Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

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In a word: Dickensian

In a sentence: The life of Phillip Pirrip can be summarized as rags to riches and back.

Synopsis: When orphan Pip is brought to ‘play’ in the great house down the road he becomes forever enamored with the idea of becoming a gentleman. One day, a mysterious patron appears to make all his dreams come true.

Reactions: Great Expectations has everything: a put-upon orphan from lowly means, fearsome convicts, moldy gentry, and London slums. Dickens is in fine form here, and his sarcastic narrative tone makes for an enjoyable, sometimes hilarious read.

The thoughtless boy and the qualified sociopath: a match made in Satis House. The love-interest dynamic of Great Expectations is particularly fascinating. Dickens attempts to use the relationship between Miss Havisham and Estella to symbolize the old and new generations of English gentry. Miss Havisham is completely cut off from the outside world, both physically and emotionally, to the extent where she no longer sees Pip, a child, as a human who can be manipulated and harmed by her actions. Estella is representative of modern gentry: totally heartless and unaccepting. She is fundamentally incapable of caring for Pip who, despite his formal training and great expectations, comes from humble roots.

Pip is surrounded from the beginning of his life to the end of the novel with people who are willing to love and support him unconditionally. Although he is not a particularly likeable protagonist due to his treatment of these exceptional humans around him, he could have turned out much worse. Dickens made the wise choice to have Pip tell his tale from a remorseful future to make his behavior more sympathetic to the reader. However, I much prefer an un-likeable narrator, and this novel may be tied with A Tale of Two Cities as my favorite Dickens.

Read if: you wish to explore a classic Dickens, or experience a fundamental Victorian literature.