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Great Expectations

Charles Dickens,

Marisa Sestino (Translator)

3.76 · Rating details · 577,982 ratings · 14,062 reviews

In what may be Dickens's best novel, humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations." In this gripping tale of crime and guilt, revenge and reward, the compelling characters include Magwitch, the fearf ...more

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Paperback, Oxford World's Classics, 505 pages

Published 1998 by Oxford University Press (first published 1861)

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Jul 04, 2008 Michael Kneeland rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at me in utter amazement and say, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

What's wrong, indeed.

I give them ten or fifteen years. Perhaps they'll have to read it again in college, or maybe they'll just try reading My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at me in utter amazement and say, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

What's wrong, indeed.

I give them ten or fifteen years. Perhaps they'll have to read it again in college, or maybe they'll just try reading it again as an adult to see if they can try to figure out why it's such a "classic," but after some time has passed from their initial encounter with the novel, they will find that I am not so crazy after all and that the book is in fact one of the best examples--if not the best example--of the novel. This happens to me all the time: I will re-read something I was forced to read in middle school and high school, remembering how much I hated it then, and will find that I actually love it now, as an adult. Sure, those "classics" may have taught me something about literary analysis, symbolic patterns, and the like, but I couldn't appreciate it for its complexity until I was older. I guess the rule of wine appreciation applies here, too: good taste only comes after much patience and experience.

***

Perhaps the thing I love best about this novel is the cast of characters--their names as well as their personalities. Ms. Havisham is one of my favorite characters to ever appear in all of the literature I have read. There is so much density and complexion to her character that I could literally make an entire career out of writing discourses on her characterization. She has even invaded the way I think about the world and the people I have met: I have, for instance, started referring to those instances where parents try to achieve success through their children "the Havisham effect" (unfortunately, you see this all too often in the world of teaching). Havisham's name is another exasperatingly fantastic aspect of her character: like the majority of Dickens' characters, you pretty much know what you're in for when you first read her name--she is full of lies, tricks, and deceits (or "sham"s). You don't get this sort of characterization much of anywhere else in the literary scene.

Another reason I love this novel so much is its plotting. Remember, Dickens was writing in a serialized format so he needed to keep his readers hooked so that they'd want to buy the next issue of his periodical, All the Year Round, in order to see what happens next. Thus, the plot of Great Expectations is winding, unpredictable, and quite shocking at points. Certainly, in terms of heavy action--well, what our youngsters these days would call action, fighting and big explosions and what-not--there is none, or very little at most, but that's not the thing to be looking for. Figure out the characters first, and then, once you've gotten to know and even care for them (or hate them), you will be hooked on the plot because you will want to know what happens to these people who you've invested so much feeling into. This is, of course, true of all novels, but it's what I tell my students when they read Great Expectations for the first time, and by gum, it's helped more than a few of them get through the novel successfully.

So, if you read Great Expectations in middle school, high school, or college, but haven't picked it up since, I urge you to do so. With a more patient and experienced set of eyes, you just might surprise yourself. ...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Emily May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, clothbound-own

“There was a long hard time when I kept far from me the remembrance of what I had thrown away when I was quite ignorant of its worth.”

I first read Great Expectations when I was thirteen years old. It was the first of Dickens' works that I'd read of my own volition, the only other being Oliver Twist, which we'd studied parts of in school. You know, I missed out on a lot when I was thirteen. By this, I mean that I didn't always understand the deeper meaning lying beneath the surface of my favo ...more

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May 03, 2014 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: victorian

”I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose had shrunk to skin and bone.”

How do you do Miss Havisham? She makes many lists of the twenty greatest characters from Dicken’s novels.

I hadn’t ever met Miss Havisham officially, although I knew of her. I have he ...more

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Jan 17, 2014 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, love-and-romance, 5-star-reads

"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

That is such a quote. If there was ever a novel that shows us the dangers of false perceptions then it’s Great Expectations . Pip is such a fool; he constantly misjudges those around him, and he constantly misjudges his own worth. This has lead him down a road of misery because the person who he ...more

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Sep 10, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, easton-press, audiobook, literature, classics-european, 1800s

Great Expectations…were formed...were met…and were thoroughly exceeded!

The votes have been tallied, all doubts have been answered and it is official and in the books ...I am a full-fledged, foaming fanboy of Sir Dickens and sporting a massive man-crush for literature’s master story-teller*.

*Quick Aside: My good friend Richard who despises “Chuckles the Dick” is no doubt having a conniption as he reads this…deep breaths, Richard, deep breaths.

After love, love, loving A Tale of Two Cities, I wen ...more

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Feb 06, 2016 Nayra.Hassan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

هل سنكون سعداء عندما تتحقق امالنا العريضة؟؟سؤال مرعب قد يدور في أذهان المتفلسفين منا..
طلاب مدارس اللغات يعلمون ان هناك 4تعاونوا على تعذيبهم..شكسبير.. والأختين برونتي ...و تشارلز ديكنز..
و لكن تظل لامال عريضة مكانا في عقلى و قلبي ..فمن خلالها تعرفت على أسلوب النقد البريطاني المنظم..وأيضا تعرفت على جزء كبير من حياة تشارلز ديكنز. .. فهو مثل البطل فيليب بيريب. عرف الفقر طويلا في طفولته بسبب سجن والده

مع فيليب عرفت مشاعر اليتم والفقر بدون مبالغة
و لم يحرمنا من الأكشن. .فنجد بيب يقابل مجرما هاربا..و يس هل سنكون سعداء عندما تتحقق امالنا العريضة؟؟سؤال مرعب قد يدور في أذهان المتفلسفين منا..
طلاب مدارس اللغات يعلمون ان هناك 4تعاونوا على تعذيبهم..شكسبير.. والأختين برونتي ...و تشارلز ديكنز..
و لكن تظل لامال عريضة مكانا في عقلى و قلبي ..فمن خلالها تعرفت على أسلوب النقد البريطاني المنظم..وأيضا تعرفت على جزء كبير من حياة تشارلز ديكنز. .. فهو مثل البطل فيليب بيريب. عرف الفقر طويلا في طفولته بسبب سجن والده

مع فيليب عرفت مشاعر اليتم والفقر بدون مبالغة
و لم يحرمنا من الأكشن. .فنجد بيب يقابل مجرما هاربا..و يساعده مرغما..يقع في حب صبية مثله في سن 12 و لكنها تحتقره لفقره..تماما مثلما فعلت ماريا بندل بديكنز .تتغير حياته بفضل راعي مجهول ينفق على تعليمه و يوظفه..فيصيبه الغرور ..و يتعالى على من ربوه..ثم تتحطم اماله عندما يعلم من هو راعيه ..لتتوالى الاحداث..التي تؤكد انه مهما فعلنا ..فسعادتنا و شقاؤنا بايدى الاخرين .للاسف

لا تخلو من الرعب بسبب تلك الانسة الابدية ..ميس هافيشام..التى لم تخلع 👰فستان الزفاف 25عام..وتحيا بين الاطلال المتعفنة لعرس لم يتم
من اجمل روايات الخروج من سن الصبا للنضج..
و من اجمل الروليات عن النساء عندما تحول نفسها الى سلعة لها ثمن و تاريخ صلاحية

لا يعيبها سوى تطويل و اسهاب في المشاعر كان مطلوبا في هذا العصر..لان ديكنز كان هو المسلسلات..فرواياته كانت تباع اسبوعيا في كتيبات و كانوا ينتظرون الحلقات الأخيرة منها على أرصفة الميناء!!و صار ديكنز أكثر الرواءيين ثراءا ..
وحقق اماله العريضة..و لكن هل صار سعيدا؟

الريفيو رقم مائة لى على الموقع ..عن رواية تعلمت منها.. و جعلتني افكر في قضايا ناضجة..و حببتني في القراءة بالإنجليزية بأسلوبه البسيط و لغته السلسة ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best, humming-closer-no-hesitation-give-m, ΘΑ-ΣΕΒΕΣΤΕ, ΜΕΘΕΞΗ

Μ αρέσει η γεύση που σου αφήνουν κάποια βιβλία στο μυαλό.
Η μυρωδιά που πλυμμηρίζει την ψυχή και την αναστατώνει, αφήνοντας της για πάντα αναμνήσεις.
Η μελωδία που βλέπεις να παίζεται μπροστά στα μάτια σου και να σε παρασύρει σε τοπία και μέρη του κόσμου που ίσως να είναι φανταστικά, ξεχασμένα, αλλοτινής εποχής, ίσως όμως να είναι τα ίδια με αυτά που ζεις.

Μεγάλες προσδοκίες, είναι μοναδικές στιγμές που όλα τα «μακάρι» γίνονται «επιτέλους».
Πάντα θα λατρεύουμε τις μεγάλες προσδοκίες, μόνο αυτές ...more

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Aug 19, 2007 Chicklet rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: classics

Boring, dull, lifeless, and flat. This is so drawn out and boring I kept having to remind myself what the plot was.
Best to get someone else to sum up the story rather than undergo the torture of reading it.

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Jan 04, 2009 Matt rated it liked it

Shelves: classic-novels

Admittedly, I can be a bit dismissive of the classics. By which I mean that many of my reviews resemble a drive-by shooting. This annoys some people, if measured by the responses I’m still getting to my torching of Moby Dick.

Even though I should expect some blowback, I still get a little defensive. I mean, no one wants to be called a “horrendous” person just because he or she didn’t like an overlong, self-indulgent, self-important “epic” about a douche-y peg leg and a stupid whale.

I’m no phili ...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: yes

Recommended to Henry by: nobody

A young, amiable boy Philip Pirrip with the unlikely nickname of Pip, lives with his older, by twenty years, brutal, ( no motherly love, that's for sure ) unbalanced married sister, Georgiana, his only relative which is very unfortunate, strangely the only friend he has is Joe, his brother-in -law . She, the sister, beats him regularly for no apparent reason, so the boy understandably likes to roam the neighborhood for relief, thinking about pleasant things, the dreams of escape...anything is be A young, amiable boy Philip Pirrip with the unlikely nickname of Pip, lives with his older, by twenty years, brutal, ( no motherly love, that's for sure ) unbalanced married sister, Georgiana, his only relative which is very unfortunate, strangely the only friend he has is Joe, his brother-in -law . She, the sister, beats him regularly for no apparent reason, so the boy understandably likes to roam the neighborhood for relief, thinking about pleasant things, the dreams of escape...anything is better than home. One night while visiting the graves of his parents, a desperate, fugitive convict finds him, and threatens the boy in the dark, disquieting, neglected churchyard cemetery, the quite terrified juvenile fears death , the man , a monster in his eyes... he complies with the demands... Pip provides the criminal with food, stealing from his sister but always with the threat of discovery and vicious punishment, the whipping, he knows will follow . Later this has surprising consequences in the future when Pip becomes older, if not wiser. An unexpected invite from the eccentric, man -hating Miss Havisham the riches person in the area, (who is nuttier than a Fruitcake) changes Pip prospects for the better. How weird is Miss Havisham? This recluse still wears her wedding dress, that is literally falling apart, repairs can only do so much decades after being jilted at the altar, she can never forget the unworthy, treacherous fiance who took advantage of the naive woman, for financial gain and move on...sad . Mysterious money given to the lad arrives, from who knows where but Pip is happy and doesn't ask too many questions , would you in his bad situation? So he goes to London to become a gentleman, the poor boy now can have a real life, is happy for the first time and even better has a chance, maybe, a hope, to be honest a miracle would have to occur to win the affection of Estella, the beautiful, intelligent, however somewhat arrogant girl... Miss Havisham foster daughter. Unusual ending keeps this always interesting, as we the reader follow lonely Pip , in his almost fruitless struggle for success, yet this famous classic has one of the most original characters ever imagined in literature . Miss Havisham...you begin by laughing at this pathetic woman until the melancholy shows and your heart changes little by little, you feel...and realize the anguish , the hurt deep inside her, and sympathy goes out to the unhappy lady, her pain is real. A "person" that cannot be forgotten. ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Kai rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, classics, 2018, read-for-uni

“You are in every line I have ever read.”

Why couldn't every line in this book be this good? I took me nearly three whole months to finish it. Not because it was bad, but because it dragged and dragged and there are far more intriguing books out there than Great Expectations.

The good stuff:
An exciting cast of characters, most of them very weird, extravagant and almost to completely ridiculous. By far my favourites are Joe - because he's such a goodhearted person - and Miss Havisham - because I to ...more

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Mar 29, 2015 Kalliope rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, britain, fiction-english, 2015

LITERARY EXPECTATIONS

It is said that Satisfaction is equal to Reality minus Expectations.

I reckon then that my rating should be around Eight Stars since Reality would be Five Stars and as my Expectations were on the negative axis—with an absolute value of about three--, it has resulted in a positive eight. The Great Eight, I should anoint this book, then.

How and when were my expectations formed? If I depart on search of my forgotten memories, I think it all started with those black & white ...more

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Jan 24, 2016 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, favorites, charles-dickens

It is almost hard to believe that Dickens stays the same when you read him on several occasions in your life. Somehow, the words and their meanings seem completely different. Obviously, it is my life experience that has changed, not the story. I find that to be one of Dickens' major achievements: the storytelling excellence that captures a teenager's need for complicated plots as well as the cynical grown-up's wish for reflection on human behaviour.

Great Expectations has both, and I found mysel ...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Lyn rated it really liked it

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens' 1860 first person narration centers on the formation and social development of the inimical English character Pip.

Set in and around London in the early 1800s, Dickens uses vivid imagery and his usual genius at characterization to build a story that has become one of English languages greatest and most recognized stories.

As always in a Dickens’ novel, his brilliant cast of intriguing characters takes center stage as the reader comes to know a parade of liter ...more

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Jun 30, 2017 Bionic Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century-ish, charles-dickens, read-authors-c-d, classics

Great Expectations. What a superb title this is; wonderful, in the best and truest sense of the word. It is upbeat, exciting, and full of intrigue. It quickens our pulse and gives us a little thrilling frisson. Who is it, who has these “Great Expectations”? We want to meet them. We want to share their anticipations and their pleasure. We are hooked into the story by these first two words.

Perhaps most significant of all is that it is a short, memorable title. Great Expectations is one of Charles ...more

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Jun 14, 2008 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-book, classic, literature, fiction, novel, 19th-century

876. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes.
On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, an orphan who is about seven years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard, while visiting the graves of his parents and siblings. Pip now lives with his abusive elder sister and her kind husband Joe G 876. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes.
On Christmas Eve, around 1812, Pip, an orphan who is about seven years old, encounters an escaped convict in the village churchyard, while visiting the graves of his parents and siblings. Pip now lives with his abusive elder sister and her kind husband Joe Gargery, a blacksmith. The convict scares Pip into stealing food and a file. Early on Christmas morning Pip returns with the file, a pie and brandy. During Christmas Dinner that evening, at the moment Pip's theft is about to be discovered, soldiers arrive and ask Joe to repair some shackles. Joe and Pip accompany them as they recapture the convict who is fighting with another escaped convict. The first convict confesses to stealing food from the smithy. A year or two later, Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster who still wears her old wedding dress and lives as a recluse in the dilapidated Satis House, asks Mr Pumblechook, a relation of the Gargery's, to find a boy to visit her. Pip visits Miss Havisham and falls in love with her adopted daughter Estella. Estella remains aloof and hostile to Pip, which Miss Havisham encourages. Pip visits Miss Havisham regularly, until he is old enough to learn a trade.
Joe accompanies Pip for the last visit, when she gives the money for Pip to be bound as apprentice blacksmith. Joe's surly assistant, Dolge Orlick, is envious of Pip and dislikes Mrs Joe. When Pip and Joe are away from the house, Mrs Joe is brutally attacked, leaving her unable to speak or do her work. Orlick is suspected of the attack. Mrs Joe becomes kind-hearted after the attack. Pip's former schoolmate Biddy joins the household to help with her care.
Four years into Pip's apprenticeship, Mr Jaggers, a lawyer, tells him that he has been provided with money, from an anonymous benefactor, so that he can become a gentleman. Pip is to leave for London, but presuming that Miss Havisham is his benefactor, he first visits her.
Pip sets up house in London at Barnard's Inn with Herbert Pocket, the son of his tutor, Matthew Pocket, who is a cousin of Miss Havisham. Herbert and Pip have previously met at Satis Hall, where Herbert was rejected as a playmate for Estella. He tells Pip how Miss Havisham was defrauded and deserted by her fiancé. Pip meets fellow pupils, Bentley Drummle, a brute of a man from a wealthy noble family, and Startop, who is agreeable. Jaggers disburses the money Pip needs. ...
عنوان: آرزوهای بزرگ؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ (علمی و فرهنگی، دوستان، افق) ادبیات؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1975 میلادی
با ترجمه: ابراهیم یونسی، تهران، سال انتشار 1351، با ویرایش، چاپ هفتم، با شابک: 9789646207486؛ سال 1391، انتشارات دوستان
ترجمه: محسن سلیمانی انتشارات افق 1387 این نسخه، متن چکیده و کوتاه شده
آرزوهای بزرگ را می‌توان به نوعی زندگی‌نامه خودنگاشت «دیکنز» نیز دانست که همچون آثار دیگرش، تجربیات تلخ و شیرین وی از زندگی و مردمان را نمایان میسازد. داستان «آرزوهای بزرگ» وضعیت سیاسی اجتماعی دوران خود ایشانست و نویسنده حقایق اجتماعی را با بیانی لطیف به تصویر کشیده است. خلاصه داستان: پیپ هفت ساله، زندگی محقر و فروتنانه‌ذای را در کلبه‌ذای روستایی، با خواهری بدخلق و سختگیر و شوهر خواهرش «جو گارگِری» آهنگری پرتوان اما مهربان و نرم‌خو، می‌گذراند. او که روزی برای سر زدن به قبر مادر و پدرش به گورستان می‌رود، بطور اتفاقی با یک زندانی فراری محکوم به اعمال شاقه به نام «آبل مگویچ» روبرو می‌شود. آن زندانی، داستانی ترسناک برای کودک سر و هم می‌کند تا او نانی برای رفع گرسنگی و سوهانی برای رهایی خویش از غل و زنجیری که به دست و پایش بسته‌ است، برایش بیاورد. پیپ هم از روی ناچاری و هم از دل‌رحمی او را یاری می‌کند. مدت زمانی از آن ماجرا می‌گذرد و پیپ کوچک، توسط زنی میانسال و ثروتمند موسوم به «میس هاویشام» (یکی از استادانه‌ ترین شخصیت‌های خلق‌ شده توسط دیکنز) اجیر می‌شود، تا گهگاه برای همنشینی، و سرگرم‌ نمودنش، پیش او بیاید. هاویشام که در گذشته‌ ای دور، و به هنگام عروسی، معشوقش او را بیرحمانه ترک گفته، از آن زمان، به زنی دلسرد و انتقام‌جو بدل گشته‌ است. او «اِستِلا»، دخترکی زیبا، اما گستاخ و مغرور را به فرزندی پذیرفته است، تا به او بیاموزد که چگونه مردان را به بازی گرفته، و بدینسان انتقام خویش را توسط او، از مردان بستاند. پیپ کوچک در آن خانه، به استلا دل می‌بندد، و تحت تأثیر توهین‌ها و آزارهای دخترک، نخستین آرزوهایش مبنی بر ترک زندگی محقر، و روستایی، و زیستن چون نجیب‌ زادگان، در او نقش می‌بندد. پیپ، سال‌ها نزد جو گارگِری شاگردی می‌کند تا به عنوان یک آهنگر امرار معاش نماید، اما رخدادی زندگی او را دگرگون می‌کند. حقوقدانی در لندن به نام «جَگرز» به او اطلاع می‌دهد، که یک ولینعمت ناشناس، هزینه ی تعلیم و تربیت او را، برای رفتن به لندن و آموختن فرهنگ افراد متشخص، متقبل شده، و پس از آن ثروت کلانی به او خواهد رسید. به این ترتیب قهرمان نخست داستان، روستا و شوهر خواهر دوست‌ داشتنی خود را ترک می‌کند، تا به آرزوهای بزرگ خویش، که یافتن تشخص و لیاقت برای دستیابی به استلا است، برسد. او در طول زندگی در لندن، بسیاری از آداب و رسوم زندگی شهری، همچون طرز رفتار، لباس پوشیدن، و مشارکت در انجمن اشخاص فرهیخته و با فرهنگ را، می‌آموزد و استلای محبوبش نیز که اکنون مردان زیادی خواهان او هستند، با تجاربی مشابه، دست و پنجه نرم می‌کند. پیپ این‌بار به استلا اظهار عشق می‌کند ولی استلا به او می‌گوید که لیاقت عشق پیپ را ندارد، و به «بنتلی درامل»، مردی پست‌ فطرت، دل‌بسته‌ است. پیپ که همیشه خانم هاویشام را ولینعمت مرموز خود می‌پنداشته، در پایان به این موضوع پی می‌برد، که ولینعمتش «مگویچ»، همان زندانی فراری ست، که در کودکی یاریش داده بود. او همچنین درمی‌یابد که مگویچ پدر استلا است. اما زمانی این راز برملا می‌شود، که مگویچ طی یک درگیری دستگیر، و زخمی شده، و در بستر مرگ افتاده، و تمام اموالش توسط دولت ضبط شده‌ است. از طرفی استلا نیز با درامل ازدواج کرده، و بدرفتاریهای بسیاری از او دیده‌ است. پیپ که به هیچ‌یک از آرزوهای خود نائل نمی‌آید، به کلبه ی محقر روستایی خود، پیش جو بازمی‌گردد. هرچند دیکنز تصمیم داشت تا پیپ را در رسیدن به استلا عاقبت ناکام گذارد، و داستان را به صورتی غم‌انگیز به پایان برساند، اما به توصیه دیگران، پایان آنرا با درس گرفتن استلا، از شکستهای زندگی، و بازگشتش به نزد پیپ، تغییر می‌دهد تا به مذاق خوانشگران آن زمان خوش بیاید. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Apr 25, 2014 Renato Magalhães Rocha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: the-novel-100, 100-best-books-world-library, kindle-ebooks, 2014, all-stars, reviewed, 1001, dickens

Excuse me for this infamous pun - which I'm sure has been wearily used since the book was first published -, but I had great expectations about it. Not only had I never read anything by Charles Dickens - who seems to be one of those polarizing authors that continues to inspire, decade after decade, a love/hate relationship with his readers -, but also because Great Expectations is regarded as one of his most important works. For someone as anxious as myself - I should really look into that - it Excuse me for this infamous pun - which I'm sure has been wearily used since the book was first published -, but I had great expectations about it. Not only had I never read anything by Charles Dickens - who seems to be one of those polarizing authors that continues to inspire, decade after decade, a love/hate relationship with his readers -, but also because Great Expectations is regarded as one of his most important works. For someone as anxious as myself - I should really look into that - it seems expectations and anxiety are like non-identical twins: they're born together – or just few minutes apart from each other - but while the first born is a hopeful and optimistic attitude about something to come, his younger brother denotes an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, a sensation that his good twin may never come to fruition.

I expected Dickens's text to be dark and bleak, with touches of sadness and even over-sentimental at times. More, I expected a black and white - heavy, sluggish - Béla Tarr film. Because of that, I was anxious and feared that if I wasn't in the right state of mind or in a proper setting (which is a fair feeling, I guess: it's curious how much external variables - as the rain leisurely falling outside or infuriating noises of beeps and horns in a rush hour in traffic - can have effects on our most internal sensations; it's amazing how physical can also have control over psychological and the brain isn't always the commander in chief), I wouldn't be able to properly enjoy and absorb what the novel was about.

As it turned out with Great Expectations though, I really appreciated the book (whenever and wherever I spent time with it) and actually found the story to be humorous - as I caught myself giggling on more than three or four occasions - and even have a gothic touch - which I never supposed about it. Parts of the novel - volume 2, as to be completely clear - were harder to get through, which only came to add up to my initial concern about the remaining of the book.

Divided in three volumes, the book has different paces and approaches for each one: Volume 1, as it happens with every book we're starting to read, feels slower and more descriptive. We get to observe everyone - and the places, and people's manners - like we've just arrived to a party that's been famous for years and we've been anxious to attend to, still a little shy to go around meeting and talking to the other guests. Volume 2, as important as it was to determine Pip's character - and also for covering an important part of his life and setting the stage for the final and striking act -, I must confess, dragged a little bit and added to my anxiety that while I was enjoying the book, it might not have what it takes to carry it to the next level, to a great 5 stars book - and to think it was supposed to be twice as long! Volume 3, on the other hand, has a rapid pace and is surprisingly quite a page turner! Everything unfolds and we find out that the characters and events were a lot more connected than we could ever have suspected them to be and, because it was so masterfully written, it never felt like those common and overused cheap plot twists.

I expected Pip's great expectations to fail as I resented him and I intimately cheered that he wouldn't become a rich man because I worried he wouldn't do Joe and Biddy - always there for him, always his faithful companions - justice if his design and ambition to become a gentleman was successful. On the other hand, I never expected that Joe would turn his back when Pip needed him again, and I was glad to find out that Joe never did - it was never even an option for him.

I never expected that Pip's journey would be all about self-understanding and education: what first seemed to be a simple quest for society and financial triumph, turned out to be much deeper than I had anticipated at first. In offering Pip money, Magwitch thought he was doing his dear boy a big deed and changing his life for the better; eventually, what accomplished that was something much simpler: Magwitch's presence. Ashamed of the past - his life conditions, his friends, the house he lived in - Pip was all about living in the future, erasing his childhood and trying to write himself a future like he was writing a book - conversely, the book he ended up writing was all about his past. Ashamed of his relations with an ex-convict, initially he tried everything he could to avoid being associated with Provis, worrying about the damage it would do to his own reputation. As the story went on, Pip was able to reconnect with his past and free himself from all the shame, assuming Provis as his benefactor and fighting to save his life. Without realizing it, Pip was becoming a better person.

Like our narrator - a boy who would grow up to be a gentleman as opposed to a man who was unsuccessful for most of his life and looked down in society for being an ex-convict -, Estella is also a product of frustration, a creation of Miss Havisham: a girl who would become a heartbreaker to revenge Miss Havisham's own broken heart. It's interesting, to say the least, to follow their stories to find out if they'll be able to cut their puppets strings and become their own selves without having to comply to what was initially expected and planned for them and - as those expectations were blurred with what they wanted for themselves - unveil their free will to live on a future they could be active parts of.

There are two different endings to this story: Dickens's original intended finale and that which became the official one - although nowadays both are included in most of the editions published. On Dickens's original manuscript, Pip was to have a brief and random encounter with Estella, after being many years apart, where he would see that she had experienced sufferings in her own life and was lonely as himself:

"I was very glad afterwards to have had the interview for in her face and in her voice, and in her touch, she gave me the assurance that suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham's teaching, and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be."

After having his friend, also a writer, Edward Bulwer-Lytton to read the novel, he was then convinced to change the ending so it would be more romantic and not so much hopeless. The "new" ending, although being controversial for its many interpretations, implied that Pip and Estella would end up being together in some way or another - if not as lovers, at least as good friends:

"I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw the shadow of no parting from her."

Although both conclusions work and are satisfying as far as my tastes go - and both are so beautifully worded as well! -, I prefer Dickens's original ending as it seems to be more consistent with the story, also more psychologically believable and less sentimental, less "everything works out perfectly in the end".

Rating: for what I was expecting - to not say, again, "my great expectations" - have been met with acclaim and success, 5 stars. ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Samadrita rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: timeless-classics, slice-of-life, bygones-are-never-bygones, european-literature, 1001-and-more, re-readable, britain, behemoth, cherished, human-drama

A Tale of Two Cities will forever occupy a special place in my heart because even though adulthood sensibilities often cause childhood adoration to vanish in entirety, no one forgets a precocious reading of that first classic which reduces one to a sobbing, sniffling mess. But my memories of a first reading of this are hazy at best - the absence of guillotines lopping off heads and swoon-worthy heroes who make larger than life sacrifices could explain my much younger self's lack of appreciation. A Tale of Two Cities will forever occupy a special place in my heart because even though adulthood sensibilities often cause childhood adoration to vanish in entirety, no one forgets a precocious reading of that first classic which reduces one to a sobbing, sniffling mess. But my memories of a first reading of this are hazy at best - the absence of guillotines lopping off heads and swoon-worthy heroes who make larger than life sacrifices could explain my much younger self's lack of appreciation. And it is only on a second reading after a gap of a decade and more can I categorize this as a novel written for adults, as a work much more worthy of 5 stars than "A Tale of Two Cities" should ever be. Predictably this rehashes many of Dickens' pet favorite themes - the orphaned, abused kid finding his way through the rat-infested, grimy bylanes of crime and penury towards self actualization, fairy godmother-stand-ins and so on - but never does it distill its thematic essence into easy dichotomies of good and evil. With all the appearance of a bildungsroman, "Great Expectations", sets out to demolish many cliched plot devices of Dickens' own creation. Pip never achieves the greatness he aspires to or even the fantasy love which planted the desire for upward social mobility in his mind, and yet his experiences enable him to become a more well-rounded individual who sees the world no longer through the rose-tinted shades of juvenile romanticism but with a maturer outlook.

All the truth of my position came flashing on me; and its disappointments, dangers, disgraces, consequences of all kinds, rushed in in such a multitude that I was borne down by them and had to struggle for every breath I drew.

And, of course, this features a character not found elsewhere in the wide repertoire of Victorian novels - a woman who practices misandry with varying degrees of success. Perhaps to Dickens, Miss Havisham would have been merely a plot contrivance inserted to thwart our hero's romantic success and create an atmosphere of Gothic spookiness slightly palpable in many of Dickens' fairytale-ish coming-of-age tales. But when seen through the lenses of 21st century wisdom, she encapsulates a more realistic kind of horror - a woman, whose entire life and worth are predicated on the success of her getting hitched in a patriarchal society, jilted at the altar. Not a mad woman condemned to incarceration in the attic by a tyrannical figure of patriarchal authority but a woman who chooses to sequester herself from the world of men of her own free will.
Miss Havisham is bested in the end, by her own feelings of contrition for the harm she inflicted on a young, impressionable mind, but second wave feminism will point fingers at the real culprit and exonerate her.

Her chest had dropped, so that she stooped; and her voice had dropped, so that she spoke low, and with a dead lull upon her; altogether, she had the appearance of having dropped body and soul, within and without, under the weight of a crushing blow.

Pip maybe one of the most unheroic of Dickens' heroes, but he is also a proper representative of a man torn between two contradictory ideals of value judgment, forever plagued by an identity crisis so acute that he appears in my eyes as one of his most fully realized, flawed characters. So undeserving of respect or even sympathy. Further, I don't remember Dickens being as funny and wryly witty elsewhere aside from The Pickwick Papers. Either that or I seriously need to refresh memories. The only reason I felt this does not merit the five stars is because of that rather random ending, a last ditch attempt at adding roses and rainbows to a palette majorly mottled with splotches of grey. The five star rating would have been an inevitability had this penultimate Dickens novel been the wholesome tragedy it showed every possibility of becoming in the last stretch.

The ground belongs to me. It is the only possession I have not relinquished. Everything else has gone from me, little by little, but I have kept this. It was the subject of the only determined resistance I made in all the wretched years.

All plot points considered, it is a tragedy. Very nearly so but not quite. ...more

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Feb 12, 2017 Praveen rated it it was amazing

Great expectation was my first book of Dickens. Years ago when I read it, I could not possibly understand its importance from the perspective of social injustice and class conflict of that time. I remembered that initial self-introduction of a young boy, where he talked about his family names and discussed why he preferred himself to be called as Pip and not Philip.

I still had a fresh picture of how one day suddenly Pip encountered that fearful man, who was soaked in water, and smothered in mud, Great expectation was my first book of Dickens. Years ago when I read it, I could not possibly understand its importance from the perspective of social injustice and class conflict of that time. I remembered that initial self-introduction of a young boy, where he talked about his family names and discussed why he preferred himself to be called as Pip and not Philip.

I still had a fresh picture of how one day suddenly Pip encountered that fearful man, who was soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and stung by nettles. Who limped, shivered, glared and growled and cried in a terrible voice..

“Keep still, You little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

Other image that was still persisting in my mind was that of Miss Havisham, who lived in a dilapidated house. Where in a dreary room, which was faintly lighted by candles, speckled legged spiders running home on that table cloth darkened with black fungus, mice rattling behind the panels, and she with a hand upon Pip’s shoulder, leaning on her crutch headed stick, pointing to that big table saying …

“This is where I will be laid when I am dead. They shall come and look me here.”

I reread it, to recall what else had happened in Pip’s life, which I had partially forgotten. This time I could feel this dramatic work of Dickens with some maturity and totality. I could feel the constant inner struggle of Pip with his own conscience. Pip was ambitious and he constantly tried to become a gentleman. His purpose was to impress a young noble girl, Estella.

In fact I grew with this story this time; I understood and reckoned many new themes. Themes of crime, class conflict, ambition and guilt were more clearly comprehended by me.

Imagery of Dickens has created some eternal and timeless characters in this book. I truly adored the approved this story yet again.

It just sprawled and quivered into me!

“I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.” ...more

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Jan 07, 2012 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-favorite-books, 1-fiction, 4-written-pre-20th-century, 2-fic-young-adult

5 stars to Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. So many good choices in the world of Charles Dickens, but ultimately, even though I love me some ghosts of Scrooge, Great Expectations wins out.

Most of us probably were "forced" to read this book in junior high or high school. I am one of those people; however, I was an English major in college and read it again for one of my courses. It's one of those books that gets better as you get older and stronger each time you read it. If you only read it ...more

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Mar 27, 2015 James rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It is very difficult to know where to start with this review of Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’ – a novel that has been for many years and almost undoubtedly always will be one of my very favourite novels.

Perhaps one day when I can find the time and the inspiration, I will write a lengthy, well thought out, elegantly constructed and truly insightful in depth review – perhaps managing to convey and capture a modicum of the brilliance of ‘Great Expectations’ and the literary genius of autho ...more

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Feb 13, 2008 Werner rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: All fans of 19th-century fiction

Shelves: classics, books-i-own

I've actually read this quintessentially Victorian novel twice. The first time was as required reading in junior high school, where I liked it from the get-go; the second time was as an adult, back in 1997. It remains one of my favorites (among the ones I've actually read) of the novels of Dickens, a writer whose work I was first introduced to as a grade school kid, and have long counted as a favorite author. Written serially in 1860-61, it's a mature Dickens work (his second-to-last completed n I've actually read this quintessentially Victorian novel twice. The first time was as required reading in junior high school, where I liked it from the get-go; the second time was as an adult, back in 1997. It remains one of my favorites (among the ones I've actually read) of the novels of Dickens, a writer whose work I was first introduced to as a grade school kid, and have long counted as a favorite author. Written serially in 1860-61, it's a mature Dickens work (his second-to-last completed novel). By the time of its composition, his unequaled mastery of characterization, dry humor, social consciousness, and ability to evoke powerful emotion and to conjure totally realistic scenes and situations even while writing in a thoroughly Romantic style, were already honed to their fullest perfection. But he also brought to this novel a focused moral message, which is more marked here than in some of his earlier works, such as David Copperfield, and the classic simplicity of a basically linear plot (albeit with some tightly controlled and dovetailed subplots). And in the person of Pip, he gives us here a protagonist who's dynamic --that is, who changes in significant ways besides aging and altered circumstances, unlike, for instance, the eponymous heroes of David Copperfield or Oliver Twist. For this reason, it has a stronger effect on the reader (or at least this reader) than either of those novels. (I rank it in the same class as my other favorite Dickens works, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol.)

Although David Copperfield is usually considered Dicken's most autobiographical work, Michael Slater (who contributes the introduction to the 1992 Knopf edition I read) makes the case that this novel represents "a far more ruthlessly honest fictional use of his personal life." It's certainly the case that he was born in the same part of England as Pip, the marsh country around the southern coast, and evokes that setting here with a vividness born of personal familiarity. (The same goes for his ability to bring the teeming, sooty urban jungle of London to life.) Again in Slater's words, "The deep concerns of Dickens life that feature so prominently in the novel...[include]...concealment of a shameful prison secret about one's past [his father spent time in debtor's prison], love for an unobtainable woman [Ellen Ternan], English class snobbery and the debate about what constitutes a 'gentleman,' the life of the imagination, the father/son relationship, bad mothering, and the moral and psychological consequences of brooding on past wrongs and betrayals."

It's worth noting that this is the only Dickens novel, to my knowledge, for which he wrote two entirely different endings, the original more "realistic" one (written in advance of publication) and a more ambiguous one which he wrote on the suggestion of his friend Bulwer-Lytton, and used in the published version. Both editions I've read included both (the original ending being added as an appendix), and this seems to be a common practice. So the reader has a sort of "choose your own ending" option. :-) (Personally, I prefer the Bulwer-Lytton approach --as Dickens apparently did himself, considering his decision to publish it and not the original!) If readers have a settled dislike or mental block towards Victorian prose, they won't like this book; yes, it's wordy (though, contrary to what some people believe, Dickens was NOT paid by the word for his writing), and the diction can be elaborate. But if that isn't a deal-breaker, this offers a great tale of Gothic atmosphere, lethal danger, intrigue and secrets, a window into a fascinating and vanished time --and most of all, Dickens' deepest exploration of what really matters (and what doesn't matter) in human life, and what makes for human happiness. (And what doesn't.)

1.) Note: A more in-depth discussion of the novel, with some significant insights and interesting background information about, for instance, the real-life models for some of Dickens' characters and settings, can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... .

2.) Note: Of the many movie and TV adaptations of this novel, the one I personally recommend is the 1999 version starring Ioan Gruffudd as Pip (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167187/ ). That one adopts the published ending as its conclusion. ...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, read-2014, buddy-read-jean, favorites, chunkster

I'm a somewhat green Dickens fan (having only read A Christmas Carol), but loved this 150th Anniversary Edition of Great Expectations! As in A Christmas Carol, this tale often portrays an eerie atmosphere with creepy characters.....like the mysterious escaped convict Abel Magwitch who threatens Pip's young life in the graveyard, the jealous and revengeful Old Orlick with his evil ways, and the embittered and decaying Mrs. Havisham who pines for lost love and leads Pip astray.

In this coming-of-ag

...more

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May 14, 2015 Carlos rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Las obras clásicas son las -en teoría- más complicadas de leer, y por ende, entender ¿Por qué? Por su alto contenido metafórico y en mi opinión, también por una razón muy simple: los tiempos de aquellos libros son muy diferentes a los nuestros.
La forma de vida, la sociedad, la cultura, la libertad, lo que era bueno y malo, todo era diferente. Si se le suma a esto hablar sobre tramas sociales, familiares o amorosas... temas siempre complicados para el ser humano, se vuelve aún (valga la redundanc ...more

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Feb 15, 2014 Raya راية rated it really liked it

"I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me."

تعرّفت على روايات تشارلز ديكنز في سن مبكّر نسبياً، فهي أولى الأعمال التي أدخلتني إلى كلاسيكيات الأدب الإنجليزي خاصةً والعالمي عامةً. كنت أستعير رواياته من مكتبة المدرسة وأضعها في مكتبتي الصغيرة في المنزل، وأبقى أنظر إليها لحين انتهاء فترة الامتحانات لألتهمها في عطلة الشتاء. كانت أجواء الشتاء ترتبط بذهني بأوليفر تويست وديفيد كوبرفليد وپيب بيريب وشوارع لندن الضيّقة ومجتمعها المُخملي. وهذا ما دفعني لإعادة قراءة هذه الرواية للمرة الرابعة.

كعادة أبطال ديكنز في رواياته، ينشئ پيب طفلاً يتيماً فقيراً في كنف أخته وزوجها الطيّب. يحلم پيب بالثروة والمجد، ولم يقبل بأن يصبح صبيّاً لحداد في قرية بعيدة. وهنا تتوالى الأحداث وتتقاطع الأقدار ويضرب الحظ ضربته. وتبدأ مرحلة جديدة غير متوّقعة في حياة پيب، فيصبح غنيّاً مُتعلّماً، يتعرّف على الطبقة الغنيّة، ويحلم بأكثر مما حلم به. ويحلم بالزواج من ايستيلا الجميلة المغرورة التي أحبها منذ الصغر، وفي خضم رحلة المجد والثراء والبحث عن الحُب، ينسى پيب صحبه القدماء وينسى من أحسن إليه وتعهّده برعايته صغيراً. ثم تنقلب الأحداث رأساً على عقب في مصادفات غريبة وصادمة، ليعود پيب كمان كان فقيراً، فقد تحطّمت أحلامه وباءت جميع توقّعاته بالفشل..فالرعب كل الرعب يكمن في أن تنسى نفسك خلال رحلة تحقيق حلمك! رواية الحُب، المجد، الأحلام، الانتقام، والصداقة.

ممتعة، مُدهشة، تُنسيني نفسي في تفاصيلها..

... ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Phrynne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5000-books

It has been a very long time since I last read this book but it was still every bit as good as I remembered. I was very interested too to find out which parts of it I still remembered well and which parts I had totally forgotten!

Great Expectations is certainly one of Dickens’ best books. He always wrote great characters, good stories and wonderful observations of everyday life. In this book he brings all that plus humour, danger and some spooky stuff too. Who could forget the scene where little ...more

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Jan 23, 2019 Justin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It was the best of times. It was the worst...

Wait a minute...

Ahem...

I’m easily persuaded, I guess. When I’m out there in the world just bout there doin’ my world stuff, you know, readin’ books, listening to podcasts, and just living my life, I like to take advice from people, especially when it comes to what books to read. So when a guy I trust on a podcast I enjoy says that Dickens is second to Shakespeare as the greatest author of all time, my ears perk up. My ears perk up, and my head drops d It was the best of times. It was the worst...

Wait a minute...

Ahem...

I’m easily persuaded, I guess. When I’m out there in the world just bout there doin’ my world stuff, you know, readin’ books, listening to podcasts, and just living my life, I like to take advice from people, especially when it comes to what books to read. So when a guy I trust on a podcast I enjoy says that Dickens is second to Shakespeare as the greatest author of all time, my ears perk up. My ears perk up, and my head drops down, and I shamefully remind myself I’ve never actually finished a book by Charles Dickens. I’ve started a few. I know a story or two. I’ve heard of this guy before, but I’ve never read one of his books from cover to cover.

Until now, friends! Until. Now.

I did the ol’ read the actual book, read the ebook, listen to the audiobook trifecta on this one. I consumed it every chance I had in whatever format I could. Quick side note on the audiobook- I don’t know who the narrator was but the recording sounded like just a normal guy reading the story and recording it in his living room. You could hear him turn the pages, the sound would get louder and softer at times, and there were little hums and pops throughout the whole thing, but I loved it! It was such a lo-fi recording, but it just added to the experience of reading a classic 19th century book. He nailed all the voices, too.

Anyway...

Great expectations is hard to pin down into one genre. At its core, it’s a Bildungsroman story, but it’s filled with adventure, mystery, romance, joy, sadness, violence, sorrow, gain, loss, and much more. I was gripped from the opening pages of Pip encountering a ghostly convince in the marshes, and the story kept me engaged as it rolled along, introducing me to memorable characters, and wrapping me up into a story I will not soon forget.

I honestly did not have great expectations when I picked up this book, and I was very, very surprised with all the plot twists and big reveals in the third act. Dickens weaves together a beautiful story but also a template for modern-day storytellers to follow. Some parts of the story reminded me of recent novels I’ve read, only this one is 150 years older. The book felt fresh though. It never really felt dated or difficult to follow. It’s honestly very accessible and readable today so don’t be intimidated by it. Pick it up and read it.

I’m sure I’ll explore more of Dickens’ work in the future. I’m glad I took the time to read this one, and you should take the time to read it as well.

...more

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Oct 06, 2012 MJ Nicholls rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, oxford-classics, pre-1900s, sassysassenachs

It is frustrating being slapped around the head by classics that leave you trouserless in a lukewarm puddle. Because the failure, as Mr. Gass points out, is never with the book. You are to blame, always. I am to blame for not embracing Great Expectations with the same open-armed ever-lovingness with which I embraced Little Dorrit and David Copperfield and so on down the line. My reasons, thus: the second act loses the momentum and powerful perspective established in Part One, as Pip becomes a pr ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Laurel Hicks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2009, dickens-novels, audible, 0-kindle, 2016-4, books-read-in-2016

I see more in this book each time I read it. Class distinctions, friendships, character development, sin, repentance, forgiveness, redemption--all are explored and charted in this thirteenth novel of Dickens.

My favorite characters are Joe Gargery, the gentle and loving blacksmith; the faithful Herbert Pocket; and the helpful Mr. Wemmick and his Aged P.

I've been seeing a recurring theme in several of Dickens' novels--a degrading reliance on hopes of the future to the detriment of the duties and ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Laysee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lifetime-favorites, five-star-books, oldies-but-goodies

‘It is a principle… that no man who was not a true gentleman at heart ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner.’ - Charles Dickens

Great Expectations once again exceeded expectations when I re-read it for perhaps the third time in many years. I was surprised at how strongly the story/plot engaged me afresh even though I knew it like the back of my hand. I took special delight in Dickens’ very fine, stately, and elegant prose. I relished his vivid description of the dreary marsh ‘It is a principle… that no man who was not a true gentleman at heart ever was, since the world began, a true gentleman in manner.’ - Charles Dickens

Great Expectations once again exceeded expectations when I re-read it for perhaps the third time in many years. I was surprised at how strongly the story/plot engaged me afresh even though I knew it like the back of my hand. I took special delight in Dickens’ very fine, stately, and elegant prose. I relished his vivid description of the dreary marsh country or Miss Havisham’s spider-infested wedding cake. I became well acquainted with each of his vivacious characters. Most of all, Great Expectations is an exploration of the vanity of human wishes and what is left of humanity after great expectations have been well lost.

Philip Pirrip, better known as Pip, is a seven-year-old orphan brought up by a domineering adult sister who is married to Joe Gargery, the blacksmith. Pip and Joe are ‘fellow-sufferers’ under the tyranny of Mrs Gargery who is said to have brought them up ‘by hand.’ Pip is poor but rich and secure in Joe’s love and protection. All this is changed when Pip is invited to play at the house of Miss Havisham, an eccentric but wealthy woman, who hired him to teach her adoptive daughter, the beautiful and scornful Estella, how to wreak revenge on all men by breaking their hearts. For the first time, Pip sees himself as ‘coarse and common’. He admits to his own misery: “It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home... Home had never been a very pleasant place to me, because of my sister’s temper. But Joe had sanctified it, and I had believed in it...Within a single year all this was changed. Now it was all coarse and common, and I would not have had Miss Havisham and Estella see it on any account.”

One of the things that struck me is how similar Pip is to Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby. In his confession to Biddy, Pip says, “The beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham’s, and she’s more beautiful than anybody ever was, and I admire her dreadfully, and I want to be a gentleman on her account.” And thus, Pip dreams of one day becoming a gentleman. Like Jay Gatsby who builds all his hopes on Daisy Buchanan’s false, silvery voice, Pip is to spend a good part of his adult life wanting to become a gentleman for Estella’s sake. Estella is a cold, distant star; Daisy is that elusive green light across the bay. Like Gatsby, Pip’s dream comes true. An unknown benefactor releases Pip from Joe’s forge and plants him in London to be educated as a gentleman and to have access to all its attendant privileges. In Pip, as in Gatsby, great expectations rest on an empty dream, which amounted to naught.

Expectations aside, Great Expectations is a wonderful story about the best of kinship, friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice. These themes are exemplified in Joe Gargery’s steadfast love for Pip, Herbert Pocket’s ever-giving friendship, and Abel Magwitch’s gratitude and self-sacrifice. On the flip side, it reveals the untold damage caused by deception, betrayal, and revenge as reflected in the wasted lives of Miss Havisham (the spurned bride) and to a lesser degree, Estella. To a significant degree, Magwitch’s life, too.

Great Expectations has a cast of fascinating characters and their idiosyncrasies come alive in Dicken’s unsparing and often humorous description. My favorite is Wemmick, Mr. Jagger’s clerk and Pip’s friend. Wemmick is said to have a post-office mouth into which he pops his biscuits. Yet, he is a modern man who builds a lovely castle for himself and his aged father, and makes it a point to demarcate his private life from his work life. His one obsession is with ‘portable property’ and he wears many rings that once belonged to executed convicts. The episode of Wemmick’s surprise and low-key wedding is a joy to read. Also memorable are Mr. Jaggers, the formidable lawyer with a pervasive smell of scented soap; Mr. Pumblechook, the pompous corn and seeds merchant who claims to be Pip’s earliest benefactor; and all the ‘toadies and humbugs’, fawning relatives of Miss Havisham.

Great Expectations is a timeless and magnificent classic. What larks! Thank you, Mr. Dickens. ...more

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About Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

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Charles John Huffam Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dicke Charles John Huffam Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.

(from Wikipedia) ...more