Miss Havisham is the representation of a ‘faded spectre’. The failed effects of nineteenth centaury chauvinism amalgamating with the product of a rigid society with definite and pre-destined roles for women, in which Miss Havisham fits none. The figure confined to a ‘dark chair’ is in fact a personification of the themes, which are predominantly based on hatred, betrayal, and morality and criminality.
Satis House is an eerie backdrop to a sinister plot. Satis meaning enough is a description of not only the house but its residents, enough being its primary concern, so much so that they never leave because they do not need to as they have enough. It is here ‘through a side door’, along ‘more passages’ and ‘up a staircase’ that the reader is introduced to Miss Havisham. The tension created by Dickens in preparation to meet Miss Havisham has the reader taken on a psychological maze. Thus, her character having a profound negative effect, on the reader, and in turn revealing that Dickens associates physical landscape with personality. Linking people and their possessions. It is therefore intended that when Pip meets the ‘strangest lady’ he ‘has ever seen’, she is, although ‘dressed in rich materials’ symbolising death and decay. This is shown through sinister curator ship in the room which houses objects that seem as though they have lost their ‘lustre’. This is made evident by comments from the narrative voice. The continuous elements of surprise and urgency from a young boy, which describe surroundings as ‘faded and yellow’ with a pernickety sense of realism. Although Pip mentions that Miss Havisham had ‘but one shoe on’ and that the other was ‘on the table near her hand’ the reader gages that Pip does not connect this with its meaning of death. Creating a false sense of security for Pip but a sense of sympathy from the reader. The fairy tale element to Great Expectations is immense. Miss Havisham is portrayed not only as the wicked stepmother but also as the vulnerable princess. The way in which she is banished to a cold, desolate place where natural sunlight is forbidden reveals the loneliness embedded in her soul, which is then churned into hatred and bitterness, this shows that her two alter egos are battling each other. The instability of Miss Havisham’s psyche is often shown through her speech. The way in which she chooses to balance her sentences may account for the inner workings of her mind. This may show that she feels unbalanced and sharp; therefore, by balancing her sentences she is almost rounding herself and making herself smoother. The way in which Miss Havisham uses speech reflects upon her motives, she has a high-pitched croaky voice pitch and speaks in Standard English. The volume in which she speaks is loud although she uses stage whispers, which add to a conspiratorial element of her character.
