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Great Expectations Society and Class Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
- Pip
- >
I had heard of Miss Havisham up town – everybody for miles round, had heard of Miss Havisham up town – as an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers, and who led a life of seclusion. (1.7.80)
Pip’s hometown is socially stratified. He lives in the "village," and Miss Havisham lives "up town." Apart from reminding us of a certain Billy Joel song, this delineation between the wealthy and working class in Kent is palpable and is reinforced by the gate that guards Miss Havisham’s decaying riches. Early on, we see how great privilege is closely linked to loneliness.
- Pip
- >
I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too. (1.8.92)
Pip takes all his cues from Joe. He learns how to interact with the world through his brother-in-law. Here, we see Pip focused on what the he lacks rather than what he has. His introduction to "society" makes him fully aware of the absence of things. Pip wants to belong to Miss Havisham’s world, but he does not have the key to unlock it.
- Pip
- >
I took the opportunity of being alone in the court-yard, to look at my coarse hands and my common boots. (1.8.92)
It’s like we’re in the middle of a child psychology experiment. When Pip is alone, he examines the characteristics he’s always possessed, but with the new frame and the new backdrop of Miss Havisham’s world, these characteristics take on a whole new meaning. He becomes self-aware through his introduction to society.
