A moral gentleman would be hard working, you would expect him to have friends, not be afraid to admit his wrongs, and be respected and respectful. Joe fits this perfectly, but because he is in the Victorian era, he isn’t classed as a gentleman. Affluence is unimportant for a moral gentleman; the importance is how you treat and respect others. Victorian gentlemen seems to be more about themselves or rather what is around themselves, like wealth; moral gentlemen are more about their inner qualities, personality and the way they behave.
The expectations of a moral gentleman are more naturally come by; the society gentleman gains unnatural qualities; so what I’m trying to say is the moral gentleman comes from within a person, a person who becomes a society gentleman is selfish because he wishes to gain. The arrogant behaviour seems to come naturally for a society gentleman, or for a person who is in contact with one.
Herbert and his father Matthew fit some of both precepts, they are well-educated, quite wealthy, work for their living, and have friends. Herbert is caring, “devoted the day to attending to me”, he tends Pips wounds, and Pip describes him as “kindest of nurses.” Herbert is also a moral gentleman; Pip took his time in realising that he should have copied his example instead of Drummle’s.
Before Pip went to London he had been to, a wealthy society lady, Miss Havisham’s house many time, he met a girl named Estella who called him “coarse” and “common”, this is the starting point to Pip’s intensions of being a gentleman. Pip tells Biddy he wants to be a gentleman because of Estella “I want to be a gentleman on her account”. After meeting people of higher social status he has began to not appreciate his home, it also shows how weak he is, his judgement influenced by words. Pip meets a lawyer called Mr. Jaggers, who tells him of an unknown benefactor to Pip. Pip’s dreams of being a gentleman had finally come true.
When he goes to London he meets people like Drummle; influencing him all along; Pip copies Drummle’s example even though he dislikes him. He is educated on how to be a gentleman, he isn’t taught to be snobbish and arrogant, that seems to come naturally without thinking. Even before Pip knew of his benefactor, he thought he was better than Joe and Biddy, because of his relationship with Miss Havisham and Estella. “If I were to remove Joe into a higher sphere” he is saying that Joe is in a lower sphere to him, he just naturally thinks that he is better than Joe, without thinking.
Joe tries hard not to disappoint Pip when he meets him in London; firstly by calling him “sir” and speaking in a posh fashion, and trying to use more impressive words such as “lucid exposition”, earlier in the book he wouldn’t try to be so complicated. Joe isn’t afraid to admit his wrongs or to say how he feels “If there has been any fault at all to-day, it’s mine.” Although he hasn’t done anything wrong, he still takes whatever blame. Joe tells Pip they shouldn’t be together “You and me is not two figures to be together in London”; he can say that Pip is in a higher class than him, he has the ability to say that, if it were Pip he would think it but not say it.
Even though Joe has changed himself for Pip, he isn’t too pleased with Joe coming to London, “Not with pleasure”. Pip is afraid to reveal him to Drummle “I had the sharpest sensitiveness as to his being seen by Drummle”. He isn’t afraid to let Herbert to meet Joe, but he is very sensitive towards Drummle, because he thinks Drummle is of a higher status to Herbert; he thinks it will destroy his image, which he never had in the first place.
When Orlick attempts to kill Pip, he (Pip) looks back on things, one of which are his thoughts about Biddy and Joe “Joe and Biddy would never know how sorry I had been that night”; he describes his suffering as “agony”. Pip is truly changing for the better, he regrets not being able to say sorry, he is actually suffering because he won’t have a chance to apologise, he’s thinking about other people. If this were to happen earlier in his life he would be thinking of himself and how unlucky he is.
Pip prays for Magwitch to be forgiven when he dies “O Lord, be merciful to him a sinner!” Pip knows he has done wrong before, and wants him to be forgiven by God; he shows his feelings towards Magwitch, a person other than himself.
Pip was in debt after Magwitch’s death “Joe had paid it, and the receipt was in his name.” Joe isn’t a rich man, but still paid off Pip’s debt out of his savings, it shows how much Pip means to him; at this point Pip sees Joes love and is grateful.
Pip shows that he has a heart of kindness “I would willingly have taken Herbert’s expenses on myself.” It shows that his friends are worth something to him, enough so that he would pay for him.
Pip has the intension of marrying Biddy, but finds out that she is marrying Joe; instead of feeling unhappy and jealous he is happy for them “Joe, you have the best wife in the whole world”, “you have the best husband in the whole world”. A younger Pip wouldn’t even of thought about marrying Biddy, and if he did he would of thrown an angry face and run away. Joe and Biddy have always showed respect for Pip, he now shows respect for them.
Pip decides to work with Herbert in Cairo “ I work pretty hard for a sufficient living, and therefore – Yes, I do well!” Pip has learned to work hard and is content of his living. He says he works hard for a sufficient living and because of that he is doing well; from this you can see Pip has changed a lot, he doesn’t have high expectations for standards anymore, he feels that his life is good enough.
Pip as the narrator has learnt new things, and understands life “our worst weaknesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.” So to not look bad in front of others you hide things, Pip realises what he has done or thought wrong in the past.
In the end Pip is a moral gentleman, he appreciates other people and their moral. Pip isn’t afraid to admit things “it is a miserable thing to feel ashamed of home”; throughout the book he has demonstrated this, the way he describes and explains is more against his image than for it. Pip never was a society gentleman, he lacked a wealthy background, and he was trying to be something he isn’t. Pip has reached the expectations of a moral gentleman; he is respected and respectful, hard working, not afraid to admit his wrongs, and he has friend.
