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Fiction

Notes (Joe and Biddy) to the middle class (Pumblechook) to the very rich (Miss Havisham). The
theme of social class is central to the novel’s plot and to the ultimate moral theme of the
book—Pip’s realization that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and
inner worth. Pip achieves this realization when he is finally able to understand that, despite
the esteem in which he holds Estella, one’s social status is in no way connected to one’s real
character. Drummle, for instance, is an upper-class lout, while Magwitch, a persecuted convict,
has a deep inner worth.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the novel’s treatment of social class is
that the class system it portrays is based on the post-Industrial Revolution model of Victorian
England. Dickens generally ignores the nobility and the hereditary aristocracy in favor of
characters whose fortunes have been earned through commerce. Even Miss Havisham’s family
fortune was made through the brewery that is still connected to her manor. In this way, by
connecting the theme of social class to the idea of work and self-advancement, Dickens subtly
reinforces the novel’s overarching theme of ambition and self-improvement.

16.2.4 Crime, Guilt, and Innocence
The theme of crime, guilt, and innocence is explored throughout the novel largely through the
characters of the convicts and the criminal lawyer Jaggers. From the handcuffs Joe mends at
the smithy to the gallows at the prison in London, the imagery of crime and criminal justice
pervades the book, becoming an important symbol of Pip’s inner struggle to reconcile his own
inner moral conscience with the institutional justice system. In general, just as social class
becomes a superficial standard of value that Pip must learn to look beyond in finding a better
way to live his life, the external trappings of the criminal justice system (police, courts, jails,
etc.) become a superficial standard of morality that Pip must learn to look beyond to trust his
inner conscience. Magwitch, for instance, frightens Pip at first simply because he is a convict,
and Pip feels guilty for helping him because he is afraid of the police. By the end of the book,
however, Pip has discovered Magwitch’s inner nobility, and is able to disregard his external
status as a criminal. Prompted by his conscience, he helps Magwitch to evade the law and the
police. As Pip has learned to trust his conscience and to value Magwitch’s inner character, he
has replaced an external standard of value with an internal one.

16.2.5 Style of Great Expectations

Dickens has shaped Great Expectations on the lines of the Bildungsroman genre, which closely
follows the inner growth of a protagonist from his childhood to middle age. In many respects,
it contains themes and emotions directly related to the author’s experience. However, the
fictional nature of the story allows Pip to relate incidents and events that are similar to
sensitive spots in Dickens’ own life without becoming too deeply involved in the narration
himself. For instance, the description of Pip’s childhood has some affinity with Dickens own
life. Also, Estella seems directly inspired from Maria Beadwell, a lady whom Dickens loved;
Beadwell snubbed him coldly because of his low social status.
Great Expectations boasts a carefully designed structure in three emergent stages. The simplicity
of childhood memories in stage one is reflected in the generally direct narrative style. In
contrast, the texture of stage three is much more complex, because as the action accelerates,
substantial information about the histories of Magwitch, Compeyson, Miss Havisham and
Estella are revealed.
Great Expectations is a rich text illustrative of Dickens’ gift for realistic and dramatic speech.
The author carefully studied the mannerisms of people and reported them in the depictions
of his characters. Joe is a good example. The speech patterns he uses characterize him well and

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