Great Expectations ~ Charles Dickens (1860-61)

In one of his final novels, Charles Dickens sets high standards immediately from his title but it is ambiguous: who has great expectations? Why are they great? In applying the question to the reader, I had great expectations and, luckily, I was not disappointed. The story of Philip Pirrip, or Pip, is a beautifully written and performed story in which the young orphan is given the chance to rise above his disparity in the chance of becoming a gentleman. The tale follows his growth from a blacksmith boy to London nobility and through his journey, Pip encounters some very interesting characters. This is my highlight of the novel, with particular emphasis on the character of Miss Havisham who has become almost as infamous as the work which she originates from. With such an interestingly Gothic character design with an equally dark and mysterious back-story, Miss Havisham has been immortalised as one of Dickens’ most iconic characters. Apart from the image of Havisham in her decaying wedding dress, in the novel she serves an intriguing purpose as her intentions are never clear. Havisham seems to support Pip and also to disappoint him, she is merciless without any loyalties except to herself and manipulates the thoughts and ‘great expectations’ of the protagonist and therefore the reader themselves. Miss Havisham orchestrates the events of the narrative and makes the story more compelling as we must unravel her webs of deception which it is revealed involves more characters and events than we can imagine. It is through Pip that we live through this journey and while we may become disenfranchised with him during his adolescent years in which he forgets his roots and himself, it makes the character far more realistic. The new Pip may not be as likeable but the conflicts within his mind and his decisions to understand who he really is motivate the story and like the rest of the characters, there is no true division of him being good or bad, merely human and this makes his story relatable to our own. It is enjoyable to see him develop and his poor decisions act as a cautionary tale. Regardless, we do not separate from Pip and we experience his heartbreak in its entirety. Great Expectations plays with the feelings of Pip and the reader which makes the novel a true experience and one which will be made again in the near-future, keeping an eye to the overall plot to wonder how I once, foolishly, became spiders to Miss Havisham’s wedding cake.