In chapter seven Mrs Joe says about Pip “It’s only hoped that he wont be pompeyed…” meaning that, because he is still only a child, he should not be treated to all the good stuff that adults can receive and that until he gets his apprenticeship with Joe, she intends to keep it that why. This is another example of how Victorians had the attitude that children did not need the same comforts and delights as adults.
The way in which she treats Pip is very violent and aggressive with no respect for his feelings, and you can tell that there is definitely not a mutual friendship and respect for each other as Pip respects Mrs Joe even when she hits him and she tries to get more respect by hitting him, whereas she has no respect for him at all. An example of how much she cares about his feelings is when he comes back from the churchyard and she says “Churchyard! If it weren’t for me you’d have been to the churchyard long ago, and stayed there. Who brought you up by hand?”.
Mrs Joe tries to make Pip appreciate her and she makes it sound as if he owes her his life and he should be grateful, but she makes it sound as if he is nothing but a burden. It is hard to distinguish weather Mrs Joe really does care for Pip or she is just acting like she does to get respect from him and the neighbours as she says “Tell me directly what you’ve been doing to wear me away with fret and worry, or I’d have you out of that corner if you was fifty Pips and he was five hundred Gargery’s.”
Pip’s relationship with Joe is like a friendship. Even though he looks up to Joe as an adult, he feels he is treated like an equal around him and he can talk to him without worry of being put down or beaten. They both has the same problems as each other where Mrs Joe is concerned. The way Mrs Joe would treat Pip she would also treat Joe like that as well because she sees him as weak and unable to stand up for himself when being shouted at. She uses that weakness to her advantage so she can be the dominant one in the household instead of the normal way round where the man would dominate the family.
So Pip feels he has a friend in Joe as they are both up against the same enemy as each other. This brings them closer together and they fight it together. Pip also sees Joe as a larger species of child, as he has the same personality as a child, in his interests when he is with Pip and his co-operation in playing tricks on Mrs Joe and protecting Pip from her.
Joe however can sometimes hold his feelings for Pip back and although he probably thinks of Pip as his own, he would never say it to him. Instead the best comment he could say is Old Chap, rather than other terms of endearment. He tries to convince him that he is like a good friend whereas deep down he considers him one of his own.
Pip treats Joe like a father and with that expects him to be on hand whenever he is in trouble. Joe is uneasy about this though and often tries to push it aside when Pip asks for something.
Tickler is the nickname used for Mrs Joe’s cane which she uses to beat sense and manners into Pip. It is often referred to as a male when it is called “He”. He is used to punish Pip when he has angered Mrs Joe, by going out without telling her or a series of other events which he would do. Mrs Joe is convinced that by beating children and causing harm to them when they do something wrong is the best way to make them learn. It is merely an extension or instrument of Mrs Joe’s anger, dominance and ability to control people by the use of pain.