Great Expectations

Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens, written in 1860 and published in book form in England and America in 1861. Born in Kent in the year of 1812, Charles Dickens lived with his seven brothers and sisters, father, John Dickens, and his mother. For nine years they lived in Kent, then moved to London, where at the age of 12, Dicken's father, John, was taken to debtor's prison. His mother moved the family into the prison to live alongside their father, all apart from Charles. His mother found him work in a blacking warehouse, labelling bottles with other children. This part of Dicken's life was extremely traumatising for the young boy, not only living alone, but the job itself he considered himself too good for. When his father was released from prison, Charles went to school, eventually becoming a law clerk, followed by a court reporter, then his most famous position as a novelist. At the age of 25, he released his first novel, 'The Pickwick Papers', which led him to become one of Britain's most famous authors, not only in England but around the world. 'Great Expectations' contains many events that mirror the early years of Dickens life, such as the narrator 'Pip', who works a job that he considers himself too good for, as well as 'Wemmick' who is a law clerk. Dickens provides an insight on his own life through these characters, which brings the story to life, as well as making the novel a much more personal experience for the reader. 

Title page of Vol. 1 of first edition, July 1861
Charles Dickens

The novel is set in the early Victorian era, a time where the Industrial Revolution had made enormous changes to the social landscape, which led to manufacturers and capitalists developing huge fortunes. The divide between rich and poor was wider than it had been in previous times, and was no longer defined indefinitely by birth. Many people left their rural hometowns in search for opportunities in the city, which led to Victorian London being very busy. The upper class ladies and gentlemen were expected to have had a thorough education, behave accordingly. This defined the novel, and make themselves known through the setting, characters and narration. 'Pip' is a character that moves from the rural countryside to the big city, in search for an opportunity to become a true gentleman, making an extreme change to his social status. Pip is the protagonist in the  novel, and the story follows his journey becoming a gentlemen with the financial support of an unknown benefactor, whom he believes in Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham is a ghostly woman, whose life revolves around one single event; being jilted at the alter by her fiancé whom she was devoted to. In the time she has mourned her loss, she adopts a young child Estella, who she teaches to be cold-hearted, with no emotional bond to men. Pip is introduced to Estella, falls in love with her, and the story follows his journey to gain the heart of Estella, and discover his unknown benefactor. Estella is seen as Dicken's first truly believable woman character, showing a true bitterness for the social class she lies in. Alongside Estella and Pip is the other main character of the novel, Miss Havisham. It is Miss Havisham and Estella that I will be focusing on especially through this unit, developing my own idea of their characterisation, following up to my own creation of their looks. The novel was greatly received by many, leading to numerous TV and Film adaptations have been made, to continue telling the story through time. This has included 17 TV and Film adaptations, and 7 theatrical adaptations. The most recent TV and Film adaptation was in 2012, directed by Mike Newell, and stars Helena Bonham-Carter as Miss Havisham and Jeremy Irvine as Pip. 




(SparkNotes, 'Great Expectations:Context' (online), [viewed 28th January 2015], available from: SparkNotes.)