The Name “Estella” in Great Expectations

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The Name “Estella” in Great Expectations

The name of the characters in a Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, is very important. In the case of Estella, the name indicates her personality, her relation with other characters and even the way in which she moves along the novel.

In Spanish, the word for star is “estrella”. Since Spanish is a “romance” language, estrella is undoubtedly derived from the Latin word for star. Stars are cold but beautiful to see. The same is true for Estella: she has a cold personality but she is very pretty. Estella was given to Miss Havisham at night - which is when stars appear. The first time Estella appears is in chapter 8, in the Pip’s first visit to Miss Havisham's house. The first impression Pip has about Estella is also characterized by ambiguity: he thinks she is pretty but she is proud. Miss Havisham obliges Estella to play cards with Pip. The first time that the card game appears the battle of sexes occurs since, after her frustrated marriage, Miss Havisham educates Estella to scorn men and in the card game Miss Havisham wants to see a victory of a woman over a man. Estella wins but the most important thing here is that Estella does not want to play with Pip because she thinks he is common. This shows the pride and the superiority in which Estella is presented in her relation to Pip, and it's also important because, from this moment, Pip wants to be educated to be at the same level that Estella – he hopes that he can reach out and touch a star.

Stella (without the first 'e') is the name of Sydney's beloved. Probably he gave his beloved this name because she was married in the real life and so, he could not reach her. Stars are far away and they cannot be reached. In the novel, Estella is presented as an impossible dream for Pip. In the same way Pip has expectations in a material level, Estella would be Pip's love expectation.

In Christianity, the star is related to the Virgin Mary. Stars are also used for orientation, to guide us at night. In the novel, Estella appears as a light, it is Pip's orientation and he always has her in his mind.

If we look at the sky we can see different kinds of stars.

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