Great Expectations: Themes

         Great Expectations is a story of the growth and development of its main character Pip. His desire for self-improvement is the main source of the novel’s title: because he believes in the prospect of advancement in life, he has “great expectations” about his future. Dickens presents Pip as an idealist; whenever he sees something better than what he has, he immediately wants it. When he sees Satis House, he yearns to be a rich gentleman; when he thinks of his moral shortcomings, he wishes to be good; when he realizes that he cannot read he wants to learn.

Pip’s desire for moral self-improvement can be seen as he is extremely hard on himself when he acts immorally and feels guilty. The feeling of guilt motivates Pip to improve his behaviour in the future. When he leaves for London, he distresses himself about having behaved dreadfully towards Joe and Biddy.

Dickens uses Pip’s desire for social self-improvement as a way of satirizing the upper classes as Pip's life as a gentleman is no more satisfying and no more moral than his previous life as an apprentice blacksmith. We see Pip develop his desire to raise his social class when he falls in love with Estella and his dreams of becoming a gentleman form the basic plot of the novel.

Pip's craving for educational improvement is deeply connected to his social ambition and his longing to marry Estella. Being a gentleman requires a good education. As an uneducated country boy, he would have no hope of social advancement in Victorian England. Pip understands this early in his childhood as he learns to read at Mr Wopsle’s aunt’s school, we also see this later in his life when he takes lessons from Matthew Pocket. It is only through his experiences with Joe, Biddy, and Magwitch that Pip learns that social and educational improvement don’t show someone’s real value and that conscience and affection are to be valued above sophistication and social standing.

In many of his novels Charles Dickens explores the theme of social class and Great Expectations is no exemption. The novel was written after the industrial revolution and the new opportunities created allowed people from ‘lower’ social classes to gain wealth through hard work and enterprise and thus move up to ‘higher’ more wealthy classes.

During the novel, Pip interacts with people from different classes from criminals like Magwitch, poor working-class people like Joe and Biddy, the middle class like Pumblechook and the very wealthy like Miss Havisham.

The theme of social class is central to the novel’s plot and through his interaction with characters from different backgrounds, Pip comes to realise that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and inner worth, which provides the reader with the novel’s key moral.

The theme of crime and guilt is explored by Dickens throughout the novel largely through the characters of the convicts and the criminal lawyer Jaggers. Dickens uses the character of Magwitch to advise the reader that punitive punishment and failure to deal with poverty and other primary factors that lead people to commit crimes only make matters worse and cause criminals to re-offend.

Magwitch’s trial for returning to England highlights the failings of the legal system at the time as his show trial was only going to have one outcome – his being sentenced to death.

The imagery of crime and criminal justice is seen throughout the novel, from Joe mending handcuffs at the smithy to the gallows in London. These become an important symbol of Pip’s inner struggle with his own moral conscience and the justice system.

When Pip first meets Magwitch he is terrified because Magwitch is a convict and Pip feels guilty at helping him as he is afraid of the police, by the end of the novel Pip has discovered Magwitch’s true character which enables him to value Magwitch rather than just see him as a criminal.

Pip desires wealth and status as a means of winning Estella's love and fitting into high society. Pip's expectations, however, lead him down a path of moral decay and betrayal as he becomes more focused on his own desires for wealth and less concerned with the well-being of those around him. Through the character of Pip Dickens suggests that the pursuit of wealth and status can have a corrupting influence on individuals and society as a whole, highlighting the importance of valuing morality and compassion over material possessions.

Great Expectations: A Short Summary

        Pip, a young boy of about seven, meets a convict in the churchyard near his home on the Kent marshes, near London. We later find out that this convict is Magwitch. Pip lives with his sister, Mrs. Joe, and her husband, Joe Gargery, who is the local blacksmith. The convict makes Pip bring him a file, to cut the irons off his leg, and some food. Pip steals the items and takes them to the convict who then disappears. As the food is missed from the house, soldiers looking for two escaped convicts arrive and seek the help of Joe to make new chains and leg irons. Pip does not betray the convict but he is found by the soldiers on the marshes, fighting with another escaped prisoner (who we later learn is called Compeyson). Magwitch is so determined not to let the other prisoner go that both men end up being caught. Sometime later Pip is invited to play at the large and intimidating Satis House with its strange inhabitant, Miss Havisham. She spends her days dressed in a faded wedding dress, surrounded by decaying wedding items such as a rotting cake, having been jilted at the altar. The rooms she occupies have not seen daylight for many years and neither has she. She has an adopted daughter, Estella, who is about Pip’s age. Miss Havisham makes Pip play cards with Estella. Estella delights in humiliating him, but he finds her beautiful anyway and his love for her grows even as he becomes an adult. A strange visitor to town gives Pip two pound notes and the man clearly has some connection with Pip’s convict because he stirs his drink with the file that Pip stole. Pip meets the Pockets at Miss Havisham’s and a strange boy makes Pip fight with him (later named as Herbert).

Miss Havisham pays Joe to take Pip on as his apprentice and he is sworn to the trade of blacksmith. Pip is not satisfied with his position in life and feels that he should be destined for greater things than being a blacksmith. To better himself, Pip attends a poorly run night class in the town where he meets Biddy, a bright girl of a similar age to himself. Mrs. Joe is attacked and injured so severely that she can no longer speak. Pip suspects Orlick, Joe’s assistant, who argued with his sister earlier the same day. A stranger arrives from London and announces himself as Mr Jaggers, a lawyer. Pip has seen him before at Satis House. He tells Pip that he will inherit a large property and that he must go to London immediately to begin his training in life as a gentleman. As a condition, Pip is not to seek to discover who his mysterious benefactor is, though he assumes that it is Miss Havisham. Pip goes to London, leaving Joe and Biddy behind.

In London, Pip begins his education with Matthew Pocket, Miss Havisham’s cousin, and becomes friends with his son Herbert. Jaggers is a cautious and clever lawyer who is always on his guard and Pip becomes friendly with his clerk, Wemmick. Pip gets into debt but arranges for Herbert to be helped in his career. Pip is asked to accompany Estella in London. This strengthens his belief that Miss Havisham is paying for him to be educated as a gentleman so that he will be suitable to marry Estella. Estella tries to warn him that she has no feelings for him. Mrs Joe eventually dies from the injuries inflicted by Orlick, and Pip attends her funeral. Joe’s subsequent visit to Pip in London is embarrassing for them both.

One night Pip has a surprise visitor: the convict from the beginning of the novel, Abel Magwitch. He is Pip’s secret benefactor and has returned illegally from Australia to see Pip. Pip is shocked because this destroys his dream that he and Estella will marry, and he is unnerved by the convict but feels he should shelter him. Pip decides to get Magwitch out of the country. Pip learns that the convict Magwitch fought with on the marshes, and whom Magwitch blames for most of his troubles, is called Compeyson. This is the man who tricked Miss Havisham and failed to turn up to marry her.

Pip learns that Estella will marry a brutal man called Bentley Drummle. Wemmick warns Pip that he and Magwitch are being watched. They hope to help Magwitch catch a foreign steamer and escape. Gradually Pip pieces together the information that Magwitch is Estella’s father and that Jaggers’s housekeeper, Molly, is her mother. Estella was placed in the care of Miss Havisham who adopted her.

After regretting her past mistakes and helping Pip to finance Herbert in business, Miss Havisham is injured when her wedding dress accidentally catches fire; she later dies from her injuries and Pip is badly burnt. Orlick plans to murder Pip having confessed to attacking Mrs Joe, but Herbert Pocket comes to the rescue. As Pip and Magwitch attempt to catch the ship, they are caught by the police. In the struggle, Compeyson is drowned. Magwitch is sentenced to death for returning to England but dies in prison. Pip tells him that his daughter is a beautiful lady and that he, Pip, loves her. Pip falls ill and is nursed by Joe. When he is well, he decides to go home and ask Biddy to marry him. He arrives to find she is marrying Joe. Pip accepts Herbert’s offer of a job with his firm in Cairo. He returns after eleven years and accidentally meets Estella on the grounds of Satis House. She is now a widow. Pip feels sure that he and Estella will never part again.

 

Character sketch of Maggie Tulliver

 

            Maggie Tulliver is the protagonist of The Mill on the Floss. When the novel begins, Maggie is a clever child. Eliot presents Maggie as more imaginative and interesting than the rest of her family and, sympathetically, in need of love. As a child Maggie is knowledgeable but likely to be forgetful. She acts rashly without considering the consequences. This is one of the results of her great sensitivity, for she cannot abide criticism or harsh judgments on her. By the same token, she never judges others harshly. She has none of Tom's arrogant self-righteousness. She is easily convinced that she has done wrong, despite the injury this causes to her sensitive soul. She is somewhat vain about her cleverness, but as this is never recognized by the people around her, it never turns into conceit.

            For Maggie, as for Tom, the bankruptcy is one of the most important events of her life; but it affects her differently. While it is a goad to Tom's ambition, it drives Maggie to renounce the world which treats her so harshly. At first, this takes the form of simple helping around home and giving up childish self-indulgence; but the discovery of Thomas à Kempis gives method and meaning to her renunciation. Nevertheless,, hers remains basically a childish revolt, a hope of avoiding pain by giving up pleasure.

            Maggie's concern for other people is the thing which breaks her free from this self-imposed exile. She begins to see Philip Wakem out of pity for him, and he reawakens her desire for life. This desire is one of the two most important threads in Maggie's character. It is a desire to have "more of everything," and it corresponds to the other characters' desire for property. Only Maggie and Philip show it in this form, as a longing for music, art, and life.

            Maggie's wish to avoid hurting people finally comes in opposition to her desires. Her failure to resolve that conflict leads her to the point of having to choose whom she will hurt. She sees it as a conflict of duty and passion, but that is only part of the problem. In her case, it becomes difficult to tell just where duty lies. At this crisis she reacts as she did to the bankruptcy: she banishes herself. Her reaction is consistent with what has been seen of her since childhood. It represents the fruit of the moral system she has been building for herself, a system based on the good of others. She carries it through with great determination, even when she finds that, as before, she has not foreseen many of the consequences.

 

Mill on the Floss as a Tragedy

 

            The novel opens with a foreshadowing of the tragic end, setting a sombre tone throughout the narrative. The Tulliver family’s economic hardships and the subsequent loss of the mill create a backdrop of adversity that intensifies as the story progresses. The tragic flaw, a common element in classical tragedies, is manifested in the characters’ inability to escape their predetermined destinies, despite their best intentions.

            Maggie Tulliver, the central character, embodies the tragic heroine archetype. Her passionate nature, intellectual curiosity, and defiance of societal expectations make her a compelling figure, but these qualities lead to her tragic downfall. Maggie’s romantic entanglements, particularly her ill-fated love for Stephen Guest, contribute to her ultimate alienation from the conservative society of St. Ogg’s. Her pursuit of personal happiness clashes with the prevailing moral standards, and the consequences are tragic for her and those around her.

            The novel also explores the theme of societal constraints and the impact of external forces on individual lives. Tom Tulliver, Maggie’s brother, represents the societal expectations placed on individuals, especially within the rigid class structure of 19th-century England. Tom’s inability to adapt to changing circumstances and his strict adherence to traditional values contribute to the tragedy. The economic struggles faced by the Tulliver family and their eventual ruin serve as a commentary on the harsh realities of societal expectations and monetary constraints, reinforcing the tragic nature of the narrative.

            Eliot skillfully weaves elements of Greek tragedy into the novel, incorporating themes of fate, nemesis, and the inevitable consequences of human actions. The river, a prominent symbol throughout the story, becomes a metaphor for the inescapable flow of destiny. Maggie’s tragic end, drowning in the flood, is foreshadowed by the recurring image of the river’s power and unpredictability. The novel’s structural elements further accentuate the inevitability of tragedy, with the narrative unfolding chronologically toward the predestined conclusion.

            The character of Mr. Tulliver, the patriarch of the family, also contributes to the tragic dimension of the novel. His pride and stubbornness, particularly in his legal battles, lead to the family’s financial ruin. Mr. Tulliver’s tragic flaw lies in his inability to navigate the complexities of the legal system and his unwavering determination to uphold his honour, regardless of the consequences. His downfall sets the stage for the subsequent tragedies that befall the Tulliver siblings, creating a cascading effect that underscores the inevitability of their fate.

            Eliot’s exploration of morality and societal norms adds depth to the tragic elements of the novel. Maggie’s internal conflict between her innate sense of morality and the societal expectations imposed upon her reflects the broader theme of individual autonomy versus societal constraints. The tragic tension arises from the characters’ struggle to reconcile their personal desires with the moral expectations of a society that often proves unforgiving.

            In conclusion, “The Mill on the Floss” stands as a tragic novel that masterfully weaves together elements of classical tragedy with a keen exploration of societal norms and individual agency. The inevitability of the characters’ fates, the tragic flaws that contribute to their downfall, and the overarching theme of societal constraints collectively define the tragic nature of the narrative. George Eliot’s rich characterizations, nuanced exploration of morality, and skilful incorporation of classical elements make “The Mill on the Floss” a timeless portrayal of the complexities inherent in the human experience, earning its place as a classic tragic work in literature.