‘This practical authority confused me very much, by saying I had the arm of a blacksmith. If he could have known how nearly the compliment lost him his pupil, I doubt he would have paid it.’
Joe and Pip’s Relationship when Pip Lives at the Forge
The “Bread Scene”
We first see Joe and Pip together in “Great Expectations”, soon after Pip has encountered the convict, Able Magwitch at the local graveyard. Joe and Pip’s interactions show that Pip and Joe have a very strong social bond. When Mrs Joe Gargery is about to enter the forge and beat Pip with “Tickler”, Joe Says:
“Get behind the door, old chap, and have the jack-towel betwixt you.”
Joe really cares for Pip and his wellbeing, by trying to hide him behind the door. A short while later, Joe and Pip are eating bread:
“It was our evening habit to compare the way we bit through our slices by silently holding them up to each other’s admiration now and then – which stimulated us to new exertions.”
This shows clearly that Joe and Pip get along well together and that they can enjoy a good laugh. This is also emphasised many times throughout the novel with the quote, “What larks!”
When Pip saves his bread for Magwitch by putting it down his leg, Joe is heard to exclaim:
“I say, you know! …Pip old chap! You’ll do yourself a mischief. It’ll stick somewhere. You can’t have chawed it, Pip.”
“You know, Pip …you and me is always friends and I’d be the last to tell upon you, any time. But such a …most oncommon Bolt as that!”
Joe most obviously cares for Pip. Even though they are the best of companions, Joe has to realise when the situation at hand has gone too far and he must take control of it.
As another example of Joe and Pip’s social bonds, Pip writes a short letter to Joe:
“mI deEr JO i opE U r krWite wEll i opE i shAl soN B haBelL 4 2 teeDge U JO aN then wE shOrl b sO glOdd aN wEn i M preNgtd 2 u JO woT larX an blEvE ME inf XN PiP”
This shows how Pip feels towards Joe, and as you can see, Pip feels strongly towards Joe, and wrote him the letter especially even though it is difficult for him. Pip is happy to continue working at the forge as Joe’s apprentice and having fun there. The fact that Pip would want to teach Joe how to write shows, as well, how much Pip feels for Joe.
Joe and Pip’s Relationship when Pip Lives in London
After Pip’s fortune from his mystery benefactor, he goes to London in order to become a gentleman. In the process, though, Pip forgets about Joe and the rest of his family. This is when the social barriers form. When Joe visits Pip in London, Pip is embarrassed and Joe is made to feel worse:
“I heard Joe on the staircase. I knew it was Joe, by his clumsy manner of coming up-stairs – his boots were too big for him – and by the time it took him to read the names on the other floors in the course of his accent.”
Here it is obvious that Pip now looks down on Joe and is criticising his lower-class attributes, such as his lack of reading abilities, his improper accent, and his oversized blacksmith boots.
“I thought he would never would have done wiping his feet, and that I must have gone out to lift him off the mat, but at last he came in.”
Pip now feels very embarrassed by Joe and Joe is feeling awkward because he is embarrassing Pip. Pip and Joe are most definitely beginning to create social barriers.
“‘Joe, how are you, Joe?’
‘Pip, How air you, Pip?’”
The different accents can be identified. Pip has learnt to speak with a gentlemanly accent, yet Joe has kept his country accent.
“He caught both my hands and worked them straight up and down, as if I had been the last-patented Pump”
The use of such a simile in the first person shows us how Pip has been educated to be able to narrate situations like that. Not only that but it shows us that Joe is extremely pleased to see Pip, yet Pip only replies with the comment:
“I am glad to see you, Joe”
When Pip offers to take Joe’s hat, Joe holds it tightly to his chest. It is clear that Joe does not feel welcome, and so giving his hat to Pip would just be an inconvenience if he would just leave minutes afterwards. Later, Pip compares Joe’s hat to a bird’s-nest:
“But Joe, taking it [the hat] up carefully with both hands, like a bird’s-nest”
Much like a previous quote, this shows how Pip has been educated to create such similes. He continues with several metaphors:
“…still with both hands taking great care of the bird’s-nest”
“…Joe, getting the birds-nest under his left arm for the moment and groping in it for an egg with his right.”
When Herbert enters the room with some toast for Joe, Joe says:
“Your Servant, Sir…”
Joe feels it necessary to call Pip by the name “Sir”. This is a definite sign of social barriers. As well, Herbert takes no offence at this, showing that he is more of a true gentle-man, than Pip. Herbert continues to make Joe feel welcome:
“Do you take tea, or coffee, Mr Gargery?”
Herbert makes Joe feel more welcome by referring to him by the polite name of “Mr Gargery” rather that the more common name of Joe. When it is decided that they should drink coffee and Joe looks disappointed, Herbert is willing to change the choice of beverage:
“‘Say tea then,’ said Herbert, pouring it out.”
When later, Joe, Pip and Herbert are having dinner:
“[Joe] with his fork midway between his plate and his mouth …sat so far from the table, and dropped so much more than he ate, and pretended that he hadn’t dropped it; that I was heartily glad when Herbert left us for the city”
It is quite sad, in a way, that Joe is trying so hard to eat like a proper gentleman, although failing. Pip fails to realise that he had the very same problem when he first dined. Herbert was helping him just as he helps Joe, yet Pip is very disappointed in Joe for making him feel embarrassed in front of Herbert. Pip’s selfishness is reflected when Pip says that he was “glad when Herbert left”.
In conclusion, it is certain that Dickens has shown that how living in London and being trained in the art of a city gentleman creates social barriers between Joe and Pip by the fact that Pip is only pretending to be something that he is not. By being given the opportunity to improve his lifestyle as far as wealth is concerned, he has decreased his family and social life dramatically. Maybe it was just not meant to be. Joe and Pip were very happy working together at The Forge and if Pip had not have received the money from Magwitch, life for the family could have carried on as normal. Pip would have continued the family trade and the family, although not exceedingly wealthy, would have been able to live happily. Instead, Pip wasted his wealth and slothfully continued to spend until he ended up in debt. He had not only ruined his social life, but now he had even less money than he would have had living at The Forge. Everything that anyone has is taken for granted until it is taken away, but in this instance, maybe the moral of the story is that you always care about the things you have, until you get more.
