Great Expectations Miss Havisham Quotes

Because Miss Havisham cannot heal the deep wound of being left at the altar, she allows that past to fester so that she becomes a bitter person. Miss Havisham repeatedly and clearly portrays herself as resentful and unchanging through the physicality of herself and her home and her sour attitude towards men and life in general. The fact that she unceasingly wears her faded wedding dress, undone wedding veil, bridal flowers, one shoe, and lavish jewels on her neck and fingers proves that she consistently wallows in the past. Her refusal to wearing only her wedding ensemble proves that she only ever lives in the past. She cannot take off her dress and accessories because she is reluctant to move on. In addition, Satis house also reveals and emphasizes

She has taken Estella under her wing and raised her to be a heartbreaker. She even says in the novel, “Break their hearts, my pride and hope…have no mercy!” Miss Havisham clearly lives vicariously through Estella and enjoys seeing Pip struggle to win Estella over. Furthermore, Miss Havisham continuously brings up the topic of her heartbreak and rancor at men. She states, “…when they lay me dead…will be the finished curse upon him…” She hopes to have one last piece of her vindictiveness rest upon the man who left her at the altar. Moreover, Miss Havisham also makes Pip put his hand on her heart at one point in the story. When he does so, she simply tells him that it is “broken.” Similarly, Miss Havisham also tells Pip, “…this heap of decay…The mice have gnawed at it, and sharper teeth than teeth of mice have gnawed at me.” This demonstrates the idea that Miss Havisham is still heartbroken and apoplectic over her being “jilted.” She routinely proclaims how her heart is broken, which in turn paves the way for her acrimony to set in, which then results in her creating taunting Estella as her last revenge on all young men who vie for the affection of