Introduction:
Charles Dickens is one of the most successful and prominent authors and novelists of the Victorian age. Also, he is known as a social critic because he depicted the societal issues and conditions of his age. The reason he is considered a great writer is the fictional characters in his novels. Among his famous novels, “Great Expectations” is one of them that nearly reflects his life experiences and conditions. The main character and the protagonist of this novel are said to be Pip. Experts relate Pip’s conditions in the book to Charles Dickens’ own life as a child. Pip, in his childhood, worked as an apprentice and Charles Dickens also worked at the age of twelve. He worked in a factory to pay his father’s debt and get him out of prison. Then, he worked as a clerk. In the novel, Pip desires to be a gentleman and wants to make his fortune. He goes to work in Satis House which belongs to Miss Havisham. She is a wealthy and depressed lady. The life events of Charles Dickens to Pip have similarities. For instance, Pip falls in love with Estella and Miss Havisham wants Estella to break his heart by not accepting his love. Similarly, in 1830, Charles falls in love with a woman named Maria Beadnell and his parents do not approve of their relationship, and Maria goes away from Charles.
Portrayal of Dickens’ Age in the Novel:
Every writer portrays his society and his people through his writings and characters depict the life experiences and the situations in the author’s age. Dickens also reveals the seamy side of Victorian culture and exposes injustice and poverty in his novels. In addition, his negative characters show the corrupt and hypocritical side of England during his time.
Charles Dickens satirical works are responses to child labor and their mistreatment such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations.
Having a look at “Great Expectations”, he presents the social classes and their conditions. Between 1820 and 1840, the Industrial Revolution led to an increase in child labor, and children were taken to work in factories and mines. While working in factories, they fell victim to punishment and mistreatment; therefore, Dickens’ satirical works are responses to child labor and mistreatment such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations. In Great Expectations, Dickens mentions Pip as a worker at a very young age.
When Pip goes to Satis House, there he is ill-treated, mocked, and insulted because of his clothes, tough hands, weird accent, and filthy and torn shoes. Here Dickens depicts the social classes that how a lower-class boy is treated due to his appearance and his dressing.
Non-Feminist Representation of Women:
Victorian England was a patriarchal society. Women were considered inferior to men. Great Expectations was written in the Victorian Era, and it has many female characters–such as Mrs. Joe, Estella, Miss Havisham, and Biddy. Except for Biddy, all the female characters are shown as negative characters. Mrs. Joe is a violent woman and hot-tempered. She beats Pip, and she is not a loving wife.
Another female character is Miss. Havisham. She is shown as a heartless cruel and unkind lady. She manipulates Estella to hate men and break their hearts, as a result Dickens, in the novel, punishes her as being burned to death. In one way, she encourages Pip to love Estella; on the other hand, she says Estella to hurt him. As she says Pip “Love her, love her, love her! If she favors you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces – and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper – love her, love her, love her!\”. Estella hates men and she does not care about their feelings; likewise, she hurts Pip by rejecting his proposal and marrying another man. These examples show that Dickens has not portrayed much about the sufferings of women, but he has shown the negative sides of them.
Dickens art of Characterization in “Great Expectations”:
Dickens draws his own experiences through his characters and uses idealized characters; in contrast, he shows the ugly face or side of the society. Additionally, he loves to employ incredible circumstances in his books. His characters in “Great Expectations” are idealized too. He uses remarkable coincidences in this book such as Magwitch turning out to be Pip’s benefactor and Estella’s father.
This novel teaches us the true value of life and the consequences of considering loyalty trivial than money and wealth.
Moreover, Molly is identified as the wife of Magwitch and the mother of Estella. Another incident, in the story, is when Compeyson is the man who left Miss Havisham on their wedding day. When looked at the character of Pip, we find out Pip has never seen anything to do with his parents including photographs except from the tombstones of their graves. This shows that his childhood was gloomy without his parents. Here Dickens uses his characterization techniques. Pip is portrayed to be imaginative as he creates a picture.
Major Themes in the Novel:
Themes are the central focus of a story. Themes explore universal and fundamental ideas.
This is the very first theme of the novel and is linked with Pip himself. In the beginning, he is ambitious and wants to become a gentleman. To become a gentleman, he has to improve himself by getting an education. After he visits Satis’ House, he understands how the real world looks like and decides to become a gentleman to gain the attention and love of Estella. He loves Estella and decides to bring improvement in himself so that Estella might accept him. Pip’s desire for self-improvement is the main source of this novel’s title “Great Expectations.” He has great expectations to be educated and be a gentleman. He also believes in the possibility of advancement.
Several characters in this novel are linked with this theme. Magwitch, Pip, and Estella. Magwitch repents about his past actions that had led him to the current situation. Similarly, Pip regrets not recognizing Biddy’s love sooner, especially after Estella leaves him. When he finally thinks of Biddy, it is too late, as she has already married Joe. In another instance, Pip feels guilty for mistreating Joe and dislikes being with him due to Joe\’s lack of education. Lastly, Estella feels ashamed for rejecting her love of Pip. She has a tough life with Drummel.
Conclusion:
This novel teaches us the true value of life and the consequences of considering loyalty trivial than money and wealth. The story of the novel portrays struggling of classes during the Victorian age but even today these conditions are present. Dickens’s writings are based on social reforming and the evils of society. In this novel, he portrays that the secret of happiness is not money, but it is to be happy in your current situation. He uses coincidences ” Good will triumph over evil.”
About the Author:
Noor Shah Saleem
Contributor at SIT Ink & InsightNoor Shah Saleem is a SIT alumnus and a former member staff. He is a graduate from the University of Balochistan in English Literature. He keeps an interest in literature and photography.