The Cruel and Bitter Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
At one point in the novel, Dickens tells the reader that Miss.
Havisham was a wonderful, beautiful woman and is considered to be a
great match. In contrast, when the reader first meets her she is a
frightful old woman who cares about nothing but herself. She is
determined to live her life in self-pity and seek revenge on all men.
In the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is
established as a cruel and bitter old woman trapped in the past,
nearly a century ago, when she was abandoned on her wedding day, and
is now raising an adopted daughter to seek revenge on all men by
breaking their hearts however, near the end of the novel when she
converses with Pip about his love for her daughter over the years, it
is evident to her after that she has made a dreadful mistake and
changes most drastically before she dies.
"I had heard of Miss Havisham up town-everybody for miles round had
heard of Miss Havisham up town as an immensely rich and grim lady who
lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers and led a
life of seclusion." Even before meeting Miss. Havisham the reader is
introduced to her and has an idea of what she is all about. Anyone who
lives secluded from society for years is going to be considered
eccentric. The town perceptibly gossips about her since everyone has
heard of her. The first time Dickens has the reader meet Miss.
Havisham is through Pip. The young boy is told to go visit her and
play and as he sees the house he describes it in bleak detail. As he
is led to Miss. Havisham through the dark halls by her daughter,
Estella, the tone of the house is set. There are cobwebs, antique
furniture, and clocks all stopped at twenty minutes to nine. Finally
Miss. Havisham is introduced. She is seen in her once white, now
yellow, wedding dress. All of this description, the old house, the
clocks, the wedding dress, explains how Miss. Havisham was left on her
wedding day many years ago and that was when her life stopped. She
even says as Pip is leaving, "There, there! I know nothing of days of
the week; I know nothing of weeks of the year. Come again after six
days. You hear?" Dickens creates the house and Miss. Havisham as a
unity. The condition and aspect of the house shows the gloom in her
mind. The way the house is dark is just fuel for her desire to seek
Connected to the somber image of the town, The house is described with harsh diction such as “streaked with rust”, depicting the years of neglect. Affected by abuse, Petry describes the house as stained with “blood” in the form of rust. Despite the harsh outer layer, Lutie is drawn to it as her figurative and literal “sign”of refuge. A town that had been nothing but cold to her is finally seen as warm from the words on the sign; describing the house as “Reasonable” and open to “respectable tenants”.
The Presentation of Miss Havisham in Chapter 8 and in Chapter 49 of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
When the story begins in “The House of Usher,” the narrator over exaggerates the description of the house in an attempt to explain his own disgust with the home. Reading Edgar Allan Poe’s stories seem to follow a pattern of dark feelings. His descriptions can give the reader an image in their head of a negative look and sets them up for a negative story. By writing about an eerie broken home such as “The House of Usher”, one could say the exaggerative descriptions are creating images that can depict the possible dreariness of a household. The dreariness may have consumed the residents of the household, which is mirrored in the state of the house. Poe has been said to have grown up in a broken home extending into a difficult childhood and deaths of his loved ones continuing to be a large portion of his life (Giammarco 28). By this mindset, a home can easily fall into a morbid trap of misery and unfortunate deaths. Poe’s drinking problem may also influence the way Poe may see home (Giammarco 22). An alcoholic may...
Acceptance and self-growth is necessary to reach closure in times of despair. However, if one were to stay in denial, the consequences of their actions could easily escalate to greater problems. In the novel, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is a victim of such retributions. As an only child, Miss Havisham was a spoiled girl born into a wealthy household raised by a single father. When she came of age, Miss Havisham inherited all the money from his father’s fortune and fell in love with a man named Compeyson. Despite warnings of his swindling history, Miss Havisham proceeds to marry him. On the wedding day, he leaves her at the altar and takes all of her money with him. Miss Havisham suffers a mental breakdown
The house is described as "breathing of sorrow" and "and air of ster, deep, and irredeemable gloom hung over and pervaded all." The house lacks any proper upkeep and is showing signs of decay with age. The overall eerie feeling exuded is attributed to the human characteristics of the dwelling. The windows are "vacant and eye-like". The dark draperies hung on the walls are similar to the dark secrets which Roderick bore. The general interior of the house is dark, gray, and seemingly similar to Roderick personal trauma. The tarn outside...
eyes of a child so it will be memorable to him as he will never forget
Dickens depicts an eccentric and rather malevolent women who was jilted on her wedding, therefore, she has stopped time and sits in her yellowing wedding dress. Furthermore, leaving her in agony. Consequently, that agony and misery turned into hatred towards men. When Miss Havisham employs Pip to play With Estella, Pip sees an " old brick, and dismal, and had many great irons bars to it " this shows that Dickens wants to give a hint on Miss Havisham's appearance as he says " old ild brick, and dismal " which is reflective on the owner that she is old like am " old brick " which makes the reader feel curiosity towards Miss Havisham appearance and personality. One word which stands out is " bars ", it makes me imagine a cell with many rusty and
doesn't see why she had to take him in and "bring him up by hand", she
To set the tone in the story the author had to describe the surroundings of the characters. For example the author states, "with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." when giving a detailed response of how he feels about the house. This helps show that the author himself feels depressed when in sight of the building and gives the reader a thought of how the house looks. Other textual evidence in the passage also shows a feeling of suspense like the quote, "There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. " which is how the author feels when he thinks about the house. The author cannot bear to imagine the house because he has a dark and negative imagination with different fears he thinks can come to life because of how unsettling the house makes him feel. While suspense is a direct indication of a depressed and dark tone, some other Gothic elements can be used indirectly to describe negative values in the story.
(1265) along with other disturbing words to stress the mood of horror. Furthermore, the house evokes suspense as it strikes the reader with curiosity as to why the building presents such a dreadful and uneasy feeling. Poe describes the house with further detail emphasizing its ghostly traits: “Dark draperies hung upon the walls. The general furniture was profuse, comfortless, antique, and tattered. Many books and musical instruments lay scattered about, but failed to give any vitality to the scene” (1267). Poe describes the house using very descriptive and daunting words contributing to the story’s depressive mood as well as its suspense.
The mansion is a superb example and symbol of clairvoyance; it allows for great insight and perspective, furthermore, it is the one constant in the book. This allows it to greatly alter the story, even though it is an inanimate object that has no feelings, no thoughts, and cannot talk, but still says the most about everyone’s personality. It is an object that conveys true human nature, it does not care who everyone is, as they are all the same to it, and all it provides is a place to see and step back from reality to reflect on people’s actions.
The abundance of chilling diction and imagery continues through the rest of the story, often in Poe’s description of the house. Any given sentence ...
The novel, Great Expectations, presents the story of a young boy growing up and becoming a
Similarly, the furniture in the house is as sullen as the house itself. What little furniture is in the house is beaten-up; this is a symbol of the dark setting. The oak bed is the most important p...
Charles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringing. Charles Dickens’ life, full of highs and lows, mirrors that of Pip’s life. Their lives began the same and ended the same. To understand the difficulty of Dickens’ childhood is to understand why his writing focuses on the English social structure. Dickens’ life revolved around social standing. He was born in the lower class but wasn’t miserable. After his father fell into tremendous debt he was forced into work at a young age. He had to work his way to a higher social standing. Because of Dicken’s constant fighting of class the English social structure is buried beneath the surface in nearly all of his writings. In Great Expectations Pip’s life mirrors Dickens’ in the start of low class and the rise to a comfortable life. Fortunately for Dickens, he does not fall again as Pip does. However, Pip and Dickens both end up in a stable social standing.