Phase 2 Review – Part 2

 Herbert and Pip go to see Mr. Wopsle perform in Hamlet - turns out to be a horrible piece of theater, but humorous at the same time  They invite Wopsle home for dinner and listen to him rave about his performance

 Pip receives a letter from Estella stating that she is coming to London  She asks if Pip will meet her at her carriage

 While waiting for Estella, Pip meets Wemmick who is on his way to Newgate prison to conduct some business  The prisoners are warm and friendly to Wemmick - they even offer to send him presents before their executions

 As Pip returns to meet Estella, he wonders why/how situations involving prisoners have always found their way into his life  He feels his visit to Newgate Prison has stained him once again  It is likely that these experiences with criminals will not end here  As Pip sees Estella in her approaching carriage, he once again sees the familiar quality to her face - again, he cannot place it

 Estella is to go on to Richmond, accompanied by Pip  They sit in a nearby café as they wait for the outgoing coach  Estella is going to be educated by a wealthy woman in Richmond who has but a single daughter  Estella tells Pip that Miss Havisham's relatives hate him because they believe Miss Havisham is his benefactor  They are always spouting jealous gossip  Estella doesn't think it has tarnished Pip's reputation in Miss Havisham's eyes  The carriage arrives and they head for Richmond  As they talk, Pip believes that they would be blissfully happy together  This contrasts the fact that whenever he is with her, he is always miserable

 Pip's conscience begins to bother him  with respect to Joe and Biddy who he continues to ignore  also feels guilty for leading Herbert into a life of debt - Herbert and Pip lead lives based on dinners, drinks, and show THEME  Shows the emptiness he feels with being a gentleman (money/status cannot buy happiness)

 Although they “check their affairs” by shuffling papers and bills, neither one really knows how in debt they actually are  They end up joining a men's club called “Finches of the Grove”  They meet over dinner, get drunk, and argue  Pip doesn't even respect the group enough to introduce the members' names  Pip has chosen a life that alienates himself from the people he loves, and even alienates him from his true self

 A letter arrives announcing the death of Mrs. Joe Gargery  Pip returns home to attend the funeral  Turns out to be a ridiculous affair put on by Trabb and made worse by Pumblechook and the Hubbles

 Later Joe and Pip sit around the fire like times of old  Here they are comfortable together, unlike their meeting in London  Pip finds out that before his sister died, she put her head on Joe and said, “Joe…Pardon…Pip.”

 Biddy and Pip go for a walk and Pip asks what she will do now  Biddy is going to open her own school  She then insinuates that Pip will not return as soon as he promises  Talking to Biddy is like Pip is having a conversation with his own conscience - he knows she is right  It seems like Biddy knows Pip better than he knows himself  Pip leaves feeling insulted

 Pip “comes of age” - he turns twenty-one  He is hoping that his benefactor will make him/herself known  Jaggers makes an appointment with him for that evening, so Pip thinks he'll be learning the identity of his benefactor

 Jaggers reveals nothing, but does say that he doesn't know when his benefactor will choose to reveal him/herself  The meeting was to tell Pip that he is now in charge if his own stipend, which is now set at five hundred pounds a year  A pattern is forming - Pip's expectations are constantly being crushed…in addition Pip is continually dealing with his feelings of guilt and shame

 Jaggers, Pip, and Herbert dine at Barnards Inn  After Jaggers leaves, Herbert expresses his thoughts about Jaggers, which are shared by Pip; any conversation with Jaggers makes them feel like they're hiding something  Whenever they are with him they feel as if they've committed a crime that they are not even aware of

 Pip goes to Wemmick's castle and is introduced to Miss Skiffins  Pip asks advice about how to anonymously give Herbert some of his yearly stipend (one hundred pounds a year)  With help from Miss Skiffin's brother, who is in finance, Wemmick and Pip put together a plan whereby Herbert will be given a job with a young merchant  Interesting since in the previous chapter, in response to this same question at Jaggers' office, Wemmick said giving money to help a friend is like throwing money in the Thames  Again points out the duplicity of Wemmick in and out of the work place

 Pip dedicates this chapter to Estella  “I suffered every kind and degree of torture that Estella could cause me.”  A number of times, Pip accompanies Estella on visits to Miss Havisham  Miss Havisham wants to hear about all the hearts that Estella has broken  Pip thinks this means that when she is through wreaking havoc on the male gender, the two of them will be given to each other by Miss Havisham as a reward  It is because of dreams like this that Pip may in a great part be responsible for the torture that he brings on himself

 Miss Havisham's plan to raised Estella to be loveless seems to backfire when Pip witnesses and argument between the two of them  The basis of the argument is that Miss Havisham has moments when she needs to be loved and appreciated by Estella, but Estella is incapable of love and cannot give affections to even her adoptive mother  Miss Havisham did her job too well

 Through hanging out with the “Finches of the Grove,” Pip finds out that Drummle has begun to court Estella  Even though he knows that Estella treats men badly, he is upset that she has begun seeing the most repulsive of Pip's acquaintances

 Pip turns 23 and seems to be doing nothing with his life  He is no longer tutored by Mr. Pocket  Tries a few occupations, but doesn't stick to any of them  Spends a lot of time reading

 A rough, sea worn man of 60 comes to Pip's home one stormy night  Pip invites him in and later realizes he is his convict that he fed in the marshes when he was a child  He reveals himself as Pip's benefactor  He's been living in Australia all these years making money as a sheep herder  Since the day Pip helped him, he swore that every cent he earned would go to Pip

 Pip is HORRIFIED!  All of his expectations are demolished  He has been living his life off the hard workings of a convict  IRONY - the convict wanted to make Pip a gentleman, but Pip has become much less of a noble “gentleman” than when he was a child; he has only made a mess of his life

 There is no plan by Miss Havisham to make Pip rich and happy with Estella  Pip reacts with anger towards Miss Havisham, who used him deliberately  Is then angry with himself for the way he has treated others (Biddy/Joe)  He saw Joe as common and low class; all the while he was being supported by someone of the lowest class - a convict

 The convict tells Pip that he has risked his life to come see him - if he is discovered in England, he will be executed  Pip gives the convict Herbert's empty bed and sits by the fire by himself, pondering his miserable position  Pip is totally thankless to the convict, who has shown him nothing but kindness  He has shown Pip more kindness than Miss Havisham ever has!!!

Great Books: Great Expectations. Discovery Channel School unitedstreaming. 17 July 2008