His narration affects the reader by being in his position; we see everything new because he does, because it’s being told through Pip’s eyes. For example the very descriptive language, e.g. “found myself in pretty large room, well-lighted with wax candles. No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it”. Lists of what lies on the table, “gloves and some flowers and a prayer book, all confusedly heaped about the looking glass.” If it weren’t all new to him, he wouldn’t take in every little detail and take pictures in his mind of all the brand new things he sees.
If this novel was written in the third person, it would change everything. The reader would instantly become distant and only see the facts and the dialogue of the scenes. The first person means we are Pip and everything he does we can imagine, and we feel his emotion. If the narration was in the third person our feelings towards Miss Havisham would be more sympathetic. This is because we would see her for what’s happened to her, rather than a pale scary lady in an old wedding dress which is the impression we get through Pip’s eyes because he’s in the situation, right in the middle of it and we get the information exactly how he sees and feels it. For example “sat the strangest lady I have ever seen or ever will see.” We get the true perspective of how things are, instead of just the facts with no atmosphere, emotion or suspense. The reader at this point may feel scared for Pip, to fear for his safety and to feel his joy and amazement. It would be mixed feelings for the reader at this point, as the rush of emotion is too much for Pip to put into perspective.
From the first paragraph, we learn about Miss Havisham’s dressing room, it’s lighting and its most noticeable objects, such as “wax candles” or “gilded looking glass”. We learn about how fine and strange this woman is. We learn all this through Dickens’s use of punctuation and the sentence lengths. His use of imagery is extremely strong for example “in an arm-chair, with an elbow resting on the table and her head leaning on that hand” this means that the whole room is described to us without a tiny detail being left behind, so nothing is left to our imaginations, from one paragraph we know the room and can picture it well in our heads. Dickens choice of setting also tells us a lot about the state in which Miss Havisham is in, the objects are almost symbolic and the atmosphere spills her emotion all over the room. The wax candles could represent her life, and how it’s just clinging on by a spark, the gilded looking glass could symbolise her beauty and her hopes, the emotions that fill the room create a dark, old and exhausted atmosphere in which we can read how she feels.
In the second paragraph, we learn more about Miss Havisham’s appearance. We learn that the colour of her dress is white and the veil that coordinates with her dress is also white. Her shoes are white and her hair is white. We learn that jewels sparkle from her neck and her hands and there’s mess all around her room. We learn that things are very unorganised and she’s’ left everything how it was on the day on which her heart was broken. Pip describes what lies on her dressing table and it’s all unorganised and clustered. It makes the reader wonder whether she leaves everything like it is on purpose to remind her of her wedding day or if she’s just too broken-hearted to bring herself to pack it away or tidy up. We learn all this through Dickens use of repetition and long lists of adjectives. For example “All of white. Her shoes were white and she had a long white veil… - …but her hair was white” A list of adjectives and nouns taken from the novel to support my statement is “her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief and gloves, and some flowers and a prayer book.”
The very descriptive sentences mean we don’t need to use our thoughts to interpret the story, it’s all been done for us and everything we know is the truth because it’s all being said from a young mind. Young minds see and say things exactly how they are no matter what their thoughts may be. They do not have any sense of precaution or tact. Dickens has used the fact that children are so barefaced and shameless to tell the reader that Pip is still young and therefore can say everything exactly how he sees it. If he didn’t do this, we may not see Miss Havisham for who she really is and learn about her and her mannerisms.
We also learn in this paragraph that the bride is no what she should be when Dickens writes, “She had not quite finished dressing …-… one shoe on” He makes it seem like the image of the bride is not complete and there is therefore something not quite right.
In the third paragraph we learn that Miss Havisham is ‘dead’ inside and has withered with age. We learn this by the imagery that Dickens uses very strongly here. For example, when Pip is describing everything in his view he says “Which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow.” This suggests to the reader that things have been left to decay and have been there where they are for quite some time. It suggests that she herself is old too. To show that Miss Havisham is “dead” inside, Dickens has used imagery and contrast and comparison. He writes “Had withered like the dress and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes.” The words “sunken” and “brightness” contrast each other and he’s comparing her to her surroundings and their conditions. He also writes, “Had shrunk to skin and bone.”
To illustrate the deadness of Miss Havisham inside, Dickens has used an experience of Pips to compare it to. This reinforces the image of her into the readers mind. He writes “a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress, that had been dug out of a vault under the church pavement. Now waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.” This suggests that the similarities between a skeleton in a rich dress and Miss Havisham are of many and affects the reader’s image of her. We learn that she is old and frail, and just skin and bone with no feelings. Dickens use of setting also increases the image the reader receives for Miss Havisham, although it compliments her and her lifestyle, with the old and tired furniture and the chaotic, unorganised ornaments, it also teaches us that there is something not normal about this woman and there is something under the surface that makes her behave in this manner.
In the final paragraph we learn more about Miss Havisham then we do in any other. There is dialogue and from this we learn she is actually broken hearted, she admits it, and we learn she’s dramatic and that she intimidates Pip. We learn through Dickens use of punctuation. For example “Come-to play” Suggests that Pip is scared of Miss Havisham, by the pausing in his speech. The sentence lengths, which Dickens has used, also teach us about Miss Havisham. The short ones are Pip’s speech, indicating his fear and anxiety. The long ones are hers and are dramatic. For example “You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?” The use of repetition here also proposes that Miss Havisham is dramatic and not what she should be. For example “stopped at twenty minutes to nine and that a clock in the room had stopped at twenty minutes to nine.” At the end of this paragraph, Dickens choice of language is strong and savage. She touches her heart and says “Broken” which suggests that she’s either a very lonely old lady and feels the need to discuss her feelings with a young boy or she is indeed extremely hurt and just feels the need to talk to somebody. Dickens writes “with a weird smile that had a kind of boast in it…-…and slowly she took them away as if they were heavy.” The words are strong and hard and suggest she is very dramatic.
To conclude Dickens makes the reader feel interested in Miss Havisham, they may feel a little off-putted or even scared by her at first, the reader would probably feel intrigued and slightly confused by her behaviour. By the end of the story however, our feelings probably would have changed and become more sympathetic towards her as her plans for revenge on all men collapses because she loses her only chance to carry it out, this being Estella. Miss Havisham out of all the things she is, is probably the interesting character of Great Expectations. Already by the first few paragraphs the reader wants to know more about her and her past. She’s a character no one would ever forget if they met her. What also makes her interesting is the way she took to behaving once she was humiliated and devastated. She thinks she is covering her hatred, pain and heart break well but in reality it is written all over her and her possessions. She is also a very realistic character who Dickens has made convincing and can be real. The reader can believe in her as a character. Had a female written this novel, her representation of Miss Havisham would have been very different and she probably would have been more violent, angry and less calm. She would have shown her different sides and the real emotion in her that lies deep within her heart. I think this because I have read Carol Ann Duffy’s poem about Miss Havisham entitled “Havisham” It shows her anger and her pain instead of the way Dickens presents her as a mellow, calm character.