Miss Havisham
Development of Miss Havisham
In the novel, Great Expectations, many characters heavily influenced the plot. The author, Charles Dickens, cleverly used indirect characterization to help the reader infer how a character was going to be. By far, the most unusual character in the character in the story was Miss Havisham. She was also the most memorable character. It was her part in the story that led Pip into making most of the decisions that he did. Miss Havisham was indeed one of the most important characters in Great Expectations. Dickens created a character that was so surreal that it was hard to make any connections with her. Just the fact that she has not left her house for about twenty-five years and stopped all the clocks at twenty
minutes to nine makes her a unique person. Basically, a man with the name Compeyson ruined her life. It was more that her love life was ruined but she felt as if it was her whole life. The day that he stood her up haunted her thoughts, causing her to become depressed and angry. These emotions made her want revenge. She adopted Estella, hoping she would be able to have revenge on all men. She encouraged Estella not to love or to treat men with kindness. ‘Break their hearts, my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy’ (Dickens, 92). It was words like this that caused Estella to be so cruel. Dickens did not explain all of this in the story; most of it was inferred. Dickens also explained past events as the plot went on. For example, Pip did not realize that Estella was adopted until later on in the story. This is what kept Great Expectations interesting. Pip always thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor for his wealth. It was not his fault for thinking so because she led him to thinking it. By her pushing him and Estella together it created the illusion that him and Estella were meant to be together. Dickens was able to have Pip think this way because Miss Havisham always made Estella look so perfect. She also always invited him over to see Estella. He never suspected that Miss Havisham was just using him to get revenge. One of the turning points in Great Expectations was when Estella told Miss Havisham how she really felt. Estella was always Miss Havisham’s puppet; she did everything she was told. She said this to Pip, "We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions" (Dickens, 366). Miss Havisham basically controlled her because Estella was brought up that way. When Estella finally told Miss Havisham how she really felt, everything changed. Miss Havisham realized that she robbed Estella of her childhood and that she never gave her any love. Miss Havisham also realizes that Pip was hurt deeply from her acts of revenge. When she notices this, she realizes what a horrible person she was being. Miss Havisham was not a very likeable character. I thought she was wrong for using Estella to try to get revenge on all the men in the world. But she did serve an important purpose in the story. She was one of the reasons that Pip became a gentleman in the first place. Dickens developed this character using indirect characterization. He did not just say she was a crazy old woman. Instead he described the environment in which she lived in and that enabled the readers to get an idea of what she was like. Miss Havisham was one the most important characters in Great Expectations because of how she heavily influenced the lives of Pip and Estella.
In the novel, Great Expectations, many characters heavily influenced the plot. The author, Charles Dickens, cleverly used indirect characterization to help the reader infer how a character was going to be. By far, the most unusual character in the character in the story was Miss Havisham. She was also the most memorable character. It was her part in the story that led Pip into making most of the decisions that he did. Miss Havisham was indeed one of the most important characters in Great Expectations. Dickens created a character that was so surreal that it was hard to make any connections with her. Just the fact that she has not left her house for about twenty-five years and stopped all the clocks at twenty
minutes to nine makes her a unique person. Basically, a man with the name Compeyson ruined her life. It was more that her love life was ruined but she felt as if it was her whole life. The day that he stood her up haunted her thoughts, causing her to become depressed and angry. These emotions made her want revenge. She adopted Estella, hoping she would be able to have revenge on all men. She encouraged Estella not to love or to treat men with kindness. ‘Break their hearts, my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy’ (Dickens, 92). It was words like this that caused Estella to be so cruel. Dickens did not explain all of this in the story; most of it was inferred. Dickens also explained past events as the plot went on. For example, Pip did not realize that Estella was adopted until later on in the story. This is what kept Great Expectations interesting. Pip always thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor for his wealth. It was not his fault for thinking so because she led him to thinking it. By her pushing him and Estella together it created the illusion that him and Estella were meant to be together. Dickens was able to have Pip think this way because Miss Havisham always made Estella look so perfect. She also always invited him over to see Estella. He never suspected that Miss Havisham was just using him to get revenge. One of the turning points in Great Expectations was when Estella told Miss Havisham how she really felt. Estella was always Miss Havisham’s puppet; she did everything she was told. She said this to Pip, "We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions" (Dickens, 366). Miss Havisham basically controlled her because Estella was brought up that way. When Estella finally told Miss Havisham how she really felt, everything changed. Miss Havisham realized that she robbed Estella of her childhood and that she never gave her any love. Miss Havisham also realizes that Pip was hurt deeply from her acts of revenge. When she notices this, she realizes what a horrible person she was being. Miss Havisham was not a very likeable character. I thought she was wrong for using Estella to try to get revenge on all the men in the world. But she did serve an important purpose in the story. She was one of the reasons that Pip became a gentleman in the first place. Dickens developed this character using indirect characterization. He did not just say she was a crazy old woman. Instead he described the environment in which she lived in and that enabled the readers to get an idea of what she was like. Miss Havisham was one the most important characters in Great Expectations because of how she heavily influenced the lives of Pip and Estella.