Pip’s second stage of moral development is the stage of decent, as he wallows more deeply in the mud of his misconceptions of the meaning of a gentleman, the influences of new characters, and the cementing of his conviction of the destined love for Estella. Simply being an acquaintance of Jaggers and spending his days in the streets of London surrounding Newgate Prison, cause Pip to acquire an air of cynicism. For example, Pip does not genuinely reason that his new best pal, Herbert, will successfully achieve greatness despite his lofty goals, because of his honest and benevolent nature. From the tales and actions of Jaggers, Pip realizes that to get ahead, one must ferret any means possible to realize success?a position much akin to that which is propounded in Machiavelli’s The Prince. Pip’s expectations are dampened by the appearance of the supposedly grandiose and superb London. He is somewhat dismayed by the odor of the city, the rickety construction of his apartment, the insects residing there, and the foul prison. Even Jaggers’ office is tiny and bland (though creepy), in proportion to his status as the criminal defense lawyer. Apparently looks can be deceiving, as Pip’s visions of his expectations are not what they seemed to previously be. After Pip and Herbert find each other most agreeable and jovial, Herbert explains to Pip that, “no man who was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner.” A gentleman in the fullest sense, does not one-dimensionally act properly in social gathers or take on a prosperous appearance, but must manifest himself in nature and his heart. However, Pip takes no heed as he becomes more misled into the perceptions of status, and appearances or shallowness of others: Wemmick is a character who leads two distinct and separate lives; Mr. Wopsle earns a living portraying others; and Drummle and Mrs. Pocket are nothing but self-interested, reservationists. He also is seriously misled by his own false ideas concerning Estella and the expectations regarding her. Miss Havisham (in her own subtle way) divulges to Pip her idea of the nature of real love: It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter?as I did! (Chapter 29, page261) Without a doubt, Pip’s every move is done with the prize of Estella in the dregs of his mind. Pip is affected by Estella in such a way, and his bondage to the image of her love forever becomes so entrenched in his head, that the thought of her having admirers is enraging to him. While this episode unravels, Pip falls deeper into debt and depends on the expectation of marrying Estella as vindication for all the misery he has dealt with. Even a membership at the Finches of the Grove leaves Pip with the bitter taste of emptiness when (as he believes) he should be enjoying himself. This is a parallel situation to his childhood when his uncompassionate relatives questioned the absence of his gratitude and happiness at Christmas dinner. Whereas Pip’s ego wishes to remain in London to see the end of his dreams played out, his heart begins to yearn for the reality and goodness of the forge and Joe Gargery. Pip’s first taste of true satisfaction arrives with a motive of altruism to alleviate financial pressure (and make up for their reckless lifestyle) from the shoulders of Herbert. While the source of misery is concentrating on oneself, Pip recognizes that true happiness comes from helping others, since he feels a sense of pride in playing the role of benefactor. Pip also loses the emptiness and guilt for a time, since, for once, his expectations have done some good to somebody. But alas, Pip must be completely humbled and familiar with suffering before any dramatic moral can appear: All the truth of my position came flashing on me; and its disappointments, dangers, disgraces, consequences of all kinds, rushed in in such a multitude that I was borne down by them and had to struggle for every breath I drew. (Chapter 39, page 336) Just what is this tragic and fateful occurrence? The revelation that Pip’s sole benefactor is the very convict whom he had shown compassion to on the marshes as a child. Fear and shame are reinstated into the mindset of Pip. Fear of first residing in the same room with this beast, and also by the fact that Magwitch is wanted dead by London authorities after escaping from prison; shame from Estella’s reaction if she knew of this association with a convict (ironically Magwitch is her father). It seems that Pip has been trained to be a gentleman based on wealth, prosperity, education, and refinement, in order to compete with Magwitch’s nemesis, Compeyson, who is a gentleman convict. As Magwitch’s response to the world, Pip is (mis)led to believe that money is the answer to all of life’s posing inquiries. For Pip, this horrible moment of anagnorisis (moment of revelation), peripeteia (reversal of fortune), and catastrophe (tragic downfall) occurs with the creaking of an aged, familiar man’s footsteps up the stairwell. Pip’s expectations, as opposed to the real expectations, have been shattered; since Pip had placed so much thought in planning to wed Estella, he is absolutely devastated by the news of Magwitch. This tragic blow to Pip’s morale destroys, he believes, any experience of reward from life, as he heavily regrets abandoning the authenticity of the forge and loyal Joe and Biddy.
The third and final stage of Pip’s moral education, focuses on the low point of his expectations; however, eventually he is lifted, through a fall of appearances, to the reunion with his old friends; after making the connection through suffering that true goodness is judged by inner worth, and discovering his own worth in the process. Jaggers’ statement, “Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence,” (Chapter 40, page 351) sets in motion the desire to deviate from the path of false perceptions and break the pattern of self-interestedness. His infatuation transforms into a more deep-seated love for Estella?Pip’s earnestness almost moves her when he completely pours out his feelings, and objects to her marriage to Drummle based not on selfishness, but her own best interest. As Pip suffers through this final bout of misery, Miss Havisham concludes that revenge is empty, regretting the manner in which she lived her life. The degeneration of his selfishness can be found risen to a higher plateau, when, at great personal risk, Pip gets burned for Miss Havisham who has been the cause of his being spurned and offended in the past. This fire represents all the remnants of Pip’s impurities being cleansed in the wholeness of the forge. Two paradoxes of the novel are, first, that self-salvation is achieved through serving others; and second, that to fully discover oneself again, one must be stripped of everything superficial. Pride had previously hindered Pip’s view of human goodness, but now a softening change is being erected in his life which rejects the notion of property equating value. His false, ignorant sense of what a gentleman is, was the factor behind Pip’s abandonment of Joe and Biddy (true paradigms of gentleness). Now that Pip has broken out of the cycle of this preoccupation, he realizes that his expectations were nothing but “poor dreams,” and that he had gravely placed too much weight on them. Just as the de-evolution of his moral journey began with breaking from the forge, creating a pattern of bondage, Dickens now employs an anchor being lifted to portray the liberation that Pip feels from his great expectations. Having been torn from his values and having carried onerous suffering for too long, Pip recalls a place where love, goodness, and sincerity flow like milk and honey?the forge. Proper conduct for a moral hero includes being contemplative and reflective, and, while in the grasp of evil Orlick, Pip seizes the opportunity to express his pain in his mind. Joe and Biddy would never know how sorry I had been that night; none would ever know what I had suffered, how true I had meant to be, what an agony I had passed through. The death close before me was terrible, but far more terrible than death was the dread of being misremembered after death. (Chapter 53, page 436) Pip vehemently regrets taking his true friends for granted, worrying above all that, without a chance to express himself once again, he will never be remembered truly; and that is the most terrifying part of all. Pip rejuvenates with a fresh enthusiasm for life, beginning with a new optimistic perspective. “From me too, a veil seemed to be drawn, and I felt strong and well” (Chapter 53, page 444). This, the veil of shame, guilt, misery, suffering, bondage, pride, infatuation, and deceit, is the discarding of the curtain of grayness described as clouding Pip’s heart at the conclusion of the first stage. A new circumspection is acquired, replacing the old, narrow lens, which allows Pip to realize the value of even the lowliest creatures of society, such as Magwitch. Despite all of Magwitch’s stratagems, however, Pip is resolved not to continue on in his role as a gentleman. “…he need never know how his hopes of enriching me had perished” (Chapter 54, page 457). With the image of the light of judgment in the courthouse, Pip’s moral maturity is near completion when his repugnance for this old, pitiful convict is melted away in light of how everyone will be faced with a similar circumstance to a higher deity. Pip shows true love for Magwitch, as well as empathy, resignation, and self-sacrifice. When Provis leaves this earth, Pip’s thoughtfulness and contemplation become augmented, as these traits aid Pip in obtaining self-knowledge. Through his love and commitment for this convict, Pip is proven to contain the moral, inner characteristics of a true gentleman, based not on varnish, but rather the genuine Victorian qualities of kindness and altruism. While lying sick on his bed, Pip undergoes a type of katabasis: through all of his experiences of suffering and loss, he becomes transformed, refreshed, and reborn, as his old sense of self-righteousness is murdered. Through this death and resurrection, Pip clearly acknowledges the wonderful Christian morals and simple standards possessed by Joe. During his psychological divergence, Pip becomes overtly penitent for his actions and is obsessed with the need for repentance. He returns to Joe leaving any trace of untruthfulness behind, and at once he is forgiven by his most cherished friends, the past deeds forgotten. Pip achieves a state of peace where he experiences his best night’s sleep since his childhood. He continues to work honestly and live frugally with Herbert, where he concludes that it was possible for Herbert to succeed, as this misconception was a matter of Pip’s own inaptitude. Now that Pip is living simply with Herbert and Clara, he is completely satisfied ( in his former lifestyle, nothing was enough). Through their experiences of suffering and confusion, Pip and Estella finally achieve a moral development on the same level of love based on their present self-knowledge and the knowledge that the true worth of love and forgiveness is irreplaceable. Philip Pirrip’s journey through the stages of moral development leads him to complete the circuit back into the loving and caring arms of his unsophisticated, yet authentic and wise friends, Joe and Biddy. His adventures have destroyed his placing any value whatsoever on appearances and prideful wealth, and any enthrallment of a cold, trained woman; changing them into an appreciation for the moral worth of human beings, and unconditional love. This journey brought him up “by hand” by Mrs. Joe on the marshes; witnessed the criticisms of a harsh playmate, effecting a loathsome shame; forced him to reject the goodness of his past life in exchange for the snobbish, false life as a “gentleman”; taught him the bitter tribulations of unhappiness and debt; slammed his dreams into the pavement by a convict from his past; awakened him to the notion of a tangible love, not only for those who are lovable, but for the dirtiest wretches of the earth; and flung him back into warmth of his beloved forge, where he could have spent numerous simple and contented years with Biddy. Pip, however, learned the difficult way that the manner in which one appears on the surface cannot serve as an accurate label for the real human value of that person, one with whom he could share love and cherish through all of life’s celebrations and defeats.
Joe Gargery:
Joe is the only one of Dickens’ characters who stands opposed to and apart from the main current of action. He stays away from London, for the most part, and only intervenes when needed. He is always present in Pip’s mind, and tends to remind both Pip and the reader of those values in Pip that were crushed during the evolution of his expectations. Joe is an honest and industrious fellow, although he sometimes comes across as foolish to other characters in the novel. He is also a generous and forgiving man, which is illustrated by his reaction to having some food taken from his house by the convict. Joe tells the convict that he was welcome to it, since it kept the convict from starving. Joe is also the only character in the novel with no real property. All that he counts as his own are his tools; all else, in Joe’s mind, belongs to Mrs. Joe. His freedom from material goods and the desire for them sets him apart from the “gentlemen” like Pumblechook in the novel. Joe was a child of an abusive family; his father was a drunkard and beat Joe and his mother. The epitaph that Joe composes for his father reveals the extent of his forgiving nature. The same epitaph, “Whatsum-er the failings on his part, Remember, reader, he were that good in his hart,” applies to Pip, as well, as he finishes his adventures. Joe is far more significant than the virtuous and kindly blacksmith he appears to be. Dickens refers to him as “holy”, and the cottage has an air of “sanctity” for Pip. Joe is opposed to all false values, and does not present his view in bombastic speeches, but rather within himself and in his convictions. Joe also rejects the importance of property, pretty speech, and manners. Joe is also a very honorable and dignified man, which is sensed immediately by Miss Havisham. His understanding of peopleand his sensitivity allows him to sense intuitively whether he is wanted by Pip or is merely making him uncomfortable. The fire of Joe’s forge is the light of the innate goodness of man, and a light of hope amidst the false lights of the world that Dickens presents in Great Expectations.
Phillip Pirip (Pip):
An understanding of Pip is essential to an understanding of Great Expectations. He is both the central character and narrarator of Great Expectations. The entire story is told through the eyes of an adult Pip, even though Pip is a small child during parts of it. In his early years, Pip was strongly influenced by his guardians, Joe Gargery and his wife, Mrs. Joe. Joe instills a sense of honesty, industry, and friendliness in Pip, while Mrs. Joe does a great deal to contribute to his desires and ambitions through her constant emphasis on pomp and property. Pip is generally good-natured and thoughtful, and very imaginative. His false values, which are bolstered by his love of Estella, decrease the amount of respect that he has for Joe. His alienation from Joe and Joe’s values builds through the second part of the novel, as Pip becomes selfish, greedy, and foolish. During the period when his expectations are intact, his only morally positive act was to secretly help Herbert Pocket into a good position. Upon discovering that Magwitch is his benefactor, a new phase begins in Pip’s moral evolution. At first, Pip no longer feels the same human compassion for Magwitch that he did the first time he saw him out on the marshes. Gradually, Pip changes his perception of Magwitch, unlearning what he has learned. Pip becomes concerned with the man, and not the expectations that he could provide. When Jaggers presents the thought that there may be a way for Pip to get his hands on Magwitch’s property, the idea sounds hollow and utterly empty to Pip. Pip learns about Estella’s parentage through Magwitch, and that his aspirations were falsely based. When Pip is arrested for his debts and becomes too ill to go to prison, Joe tends to him. Thus, the positive values which Joe had shown Pip as a child are reinforced. After the ruination of Pip’s expectations, the only good he experiences comes directly from the only good he did for others while his expectations where intact. From the beginning to the end of the novel, Pip loses and then rediscovers the importance of human relationships and virtue over wealth and position.
Miss Havisham:
Miss Havisham was once a beautiful and desirable woman; however, by the time she is first encountered in the novel, she is far from being such. She was the victim of a clever scheme to cheat her out of wealth in which Compeyson, Magwitch’s mortal enemy, was involved. After being cheated, she is hurt deeply by being betrayed by a loved one, and pushed into insanity. She devotes her life to wreaking vengeance upon men for the way she was wronged. Estella becomes the vehicle of Miss Havisham’s revenge, and Miss Havisham attempts to mold her into a being of pure malevolence. Only in the end of the novel, after the death of Miss Havisham, does Estella’s heart change from the block of ice it had become. Pip becomes the victim of Miss Havisham’s machination. She fosters his notion that she is his benefactor, and attempts to expand the relationship between Pip and Estella so that Pip will be more deeply hurt when Estella rejects him. Never at one moment does she stop to consider Pip or his feelings. Her warping of Estella was quite inconsiderate as well, and brought a great deal of suffering to the both of them. Miss Havisham is not an evil woman, however. She treats Pip with some kindness when she first meets him, and recognizes Joe as a good man of principle. Miss Havisham also repents her actions compeltely towards the end of the novel. Her repentance comes too late, however, as she has no more life to start anew. The warped nature of her surroundings and herself is a horrifying testament to her powerful passions and forceful will.
Great Expectations- Read it!