Magwitch is a convict, but Dickens treats him sympathetically because laws in Victorian England were harsh, as was life for the poor. In those times you could be sent away to Australia on a boat, just simply for being related to a criminal, even if you haven’t committed a crime yourself. They believed by doing this there would be no more crime in England, but obviously this was not true. For all we know Magwitch may not have even committed a crime or maybe he committed a small crime, but due to the harsh laws, his punishment is far more severe.
Magwitch speaks in a peculiar distinctive way, which has the effect of creating a clear impression of his character. He speaks in colloquial language and when talking to Pip, there is a large contrast. There is a lot of use of phonetics as in “what fat cheeks you ha’ got” and “Darn me if I couldn’t eat ‘em”. This tells us that Magwitch is not very well educated.
The overall effect is that we have sympathy for Magwitch and really he is not a character for us to fear, despite his threatening manner towards Pip.
As Pip enters Miss Havisham’s room he comments that it is well lit, but that ‘No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it’. It is a dressing room filled with rich materials and objects. Through the description of what Miss Havisham is wearing it becomes clear the she is dressed as a bride and the puzzle pieces together.
The description of Miss Havisham herself mirrors her surroundings. At first it seems that she is a wonderfully rich lady surrounded by these rich and beautiful things, but the truth of it is that everything about her is dead and decaying. What had once been white ‘had lost it’s lustre, and was faded and yellow’, as was Miss Havisham’s clothing. This conveys quite an eerie mood, and seems that this woman is quite mad.
It becomes apparent that she has been jilted on her wedding day. This knowledge has the effect of evoking sympathy. In those days marriage was more important to women. In Victorian England, for the upper class, marriage was a social duty. But although we feel sorry for Miss Havisham, there is more sympathy for Pip, who is humiliated by her eccentric behaviour. It is sad that she is suffering so much with a broken heart but it seems she is quite intent on revenge against the opposite sex, especially when she tells Estella she can break Pip’s heart. I think that is quite a spiteful comment.
Miss Havisham speaks to Pip with authority, as one who is used to being obeyed. She gives commands to Pip such as “play, play, play!” “Call Estella,” and “You shall go soon. Play the game out.” Her tone is very demanding and it is obvious that nobody ever ignores her orders.
The reader feels pity for Miss Havisham, mainly for the fact that being stood-up at her wedding caused her to become such a bitter old lady. Also that she could not carry on with her life and seems to have lost the will to live. She cannot bear the thought of time passing and has stopped all the clocks and left everything as it is. Obviously she is very ill. But while we feel sympathy for her, we are angry because she is so unkind to Pip.
Wemmick’s home is one of Dickens’ most memorable creations. The house is a small cottage and leading to the garden there is a drawbridge, with which Wemmick is very proud of. There is a gun that fires at nine o’clock every night. At the back there are animals and a patch where he grows cucumbers. Wemmick is very proud of his home and says of himself “I am my own engineer, and my own plumber, and my own gardener, and my own Jack of all Trades.” But he also mentions that Pip is the first person he has shown his home to and that he prefers to keep his work and his home life separate.
Wemmick is a clerk working in and around Newgate prison. Prisons were even nastier in those days and it is clear why Wemmick likes to forget about work when he arrives home. It is also clear from how prisons were in Victorian England, why Magwitch gave up Estella for adoption so as to make sure it’s a place she never ends up.
“Oh yes,” said Wemmick. “I have got hold of it, a bit at a time. It’s freehold, by George!” Wemmick’s excitable manner of speaking serves to emphasise the impression we have of a kind but highly-strung man who is eager to please. A lot of his sentences end with exclamation marks, as he is very enthusiastic about everything. His is of a lower-class to Pip and you can tell from the friendly manner he speaks rather than the formal way everyone in the upper class does. Wemmick is very good-natured. He lives with his old father and you can tell he loves him very much. From the man working at a prison to a man looking after his father at home, he is very different in comparison.
Wemmick is not a central character in the novel, but memorable because he is one of the few truly friendly and good-natured people that you come across in the book. He’s definitely a character for everybody to like and perhaps remember as their favourite, plus he and his father bring some good humour to the novel.
Overall, in terms of creating memorable characters, Dickens is probably the best writer ever. He gives his characters such personality that you could never forget them.
