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Women in literature and the roles they play as characters have fascinated critics and readers alike. In my opinion, one of the most interesting critical interpretations of Great Expectations has been from feminist and gender studies critics, such as Hilary Schor and William Cohen. While both critics adhere to opposite interpretations of the novel, both critics shed new light on females’ roles in Dickens’ famous novel. Hilary Schor’s article, “If He Should Turn to and Beat Her” has pioneered a new wave of thinking regarding Estella’s characterization. At first glance, Estella is seen as a cold and distant character, much like an evening star offers beauty to be admired without any true warmth. However, Schor’s interpretation of the novel …show more content…
During a conversation with Pip regarding the possible suitor Bentley Drummle. When Pip finds himself frustrated that Estella would dare do such a thing in front of him, Estella remarks, “’Do you want me then,’ said Estella, ‘to deceive and entrap you?’” (Dickens 290). Undoubtedly, Estella tries her best to warn Pip that she has been programmed by Miss Havisham to deceive men and ensnare them for her benefit. While she makes this goal clear in her statement, Estella also leaves many readers questioning whether or not Estella is purely evil. If Estella is simply a cold, heartless woman, she would care little to warn Pip. In fact, she would care little for Pip, period. Therefore, this scene supports Schor’s idea that Estella is a woman with her own identity and that Estella does care deeply for Pip regardless of how he views her. Further, the second ending of Great Expectations continues to reinforce the idea that there is much more to Estella than a cold, mechanical personality. Schor says, “But in the second ending, when Estella says suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, has taught her to understand what his [Pip’s] heart used to be and that she has been bent and broken,” Estella seems to “step out from the mists here into the ‘broad expanse of …show more content…
Relying on the motif of hands that often shows up throughout the novel, Cohen explains that the hands serve as a symbol of the sexual oppression those living during the Victorian Era experienced. In his article, Cohen explains that “for the Victorian reader, the hand would immediately be available both as a site of sexual signification and as a dangerous sexual implement” (576). For example, during a dinner with Wemmick and Miss Skiffins, Pip notices strange and forbidden actions taking place at the hands (pardon the pun) of Wemmick and Miss Skiffins’s hands. Dickens writes, “I [Pip] observed a slow and gradual elongation of Mr. Wemmick’s mouth, powerfully suggestive of his slowly and gradually stealing his arm round Miss Skiffins’s waist” (278). Readers will notice that Wemmick takes his time slowly easing his arm around his fiancé’s waist, smiling as he accomplishes his feat. Just like a child quietly sneaking a cookie before dinner, Wemmick illustrates the same attitude—he knows that what he is doing is downright scandalous for the Victorian era, yet he cannot resist letting his hands explore. As a result, Wemmick’s “forbidden touch” alludes to the idea of the “forbidden action” of sex in Victorian England. Furthermore, the satisfaction Wemmick feels from managing to hold Miss Skiffins also
For readers who observe literature through a feminist lens, they will notice the depiction of female characters, and this makes a large statement on the author’s perception of feminism. Through portraying these women as specific female archetypes, the author creates sense of what roles women play in both their families and in society. In books such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the roles that the main female characters play are, in different instances, both comparable and dissimilar.
Throughout the novel Great Expectations, Pip's character and personality goes through some transformations. He is somewhat similar at the beginning and end, but very different while growing up. He is influenced by many characters, but two in particular:Estella and Magwitch, the convict from the marshes. Some things that cause strength or growth in a person are responsibility, discipline, and surrounding oneself around people who are challenging and inspiring. He goes through many changes some good and some bad
Unbeknown to Pip, he is the perfect victim for Mrs. Havisham’s revenge trap. Calloused from a deceitful lover; Miss Havisham raises Estella as a puppet in her attempt at revenge of the entire male population. Upon first meeting Pip, Estella abruptly insults Pip. Calling him course and making him feel obsolete. Entranced by the beauty of Estella Pip begins to become self conscience after these comments. Once he deemed himself inadequate Pip began to aspire to live up to Estella’s expectations, but he is unable to do so because Estella was raised to torment not to love.
The settings of Great Expectations are Pip’s homes, one home that he lives in during his childhood in Kent, England, and the other that he lives in when he is grown in London, England. Social status was a big deal in the mid-nineteenth century. The rich were highly respected and liked by all, and the poor were treated unkindly and were sometimes made fun of. The rich could have any job that they liked, but the poor would almost always take over the job that their father had. The narrator of Great Expectations is Pip. If the novel were narrated from any other point of view, it would not have the same effect as it does now.
Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed later on are gender, feminist writings, patriarchal society, and gynocriticism. These concepts will then be reviewed as to how they play a part in the book Wicked.
In order for us to deal with how a consideration of femininity can effect our understanding of a literary text, we must also be able to grasp the notion of `feminism' and `Feminist Literary Theory'. A dictionary definition of `feminism' is: `the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes.' Although this leans towards feminism in the historical sense of the word, it still provides the grounds, or foundations, from which feminist literary theories were created. Feminists argue against the stereotyping and social construction of female norms, seeing them as created by men in order to establish their own sense of power. It is thought that while males suggest that gender is sex and not actually a construct, the female role will become much more passive, stereotyped and controlled.
While Biddy is compassionate, warm and loving, Estella goes out of her way to be cold and rude. These personality characteristics are not just represented toward Pip, but to everyone that these two women meet. Estella acknowledges her flawed personality, even stating that she has “no softness … no sympathy” (29). Throughout the novel Estella knows of her abrasiveness towards others and often feels remorse for it, but continues to show it. Her rudeness becomes an accepted part of her character and but separates as a distinct part of her character, meaning she isn’t an evil character in the same way as Compeyson or her eventual husband Drummle, Estella simply cannot help the character traits she acquired during her youth. By direct contrast, Biddy’s personality is everything that Estella’s isn’t. While Estella is obnoxious and impatient toward Pip, Biddy is “the most obliging of girls” (10) even being patient with Pip when she was teaching him how to read. Biddy’s exemplary character casts her as exactly the type of person that Pip should want to fall in love with, especially when the only other option is Estella. But of course, Pip being the confused boy that he is, is unable to see that and only has feelings for Estella. Beyond being nice and obliging, Biddy was also very trustworthy toward Pip as a child. At one point Pip says, “I reposed complete confidence in no one but Biddy: but I told poor Biddy everything.” (12) Biddy acted as a confidant to Pip especially during his early traumatic years with Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham. While Pip most likely wanted to have Estella as a trustworthy friend, she pushed him away and acted cold at every possible opportunity. Pip acknowledges Biddy for being an excellent friend and being sympathetic to his problems, even saying how “Biddy had a deep
Pip’s first and only love is Estella. Estella is very mean and nasty to Pip. Although he receives verbal abuse from Estella, he continues to like her and will not stop liking her, he sees the good inside of her and will not stop until the good comes out. In contrast to her treatment of Pip as a child when she had called him a common laboratory boy with coarse hands and thick boots, she tries to explain to him that emotion is something that she is incapable of feeling. The fact of that is evidence of his illusion, not her cruelty.
In the novel ‘Great Expectations’ there are three women who Dickens portrays differently to his contemporary’s, writers such as Austen and Bronté, and to the typical 19th century woman. These three women go by the name of Mrs Joe (Pips sister), Miss Havisham, and Estella. Mrs Joe who is Pips sister and Mr Joe’s wife is very controlling and aggressive towards Pip and Mr Joe. ‘In knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand’. This shows Dickens has given Mrs Joe very masculine qualities, which is very unusual for a 19th century woman. Mr Joe has a very contrasting appearance and personality to Mrs Joe. ‘Joe was a fair man, with curls of flaxen hair on each side of his smooth face, and with eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.’ In many ways Dickens has swapped the stereo type appearances and personalities of 19th century men and women. Dickens portrays Miss Havisham to be rich but lonely women. ‘I should acquit myself under that lady’s roof’. This shows Miss Havisham owns her own property which is Satis House. This woul...
Estella is raised in a prosperous household and is judgmental of Pip because he is from the working class. She insults his appearance when she says, "But he is a common laboring boy. And look at his boots! (Dickens 45)" because he is not of the upper class. She also criticizes the way he speaks when he calls one of the playing cards Jacks instead of Knaves (Dickens 46). Dickens uses her negative comments about Pip’s appearance and use of slang to highlight the differences between the two classes. She also insults Pip with a comment calling him a “stupid, clumsy laboring boy (Dickens46)." Because of the differences between their classes, she instantly labels him as unintelligent because of the way she has been raised with uncommon people. Pip thinks about what Estella would think of his family and what Joe does to earn a living. Pip also contemplates how his sister and Joe eat dinner at the kitchen table and how
Throughout Dickens’s Great Expectations, It is clear that most of the women are portrayed as being heartless, revengeful or violent. Thus this doesn’t give a impression of women, and shows that Dickens could have been gender bias, like most men were in the 19th and early 20th century. However this could have not been Dickens’s intension at all, as he also created very evil male characters such as Dolge Orlick.
Charles Dickens presents a very different view of Victorian women in his novel Great Expectations and they suffer badly in the hands of men. Dickens provides powerful portraits of manipulative women including Mrs. Joe, Estella, Miss Havisham and Molly. He depicts women in his novel with little softness and he has very little sympathy for them. Charles Dickens filled his novel with mutilated women. Why does Charles Dickens portray the majority of the characters in Great Expectations this way. Dickens depiction of women is unorthodox and it could be attributed to his personal experience with females in the 19th century.
She and her adopted daughter, Estella live in a mansion that is, theoretically, stopped in time. Estella is a beautiful girl, but don’t be fooled by the eye, beneath her beauty lies a terribly rude, cold-hearted monster raised to trick and manipulate the hearts of men. She victimized Pip, and constantly criticized him, making comments to attack and destruct Pip’s self-esteem. She sees him as nothing more than a common boy, and she takes pleasure in emotionally hurting Pip. “He calls the knaves, jacks this boy, and what coarse hands and thick boots” (63).
Adopted by Miss Havisham as a baby, Estella rises to a high social standing. Raised to be protected from Miss Havisham’s mistakes in love, she is trained to repress notions of romantic love. By “[stealing] her heart away and [putting] ice in its place,” Miss Havisham thus prevents Estella from gaining the ability to achieve true happiness in life. The true meaning and feeling of love is unknown to Estella. Condescension and insensibility to others is sowed into her being early on, and she only can become more incapable of loving as she matures. When Pip is hired to become her playmate, she revels in the opportunity to exercise her prowess. Encouraged by Miss Havisham, Estella hones her ability to break hearts with Pip, but he is only the first of the many destined to befall that fate.
During the nineteenth century, British society was dominated and ruled by a tightly woven system of class distinctions. Social relations and acceptance were based upon position. Charles Dickens utilizes Great Expectations as a commentary on the system of class and each person's place within it. In the character of Pip, Dickens demonstrates the working class' obsession to overthrow their limitations and re-invent new lives. Dickens also uses Pip and various other characters to show that escape from one's origins is never possible, and attempting to do so only creates confusion and suffering. Ultimately Dickens shows that trying to overthrow one's social rank is never possible; only through acceptance of one's position is any semblance of gentility possible.