When writing the foil characters of Biddy and Estella, Charles Dickens wanted to be sure that his audience, mostly poor, uneducated serial readers, could spot the obvious contrast between the two characters. The two major ways that Dickens achieved this was through the character’s appearance and social class. Upon Pip’s first encounter with Biddy he describes that “her hair always wanted brushing, her hands always wanted washing” (7). By contrast Estella’s appearance is described as “beautiful … a queen” (8). Only separated by one chapter, these two descriptions of physical appearance serve to show to directly contradict each other and lend more confusion into the mind of young Pip. While Biddy is clearly the more personable character, she …show more content…
is also considered by Pip to be the less attractive one. This could mean appearance may factor more into Pip’s love interest than personality despite the fact that as a character he seems to care more about personality. However, after growing into adults, Pip eventually admits Biddy’s beauty when he says, “I observed to myself one evening that she had curiously thoughtful and attentive eyes; eyes that were very pretty and very good” (17). Years later when Pip considers Biddy to be pretty, he still does not have the same feelings toward her as he does towards Estella. Estella has seemingly put a spell over Pip that he cannot break. Pip’s draw toward Estella as children could be due to Estella’s class compared to his own and Biddy’s. Despite being born in a lower class than both of them, due to Magwitch being her father, Estella is adopted by the wealthy Miss Havisham and quickly assumes a far higher status. Throughout their childhood, Estella uses her status to manipulate Pip to her will; whereas her foil, Biddy, has neither the capability nor the desire to do any such thing to Pip. Biddy and Pip come from the same social class, one where Biddy’s shoes “always wanted mending and pulling up at heel” (7). The constant need to be repairing shoes and the inability to buy new shoes on a whim shows the distinct class difference between Biddy and Estella, someone who surely never needed to mend their own shoes. The connection of shoes and status is also evident with Pip who Estella make fun of for having "coarse hands [and] thick boots" (8). Both of these descriptions can be attributed to people of the lower class because only working class men would have coarse hands from hard labor and thick boots to protect their feet. Biddy and Estella contrast dramatically in the areas of appearance and class status, potentially causing Pip to fall in love with Estella because of these attributes instead of their personalities. Although Biddy and Estella contrast in appearance and class, nothing showcases the character foil that Dickens intended more than the difference in personality between the two women.
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
concern in everything I told her.” (12) Biddy didn't just listen to everything that Pip told her, but actively tried to help him as much as possible. Even when she was unable to lend any assistance, Biddy still provided Pip with sympathy, something Estella never offered to him. Dickens’ foil of personality traits between the female characters is designed so that Pip falls squarely in the middle of Estella and Biddy in terms of his own character traits. While Estella and Biddy contrast heavily, Pip is stuck in the middle with aspects of both characters weighing on him, causing Pip, at times, to be both rude and trustworthy simultaneously. The character foil between Biddy and Estella becomes more prominent in their feelings of affection toward Pip. Despite seemingly obvious character flaws, Pip loves Estella telling her, “You are in every line I have ever read” (45). Throughout their childhood and into adulthood, Pip unequivocally loves Estella. Despite always being pushed away by her, Pip keeps coming back. Estella even tells him, "I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing" (29). Estella doesn't specifically dislike Pip, but due to her upbringing and influence from Miss Havisham, she doesn't believe that she contains the capacity for love. All Estella has ever known is sadness and loneliness, the thing she was taught by her adopted mother. Therefore when Pip wants to be with her, the only reaction she has is to push him away. Comparatively, in the relationship between Pip and Biddy, Biddy is the person trying to show affection and Pip is the one pushing back. Pip acknowledges Biddy’s feelings toward him and replies “If I could only get myself to fall in love with you … an old acquaintance” (17) Not only does Pip deny Biddy but also he tells her that they should, in theory, be together. Deep down Pip knows how he should feel, but he doesn't feel that way on the surface. To add more, Pip ends by calling Biddy his “old acquaintance”, surely killing what little hope Biddy had left of being something more than just a friend to Pip. Despite Pip saying that he should love Biddy, she acknowledges that, "you never will, you see" (17). Pip knows a lot about how he should feel but fails to act in the appropriate way, not just with Biddy but with Estella as well. Later in life Pip concedes, “I loved [Estella] against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be” (29). Pip knew at a young age that he and Estella were not meant for each other but he kept believing. Even into adulthood it took him a long time to admit how he felt. Even after admitting that they weren’t right for each other he still loved Estella. Pip found Estella to be irresistible, even beyond discernable logic. The foil of Estella and Biddy and their love, of lack thereof, for Pip is another way that Dickens differentiated the two paths for Pip to go down. Biddy and Estella represent drastic differences in character and choosing one over the other was one of the many difficult moral decisions that Pip had to make throughout the novel.
Another way that Pip shows his discontent with his present life is by not wanting to be a blacksmith when it would be very practical for him. Pip's brother-in-law is a blacksmith which would make it easy for him to learn the trade. Also, Miss Havisham agreed to pay for his apprenticeship, yet Pip insists that he is better than that and is upset by that fact that he is just a commoner. He states his dissatisfaction" with my home, my trade and with everything" (773). Pip also turns away Biddy when she is something that is obtainable to him. Biddy is somebody in the story that really loves Pip, yet he turns her away and uses her to get what he wants. Pip also gives the impression that he is better than Biddy when he is no less a commoner than she is.
Charles Dickens’ aptly titled novel Great Expectations focuses on the journey of the stories chief protagonist, Pip, to fulfill the expectations of his life that have been set for him by external forces. The fusing of the seemingly unattainable aspects of high society and upper class, coupled with Pip’s insatiable desire to reach such status, drives him to realize these expectations that have been prescribed for him. The encompassing desire that he feels stems from his experiences with Mrs. Havisham and the unbridled passion that he feels for Estella. Pip realizes that due to the society-imposed caste system that he is trapped in, he will never be able to acquire Estella’s love working as a lowly blacksmith at the forge. The gloomy realizations that Pip is undergoing cause him to categorically despise everything about himself, feeling ashamed for the life he is living when illuminated by the throngs of the upper class.
The consequences of Pip's actions shown in the novel allow us an insight into Dickens’s social ideals - Pip's life as a gentleman is no more pleasing than his life as a country labo...
In Great Expectations, Pip was one of lower class. Although he did not have the fortunes, Pip was happy. Once he was introduced to the rich Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella, he fell in love. Estella became the object of his affection, yet because she was considered high class, there wou...
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).
Throughout Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the character, personality, and social beliefs of Pip undergo complete transformations as he interacts with an ever-changing pool of characters presented in the book. Pip’s moral values remain more or less constant at the beginning and the end; however, it is evident that in the time between, the years of his maturation and coming of adulthood, he is fledgling to find his place in society. Although Pip is influenced by many characters throughout the novel, his two most influential role models are: Estella, the object of Miss Havisham’s revenge against men, and Magwitch, the benevolent convict. Exposing himself to such diverse characters Pip has to learn to discern right from wrong and chose role models who are worthy of the title.
In the first stage of Great Expectations, Pip begins as a contented boy, happy with his own way of life, but soon becomes humiliated by the ones he loves, and starts to morph into someone who is very status-conscious. At the start, Pip looks up to Joe, and even says, “Joe and I (were) fellow-sufferers…” showing that Pip regarded Joe as an equal (Dickens 7). At this stage in Pip’s life, he has not yet realized what social class is, and so he is perfectly happy being with Joe. Joe and Pip are good friends at this point, and Pip really appreciates him as a person. This all changes after Pip’s first visit with Estella, especially when he says, “Her contempt for me was so strong that it became infectious, and I caught it,” showing that he is beginning to take into account other people’s thoughts about himself (62). Although Estella looks down upon Pip for being ‘common’, there is irony in his statement, because Estella comes from an even lower class than him. Throughout the whole novel, Pip tries to impress her, thinking that she is well above him, when she is actually the daughter of a convict. Finally, Pip shows betrayal to Joe when he says, “I was truly ...
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
For example, when the reader first meets Pip, he is miserable growing up. Pip faced the death of most of his family as a young child, so he is forced to be raised by his gruesome sister and kind husband, Mrs. Joe and Joe. They live a very common life in an average home that’s next to Joe’s forge. When Pip first visits the decadent Satis House, he encounters the breathtaking Estella who teases him about his “coarse hands,” “thick boots,” and his status of a “common labouring boy” (Dickens 63). Pip begins to “feel ashamed of home,” (Dickens 105) his life, his family, and his future, all because everything about him is so common, whereas Estella is anything but that.
and breeding, who did not necessarily posses the moral values and graces a true gentleman should have. After his initial visit to Satis House, Pip was infatuated by Estella’s beauty, wealth, and self importance. He allowed himself to be degraded by her scornful references to his "coarse hands", and "thick boots", not realizing at this point that these factors are unimportant on the route to becoming a true gentleman. At that very moment, he deludes himself into believing that if he were to meet Estella’s interpretations of gentlemanly conduct, that she would regard him as her equal. Unfortunately, he completely fails to recognize the true moral values present in Joe and Biddy, and is attracted instead by a fantasized version of Miss Havisham’s and Estella’s lifestyles. He sees his visit to Satis House as the first link in the long chain of events which will lead to his eventually becoming a gentleman.
Charles Dickens is well known for his distinctive writing style. Few authors before or since are as adept at bringing a character to life for the reader as he was. His novels are populated with characters who seem real to his readers, perhaps even reminding them of someone they know. What readers may not know, however, is that Dickens often based some of his most famous characters, those both beloved or reviled, on people in his own life. It is possible to see the important people, places, and events of Dickens' life thinly disguised in his fiction. Stylistically, evidence of this can be seen in Great Expectations. For instance, semblances of his mother, father, past loves, and even Dickens himself are visible in the novel. However, Dickens' past influenced not only character and plot devices in Great Expectations, but also the very syntax he used to create his fiction. Parallels can be seen between his musings on his personal life and his portrayal of people and places in Great Expectations.
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” the main, young character Pip is easily swayed by others and unaware of the darkness underneath.Especially by Estella, he’s naive to think that he can change her heart so the love would become mutual. His actions encircle around what Estella thinks of him and ignore everyone’s else’s thoughts. This leads him to damage the good 1relationships he has in order to please Estella, who has made clear will never be fond of him.
Expectations for Pip are fortune and the desire to become a gentleman as he discusses with Biddy, his private tutor: “I want to be a gentleman on her account” (Dickens, 117). Estella, albeit her bitter attitude towards Pip, changes his view that results in him longing to become a gentleman. His approach in becoming a gentleman is becoming apprenticed to his brother-in-law, the blacksmith. His initial stage of expectations is from Mr. Jaggers, Miss Havisham’s lawyer. The lawyer’s deliberately informs Pip “that he will come into a handsome property…be brought up as a young gentleman” (Dickens, 125). On hearing Mr. Jaggers, Pip was both astonished and excited because he yearned for such status. When Mr. Jaggers explained of Pip’s great amount fortune and significance, he automatically assumed his benefactor to be Miss Havisham. In his first expectation, Pip is to be professionally educated by Mr. Pocket,...