Dickens Presentation of Female Characters in Great Expectations
Charles Dickens' Great Expectations was first serialised in 1861 in the journal 'All Around the World' during the Victorian period. During this time women were almost regarded as second class, even though the reigning queen had been on the throne for fourteen years. On the contrary, the Queen herself was quite masculine thinking it quite 'improper' that women should have the same rights as men. No women could vote, all major decisions were made by men and there were no important female political figures except for the queen herself, who was opposed to 'votes for women'. Women were beginning to show signs of demand equality.
Dickens created a lot of public awareness in his writings about the condition England was in. He liked to give the message 'If men would behave decently the world would be decent'. He became very interested in socialist ideas from a young age and wrote novels for several years, including a novel based on his own life and the troubles he had.
Great Expectations tells the story of orphan Pip, living with his bitter, older sister. Throughout the novel he encounters an escaped convict only then to be summoned by the wicked and cold Miss Havisham and her beautiful niece Estella. On top of this he is suddenly endowed with the generosity of a mysterious benefactor.
Dickens uses physical appearance to convey his female characteristics. It was traditionally thought at the time, if a woman and 'round and curvy' then she was a very warm person but if she was bony and skinny she would be an unpleasant and not very nice woman. There are several examples of this throughout the novel. He wanted to show what a horrible woman Mrs Joe Gargery was. So he described her as being: "not a good looking woman" and "tall and bony". Both of these don't make her sound particularly attractive and she is a very cruel person to Pip and Joe Gargery.
Miss Havisham is shown in the same light, "Miss Havisham's grey hair was all adrift upon the ground, among the other bridal wrecks, and was a miserable sight to see". She is always dressed in her old wedding dress and her skin is very pale. Therefore almost giving us the impression, she is a ghost and she died years ago, making her seem like a very peculiar woman. There are many gothic images of Miss Havisham throughout the novel, because Gothic imagery was very popular at the time. She is twisted and evil and this is reflected in her attire and in her home, Satis house. The Clocks in Satis house reflect Miss Havsiham because just like clocks, she has stopped moving on with her life, she is also decaying, physically and mentally, just as the house is. She is only wearing one shoe and hasn't changed her clothes in years. A Victorian reader would think upon first seeing a woman like her, that was crazy or evil and in this case, she is both. We see everything through Pip therefore we relate to him and feel what he does. So, even if Estella is horrible to Pip we can still forgive her because Pip does.
Charles Dickens' Great Expectations was first serialised in 1861 in the journal 'All Around the World' during the Victorian period. During this time women were almost regarded as second class, even though the reigning queen had been on the throne for fourteen years. On the contrary, the Queen herself was quite masculine thinking it quite 'improper' that women should have the same rights as men. No women could vote, all major decisions were made by men and there were no important female political figures except for the queen herself, who was opposed to 'votes for women'. Women were beginning to show signs of demand equality.
Dickens created a lot of public awareness in his writings about the condition England was in. He liked to give the message 'If men would behave decently the world would be decent'. He became very interested in socialist ideas from a young age and wrote novels for several years, including a novel based on his own life and the troubles he had.
Great Expectations tells the story of orphan Pip, living with his bitter, older sister. Throughout the novel he encounters an escaped convict only then to be summoned by the wicked and cold Miss Havisham and her beautiful niece Estella. On top of this he is suddenly endowed with the generosity of a mysterious benefactor.
Dickens uses physical appearance to convey his female characteristics. It was traditionally thought at the time, if a woman and 'round and curvy' then she was a very warm person but if she was bony and skinny she would be an unpleasant and not very nice woman. There are several examples of this throughout the novel. He wanted to show what a horrible woman Mrs Joe Gargery was. So he described her as being: "not a good looking woman" and "tall and bony". Both of these don't make her sound particularly attractive and she is a very cruel person to Pip and Joe Gargery.
Miss Havisham is shown in the same light, "Miss Havisham's grey hair was all adrift upon the ground, among the other bridal wrecks, and was a miserable sight to see". She is always dressed in her old wedding dress and her skin is very pale. Therefore almost giving us the impression, she is a ghost and she died years ago, making her seem like a very peculiar woman. There are many gothic images of Miss Havisham throughout the novel, because Gothic imagery was very popular at the time. She is twisted and evil and this is reflected in her attire and in her home, Satis house. The Clocks in Satis house reflect Miss Havsiham because just like clocks, she has stopped moving on with her life, she is also decaying, physically and mentally, just as the house is. She is only wearing one shoe and hasn't changed her clothes in years. A Victorian reader would think upon first seeing a woman like her, that was crazy or evil and in this case, she is both. We see everything through Pip therefore we relate to him and feel what he does. So, even if Estella is horrible to Pip we can still forgive her because Pip does.
