively influences his close friend, Herbert Pocket, who had otherwise been a virtuous character

• Pip is aspirational and ambitious but also deluded:

  • He becomes obsessed with materialistic pursuits and the resulting desire for social recognition

  • He experiences a significant degree of discontent and dissatisfaction due to his infatuation with Estella

• By depicting Pip’s severe misjudgements and conduct, Dickens conveys the moral failings of the upper-class society that Pip is now a part of

• By the end of the novel, he rediscovers his innate affectionate qualities that he possessed as a child

• Pip embraces Miss Havisham’s world until Magwitch reveals the source of Pip’s wealth:

  • This revelation leads to a chain of events that shakes Pip’s convictions 

• Ultimately, Pip is only able to regain the moral values he held as a child once he realises that his elevated rank as a gentleman is based on the riches of a former convict:

  • This renders his social status untenable in the eyes of the upper class to which he had aspired

  • Initially repulsed by Magwitch, Pip eventually develops strong feelings of devotion towards him

• Pip’s innate moral compass becomes his guiding force throughout Volume III:

  • He exhibits kindness towards Magwitch

  • He secretly helps advance Herbert’s fortunes

  • He forgives Miss Havisham

  • He reconciles with Joe and Biddy 

• His spiritual, emotional and intellectual development throughout the novel may be represented by his name which is symbolic of a seed that grows and evolves:

  • Unlike many of the other characters in the novel, who largely remain unchanged, Pip has the unique ability to develop and mature throughout the narrative

Estella

• Despite her parents being considered socially inferior, she has managed to reach the highest level of upper-class society

• Visiting Satis House and meeting Estella transforms Pip’s perspective to one of unease and discontent:

  • She is condescending, cruel, proud and arrogant

• Throughout the majority of the novel, she under the control of Miss Havisham

• Her flawed emotional state is due to Miss Havisham’s cruel experiment, which has resulted in Estella obediently following her lead

  • Her attitude towards her own fate and that of others is one of indifference

• Estella, like Magwitch, is present to Pip even when absent as she is forever in his thoughts:

  • In the novel, she disappears from Pip’s life, for an unknown period of time

• Pip becomes her confidant and friend and wishes to shield him from the suffering she has planned for others 

• Estella firmly believes that falling in love is an unattainable goal and therefore does not consider Pip:

  • She also continually advises him against pursuing her

• There is a tragic aspect to Estella as she is the victim of Miss Havisham’s vengeful obsession:

  • Despite having taught her to be arrogant and disdainful, even Miss Havisham is eventually taken aback by her own creation and she reproaches Estella for her cold demeanour

• Despite her outwardly cold demeanour, Dickens makes her character sympathetic:

  • Similar to Pip she is the victim of another person’s scheme

• Although she eventually frees herself from Miss Havisham’s control, it is only through her tragic marriage:

  • In her determination to marry someone as brutal as Drummle, she could be perceived as being somewhat self-destructive

• Estella’s emotional coldness is evident, and she lacks compassion. However, Drummle’s ill-treatment of her makes her more sympathetic and humane

• Estella undergoes significant development due to her brutal marriage to Drummle, which forces her to mature beyond her former self:

  • As a result, she becomes aware of the worth of Pip’s affection and can now be considered as a suitable companion for him

• It is through her own personal struggles and hardships that she experiences emotional and spiritual development:

  • She comes to appreciate the significance of emotions like love, forgiveness, and regret

• Her harsh experiences have had a profound effect on her, and by the end of the novel, she indicates her remorse for having rejected Pip’s affections

• Her difficult experience exemplifies one of the sentimental themes in the novel: 

  • How adults can cause harm to children by pursuing their own agenda without any consideration of the latter

• It is only after Havisham’s demise that Pip and Estella can reunite

Miss Havisham

• Miss Havisham’s abandonment by Compeyson has affected her profoundly:

  • Her immense disappointment in love leads her to make the woeful mistake of attempting to harm everything around her

  • Yet despite her seemingly powerful ability to destroy, she ultimately suffers more from her actions than anyone else

• Havisham’s mind becomes consumed with retribution, with Estella used as the chosen weapon for her vindication:

  • She imparts to her protege a twisted set of values centred on cruelty and manipulation

• Her deranged mind skilfully distorts and controls details with precision:

  • She exploits Pip’s lack of knowledge about the origin of his expectations

  • She also uses him as a target for Estella’s unkind behaviour and to provoke her own avaricious relatives

• Pip perceives both Miss Havisham and Magwitch as if they were otherworldly beings, which is alluded to through their setting and appearance:

  • Magwitch in depicted in the churchyard; Miss Havisham is surrounded by her faded wedding attire

• Miss Havisham’s decision to keep all of her clocks permanently stopped acts as a metaphor for her inability to move beyond the past:

  • Her room is depicted as being frozen in time, mirroring Miss Havisham’s inability to move forward in life and her rejection of reality

• Her injury elicits an insane and irrational response from her, though she is still somewhat portrayed as a sophisticated and astute woman:

  • She has an ability to discern the true intentions of those who flatter her

  • She shows kindness towards Pip and Joe

  • She generously supports Herbert financially

  • She excludes Pumblechook from her life

• In the novel Dickens gradually unveils the reason behind Miss Havisham’s conduct, making her appear more pitiful

• Miss Havisham’s eventual redemption is illustrated through her remorse for her actions and her attempt to redress the balance of her wrongdoings

• When Pip confronts Havisham regarding the magnitude of her actions, she provides an explanation without attempting to justify her behaviour, before requesting forgiveness:

  • In the end, she is overwhelmed with anguish over the guilt that weighs heavily on her for the harm she caused to Estella and Pip

  • Havisham is able to perceive the adverse impact of her actions and realises Estella’s sadness and Pip’s shattered aspirations

Abel Magwitch

• Magwitch is a criminal and an escaped convict and he is first portrayed as threatening, aggressive and violent:

  • He is first portrayed as savage-like and described as a “fearful man… with a great iron on his leg… no hat, and with broken shoes”

• Pip’s first encounter with Magwitch highlights the brutality, violence and injustice of Pip’s environment:

  • Magwitch almost appears inseparable from the wild landscape from which he emerges

• He first appears to have a brutish appearance and although he possesses strength and the capacity for violence, he is not frequently aggressive

• Dickens seeks to change the reader’s initial negative perception of Magwitch by highlighting his pitiable condition and demonstrating his appreciation for Pip’s assistance:

  • He fades away quickly from Pip’s life but his memory continues to haunt Pip throughout the novel

• Despite being a generous man, Magwitch’s belief in the unfairness of his mistreatment drives him to expose Compeyson’s true nature:

  • Having realised how Compeyson has exploited him, Magwitch has a simple desire for vengeance

  • However, this does not appear to be self-centred, but rather driven by his need to hold the wrongdoer accountable

• Magwitch has lacked any advantages in life and has had his trust betrayed by others:

  • This is further reve