Great Expectations

This article is about the Charles Dickens novel. For other uses, see Great Expectations (disambiguation).

Great Expectations

Title page of Vol. 1 of first edition, July 1861
Author	Charles Dickens
Language	English
Series	Weekly: 1 December 1860 – 3 August 1861
Genre	Fiction Social criticism
Publisher	Chapman & Hall
Publication date	1861 (in three volumes)
Publication place	United Kingdom

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens' weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel, and the story genre is Victorian Literature. It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early-to-mid 1800s.

Plot summary

On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, an orphan who is approximately six years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard while visiting the graves of his mother and father, as well as those of his siblings. The convict scares Pip into stealing food for him, and a file to grind away his shackles, from the home he shares with his abusive older sister and her kind, passive husband Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. The next day, soldiers recapture the convict, and another, engaged in a fight and return them to the prison ship.

Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster, who wears an old wedding dress and lives in the dilapidated Satis House, asks Pip's "Uncle Pumblechook" (who is actually Joe's uncle) to find a boy to play with her adopted daughter Estella. Pip begins to visit Miss Havisham and Estella, with whom he falls in love, with Miss Havisham's encouragement.

Miss Havisham with Estella and Pip. Art by H. M. Brock

As a young apprentice at Joe Gargery's smithy, Pip is approached by a lawyer, Mr. Jaggers, who tells him he is to receive a large sum of money from an anonymous benefactor and must leave for London immediately where he is to become a gentleman. Pip believes Miss Havisham to be his benefactress and visits her and Estella, who has returned from studying on the Continent.

Years later, Pip has reached adulthood and is now heavily in debt. His benefactor is revealed to be Abel Magwitch, the convict he helped, who was transported to New South Wales where he eventually became wealthy. There is a warrant for Magwitch's arrest in England and he will be hanged if he is caught. A plan is therefore hatched for him to flee by boat. It is also revealed that Estella is the daughter of Magwitch and Mr. Jaggers's housemaid, Molly, whom Jaggers defended in a murder charge and who gave up her daughter to be adopted by Miss Havisham.

Pip confronts Miss Havisham with Estella's history. Miss Havisham stands too close to the fire which ignites her dress. Pip is burned while saving her, but she eventually dies from her injuries, lamenting her manipulation of Estella and Pip.

File:Pip-magwitch.jpg

Magwitch makes himself known to Pip

While attempting to escape, Magwitch kills his enemy Compeyson. Magwitch is captured and sent to jail where he dies shortly before his execution. Pip is about to be arrested for unpaid debts when he falls ill. Joe nurses him back to health and pays off his debts.

At the end of the original version Pip meets Estella on the streets; she has remarried after her abusive husband has died. Pip says that he is glad she is a better girl from what she used to be now from the coldhearted girl Miss Havisham reared her to be and that "suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham's teaching and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be." Pip remains single.

Revised ending

Following comments by Edward Bulwer-Lytton that the ending was too sad, Dickens rewrote the ending so that Pip now meets Estella after the death of her husband in the ruins of Satis House with the suggestion that they will marry. John Forster and early 20th-century writers including George Bernard Shaw and George Orwell felt that the original ending was "more consistent with the draft, as well as the natural working out of the tale"; modern literary criticism tends to agree with that artistic judgment.

Main characters in Great Expectations

Pip and his family

• Philip Pirrip, nicknamed Pip, an orphan and the protagonist and narrator of Great Expectations. Throughout his childhood, Pip thought that his life would be to become trained as a blacksmith. As a result of Magwitch's anonymous patronage, Pip travels to London and becomes a gentleman. All along, Pip was under the impression that his benefactor was Miss Havisham, as opposed to Magwitch.
• Joe Gargery, Pip's brother-in-law, and his first father figure. He is a blacksmith who is always kind to Pip and the only person with whom Pip is always honest. Joe was very disappointed when Pip decided to leave his home and travel to London to become a gentleman rather than be a blacksmith.
• Mrs. Joe Gargery, Pip's hot-tempered adult sister, who raises him after the death of their parents but complains constantly of the burden Pip is to her. Orlick, her husband's journeyman, attacks her and she is left disabled until her death.
• Mr Pumblechook, Joe Gargery's uncle, an officious bachelor and corn merchant. While holding Pip in disdain, he tells "Mrs. Joe" (as she is widely known) how noble she is to raise Pip. As the person who first connected Pip to Miss Havisham, he even claims to have been the original architect of Pip's precious fortune. Pip despises Mr Pumblechook as Mr Pumblechook constantly makes himself out to be better than he really is. He is a cunning impostor. When Pip finally stands up to him, Mr Pumblechook turns those listening to the conversation against Pip and his usefulness at succession.

Miss Havisham and her family

• Miss Havisham, wealthy spinster who takes Pip on as a companion and who Pip suspects is his benefactor. Miss Havisham does not discourage this as it fits into her own spiteful plans which derive from her desire for revenge after being jilted at the altar several years before. She later apologizes to him as she's overtaken by guilt. He accepts her apology and she is badly burnt when her wedding dress, which she has never taken off since being jilted, catches fire when she gets close to the fireplace. Pip saves her, but she later dies from her injuries.
• Estella, Miss Havisham's adopted daughter, whom Pip pursues romantically throughout the novel. She is secretly the daughter of Molly, Jaggers's housekeeper, and Abel Magwitch, Pip's convict. Estella was given up for adoption to Miss Havisham after her mother, Molly, is tried for murder. Estella represents the life of wealth and culture for which Pip strives. Since her ability to love has been ruined by Miss Havisham, she is unable to return Pip's passion. She warns Pip of this repeatedly, but he is unwilling or unable to believe her.
• Matthew Pocket, a cousin of Miss Havisham's. He is the patriarch of the Pocket family, but unlike others of her relatives he is not greedy for Havisham's wealth. Matthew Pocket has a family of nine children, two nurses, a housekeeper, a cook, and a pretty but useless wife (named Belinda). He also tutors young gentlemen, such as Bentley Drummle, Startop, Pip, and his own son Herbert, who live on his estate.
• Herbert Pocket, a member of the Pocket family, Miss Havisham's presumed heirs, whom Pip first meets as a "pale young gentleman" who challenges Pip to a fist fight at Miss Havisham's house when both are children. He is the son of Matthew Pocket, is Pip's tutor in the "gentlemanly" arts, and shares his apartment with Pip in London, becoming Pip's fast friend who is there to share Pip's happiness.
• Cousin Raymond, an ageing relative of Miss Havisham who is only interested in her money. He is married to Camilla.
• Georgiana, an ageing relative of Miss Havisham who is only interested in her money. She is one of the many relatives who hang around Miss Havisham "like flies" for her wealth.
• Sarah Pocket, "a dry, brown corrugated old woman, with a small face that might have been made out of walnut shells, and a large mouth like a cat's without the whiskers." She is another ageing relative of Miss Havisham who is only interested in her money.

Characters from Pip's youth

• The Convict, an escapee from a prison ship, whom Pip treats kindly, and who turns out to be his benefactor, at which time his real name is revealed to be Abel Magwitch, but who is also known as Provis and Mr Campbell in parts of the story to protect his identity. Pip also covers him as his uncle in order that no one recognizes him as a convict sent to Australia years before.
  • Abel Magwitch, the convict's given name, who is also Pip's benefactor.
  • Provis, a name that Abel Magwitch uses when he returns to London, to conceal his identity. Pip also says that "Provis" is his uncle visiting from out of town.
  • Mr Campbell, a name that Abel Magwitch uses after he is discovered in London by his enemy.
• Mr and Mrs Hubble, simple folk who think they are more important than they really are. They live in Pip's village.
• Mr Wopsle, the clerk of the church in Pip's village. He later gives up the church work and moves to London to pursue his ambition to be an actor, even though he is not very good.
  • Mr Waldengarver, the stage name that Wopsle adopts as an actor in London.
• Biddy, Wopsle's second cousin; she runs an evening school from her home in Pip's village and becomes Pip's teacher. A kind and intelligent but poor young woman, she is, like Pip and Estella, an orphan. She is the opposite of Estella. Pip ignores her obvious love for him as he fruitlessly pursues Estella. After he realizes the error of his life choices, he returns to claim Biddy as his bride, only to find out she has married Joe Gargery. Biddy and Joe later have two children, one named after Pip whom Estella mistakes as Pip's child in the original ending. Orlick was attracted to her, but his affection was unreciprocated.

The lawyer and his circle

• Mr Jaggers, prominent London lawyer who represents the interests of diverse clients, both criminal and civil. He represents Pip's benefactor and is Miss Havisham's lawyer as well. By the end of the story, his law practice is the common element that brushes many of the characters.
• John Wemmick, Jaggers's clerk, only called "Mr. Wemmick" and "Wemmick" except by his father, who himself is referred to as "The Aged Parent", "The Aged P.", or simply "The Aged." Wemmick is Pip's chief go-between with Jaggers and generally looks after Pip in London. Mr. Wemmick lives with his father, The Aged, in John’s “castle”, which is a small replica of a castle complete with a drawbridge and moat, in Walworth.
• Molly, Mr Jaggers's maidservant whom Jaggers saved from the gallows for murder. She is revealed to be the former lover of Magwitch, and Estella's mother.

Pip's antagonists

• Compeyson (surname), a convict, and enemy to Magwitch. A professional swindler, he had been Miss Havisham's intended husband, who was in league with Arthur Havisham to defraud Miss Havisham of her fortune. He pursues Abel Magwitch when he learns that he is in London and drowns when, grappling with Magwitch, he falls into the Thames. In some editions of the book, he is called "Compey".
• "Dolge" Orlick, journeyman blacksmith at Joe Gargery's forge. Strong, rude and sullen, he is as churlish as Joe is gentle and kind. His resentments cause him to take actions which threaten his desires in life but for which he blames others. He ends up in a fist fight with Joe over Mrs Gargery's taunting and is easily beaten. This set in motion an escalating chain of events that lead him to secretly injure Mrs Gargery grievously and eventually make an attempt on Pip's life. He is discovered and arrested.
• Bentley Drummle, a coarse, unintelligent young man whose only saving graces are that he is to succeed to a title and his family is wealthy. Pip meets him at Mr Pocket's house, as Drummle is also to be trained in gentlemanly skills. Drummle is hostile to Pip and everyone else. He is a rival to Pip for Estella's attentions and marries her. It is said he ill-treats Estella. Drummle would later be mentioned to have died from an accident following his mistreatment of a horse. "The Spider" is Mr Jaggers' nickname for him.

Other characters

• Clara Barley, eventual wife to Herbert Pocket. A very poor girl living with her father who is suffering from gout. She dislikes Pip before meeting him because she is aware of how he influences Herbert's spending, but she eventually warms to him.

• Miss Skiffins, eventual wife to John Wemmick. She is known early in the novel for her occasional appearances at the cottage called "the castle" belonging to Wemmick and for the green gloves which she sports due to Pip's company. Those same gloves were interchanged for white at the only in text marriage scene, though there are several others that occur "off book."

• Startop, like Bentley Drummle, he is Pip's fellow student, but unlike Drummle, he is kind. He is said to have a woman's taste in many ways. He assists Pip and Herbert in their efforts to effect Magwitch's escape.

Style and themes

Great Expectations is written in first person and uses some language and grammar that has fallen out of common use since its publication. The title Great Expectations refers to the 'Great Expectations' Pip has of coming into his benefactor's property upon his disclosure to him and achieving his intended role as a gentleman at that time. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, a novel depicting growth and personal development, in this case, of Pip.

Some of the major themes of Great Expectations are crime, social class, empire and ambition. From an early age, Pip feels guilt; he is also afraid that someone will find out about his crime and arrest him. The theme of crime comes in to even greater effect when Pip discovers that his benefactor is in fact a convict. Pip has an internal struggle with his conscience throughout the book. Great Expectations explores the different social classes of the Georgian era. Throughout the book, Pip becomes involved with a broad range of classes, from criminals like Magwitch to the extremely rich like Miss Havisham. Pip has great ambition, as demonstrated constantly in the book.

Film, TV, and theatrical adaptations

Like many other Dickens novels, Great Expectations has been filmed for the cinema or television several times, including:

• 1917 – a silent film, starring Jack Pickford, directed by Robert G. Vignola.
• 1922 – a silent film, made in Denmark, starring Martin Herzberg, directed by A.W. Sandberg.
• 1934 – Great Expectations film starring Phillips Holmes and Jane Wyatt, directed by Stuart Walker.
• 1946 – Great Expectations, the most celebrated film version, starring John Mills as Pip, Bernard Miles as Joe, Alec Guinness as Herbert, Finlay Currie as Magwitch, Martita Hunt as Miss Havisham, Jean Simmons as Young Estella and Valerie Hobson as the adult Estella, directed by David Lean. It came fifth in a 1999 BFI poll of the top 100 British films.
• 1954 – a two part television version starring Roddy McDowall as Pip and Estelle Winwood as Miss Havisham. It aired as an episode of the show Robert Montgomery Presents.
• 1959 – a BBC television version starring Dinsdale Landen as Pip, Helen Lindsay as Estella and Derek Benfield as Landlord.
• 1967 – a television serial starring Gary Bond and Francesca Annis.
• 1974 – Great Expectations – a film starring Michael York and Sarah Miles, directed by Joseph Hardy.
• 1981 – Great Expectations – a BBC serial starring Stratford Johns, Gerry Sunquist, Joan Hickson, Patsy Kensit and Sarah-Jane Varley. Produced by Barry Letts, and directed by Julian Amyes.
• 1983 – an animated children's version, starring Phillip Hinton, Liz Horne, Robin Stewart, and Bill Kerr.
• 1989 – Great Expectations, a film starring Anthony Hopkins as Magwitch and Jean Simmons as Miss Havisham, directed by Kevin Connor.
• 1998 – Great Expectations, a film starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. This adaptation is set in contemporary New York, and renames Pip to Finn and Miss Havisham to Nora Dinsmoor. The film's score was composed by Scotsman Patrick Doyle, a regular collaborator of Kenneth Branagh.
• 1999 – Great Expectations a film starring Ioan Gruffudd as Pip, Justine Waddell as Estella, and Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham (Masterpiece Theatre—TV)
• 2000 - Pip A South Park episode that parodies and retells the Charles Dickens novel, and stars the South Park character Pip.
• 2011 - Great Expectations, a three-part BBC serial.
• 2012 - Great Expectations, a film directed by Mike Newell.

Stage versions have included:

• 1939 – London stage adaptation made by Alec Guinness, which was to influence David Lean's 1946 film, in which both Guinness himself and Martita Hunt reprised their stage roles.
• 1975 – Stage Musical (London West End). Music by Cyril Ornadel, starring Sir John Mills. Ivor Novello Award for Best British Musical.

Cultural references and spin-offs

• Great Expectations, the Untold Story (1986), starring John Stanton, directed by Tim Burstall is a spin-off movie depicting the adventures of Magwitch in Australia.
• Peter Carey's Jack Maggs is a re-imagining of Magwitch's return to England, with the addition, among other things, of a fictionalised Charles Dickens character and plot-line.

External links

Online editions

• Great Expectations at Internet Archive.
• Great Expectations at Project Gutenberg
• Great Expectations – Searchable HTML version.
• Great Expectations – Easy to read HTML version.
• Great Expectations – PDF scans of the entire novel as it originally appeared in All the Year Round.

Other

• Original manuscript – held at Wisbech & Fenland Museum, Wisbech.
• David Parker's article on the London Fictions site about the London of Great Expectations
• Map of Dickens's London