How Does Dickens Change The Original Ending Of Great Expectations

An ending of a novel is influential to the way readers understand the novel. Therefore, different endings of a novel direct readers toward different directions to approach the novel. Unlike his novel novels, Dickens have multiple versions of endings for Great Expectations. The most two significant endings are the original one in which Pip sees Estella accidentally sees Estella on street in London, and the revised one in which Pip reunites with Estella at Satis House: “I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw the shadow of no parting from her” (484). Why did Dickens change the original ending to the current one? Dickens’ intention is crucial to our understanding of Great Expectation as a whole. In fact, the very title of this novel, “Great Expectations”, may come out of Paradise Lost: “ our great expectation should be called/ The seed of Woman” (Book Twelve, Line 378-379). In Paradise Lost, great expectation is directly associated with women. The context of the phrase “great expectation” in Paradise Lost suggests that the title of Great Expectations may not only refer to the economic prospects promised by his secret benefactor but also
Estella’s patronizing attitude is devastating to Pip’s vulnerable self-dignity which he just discovers after he meets Estella. Pip’s obsession is so special in that this obsession partly originates from his ignorance. Therefore, this obsession is intense in terms of not only degree but also kind. Pip wants to relieve the humiliation Estella gives him, but he can only relieve it by conquering the Estella at present. After all, he cannot retrace the past and undo what has been done. Unfortunately, Pip does not alleviate anything but only aggravates his obsession with Estella like a vicious