Great Expectations: Mrs. Joe Character Analysis

In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Joe is the closet thing Pip has to a brother and father figure in his life. Because Pip’s parents passed when Pip was very young, Pip’s new parents are his strict, unmaternal mother and her husband, Joe, who was“brought up by hand” alongside Pip (8). Joe is described in the book as a “mild, good-natured, sweet tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow” with a “smooth face” and “eyes of such a very undecided blue” (8). Joe is seen more as a brother than a father to Pip because of his kind temperament and childlike attitude. Mrs. Joe is the least kind and forgiving person in the eyes of young Pip. Not only does Mrs. Joe beat and terrorize Pip, but she also beats her husband, Joe. This causes Mrs. Joe

to be seen as the mother and the father because Mrs. Joe treats Pip and Joe the same, like brothers. Joe acts like a brother to Pip, playing games with him and making Pip think of Joe as an “equal” with him; “it was our evening habit to compare the way we bit though out slices” (9,11). Joe and Pip both live in constant silence together behind the forceful lead of Mrs.

Joe and are forced to find and make joy out of everyday things; like eating a slice of bread. Joe often seems to feel bad for Pip, and therefore tries to bring smiles to both Pip’s face, and his. Although Joe is often seen as an equal to Pip, Joe protects Pip from Mrs. Joe and tries his hardest to not let her hurt him by telling him that Mrs. Joe is “a coming! Get behind the door, old chap”(9). Joe does not like to see Pip being hurt the same way he is hurt by Mrs. Joe and thinks that he should do what he can to protect him because he is older, although he is often thought of equal to Pip. Joe struggles like Pip with the constant fear of Mrs. Joe, and never being able to do what is not permitted by Mrs. Joe. Both Pip and Joe are “brought up by hand” setting them to be almost equals in the household, causing Joe to be more of a brother to him than Mrs. Joe is a sister to Pip (8). Since Joe and Pip are treated equally, Joe feels that, since he is older, he must protect Pip like an older brother would protect a younger brother. Pip sees Joe as an equal to him, leaving him without a father figure in his life and instead giving him an “equal” to protect him and understand what he goes though

(9).