Great Expectations is Charles Dickens’s
thirteenth novel and it is his second novel which is fully narrated in the
first person. It is a bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel) and a classic work of
Victorian Literature. Therefore, we can encounter
plenty of Victorian Age elements in the book.
At the beginning
of the book, we encounter with a low class family. They live in a village among
marshes. Mr. Joe is a blacksmith and his wife (the sister of Pip) is a typical
Victorian low-class family housewife. Then, we encounter with high class, well
dressed, well educated women like Miss Havisham and Estella. These two
different families are also the signals of the existence of social classes in
the society. Estella and other women in Pip’s life in London represent the
typical high class Victorian women. These are examples of social classes in
Victorian Age.
In addition to
these, Pip’s early impressions about London remind us the effects of Industrial
Revolution and immigration. When he comes to London, he is amazed and
displeased with the unbelievable crowd and awful smell. Furthermore, we can see
Victorian architecture and Victorian houses in the book. For instance; Satis
House, Wemmick’s House which tell us the taste of architecture of those days.
These are all elements of Victorian age, however, we cannot see some of
important elements of Victorian Age such as; child labor, prostitution,
colonialism in Great Expectations.
The novel’s main
themes are ambition and self-improvement, and social class. Pip’s desire for self-improvement
is the main source of the novel title, because he believes in the possibility
of advancement in his life, so we can say that he has “great expectations”
about his future.
We see ambition
and self-improvement in three forms in the novel. These are moral, social and
educational improvements. These improvement motivate Pip’s behaviour thorought
the novel. Firstly, when he acts immorally, he feels bad. This situation
triggers him to act better in the future. Secondly, Pip desires social
self-improvement. When he is in love with Estella, he wants to become a member
of her social class. Therefore, he has fantasies of becoming a gentleman.
Thirdly, Pip desires educational improvement. A good education is a requirement
for him, because he wants to be a gentlman. In addition to this, Estella is a
well-educated women and he wants to marry with her.
Another main
theme of the novel is social class. Great
Expectations shows different social classes of the Victorian Age. During
the novel, Pip becomes involved with a broad range of classes, such as;
criminal people like Magwitch, poor
people like Mr. Joe, and rich people
like Miss Havisham.
The novel has
also some symbols. Dickens assign different meanings to some object. For
instance; Miss Havisham’s wedding dress ironically symbolizes death. It is
ironic, because a wedding dress reminds us a happy life. However, Miss Havisham
is refused on her wedding day and she loses her hope for life. The wedding
feast symbolizes Miss Havisham’s past. The stopped clocks in the Satis House
symbolize Miss Havisham’s refusing to change anything. She does not want to
step somewhere from his wedding day. Furthermore, Miss Havisham’s garden is not
a green garden. There are weeds and wild plants. This ruined garden symbolizes
the ruin of Miss Havisham’s life. We can see elements of Victorian Period in
these symbols.
Consequently, we
can find tracks of Victorian England’s society and class system in Great Expectations. There are criminals,
poor and rich people. In addition to this, poor people cannot reach a good
education opportunity in Victorian Age and we can see this situation in the
novel. However, rich people have plenty of opportunity in the novel. Moreover,
Rich and poor people do not equal under the law, so we can say that there was a
corruption in law system in Victorian Period. Furthermore, there was a gloomy
atmosphere in Victorian Era and we can see this gloomy atmosphere as an element
in the novel and symbols also prove the gloomy atmosphere. Shortly, Charles Dickens tells us Victorian
England in the Great Expectations.
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