Great Expectations Chapter 14 Summary

  • Pip is sad. He hates his home, because it reminds him of how far away he's from the wealth and privilege of Satis House.
  • (Seriously, Pip, we think you're better off.)
  • He feels like a black cloud has settled just above his head, following him wherever he goes and, like a big, heavy curtain, has barred him from continuing on the path toward becoming a gentleman.
  • Sometimes, he looks at the marshes near his house, and he thinks that they're like a metaphor for his own future. They're flat, low, dark, misty, and they lead only to the ocean.
  • So many analogies!
  • Narrator Pip interjects, telling us that his one consolation in life is that he never told Joe how he felt.
  • When Pip is working in the forge at night, he and Joe will often sing "Old Clem," and Pip remembers singing the very same song with Estella and Miss Havisham.
  • Often, he imagines Estella looking in at him from outside of the smithy. How embarrassing!