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In Chapter 8, Pip says< "I thought I overheard, 'Well? You can break his heart.'" In this chapter, he says he thought he heard Miss Havisham "murmuring something that sounded like, 'Break their hearts.'" Since Pip is clearly telling this story from the perspective of his older, grown self, does this mean that he can't remember what she said? Does it mean he could be assuming this is what she said? Definitely a reason to look at the reliability of the narration...
A lot of exposition in this chapter...A LOT! There is also a time leap of almost a year. See if you can find information on what it meant to be apprenticed to a trade during the Victorian Era. What would that generally be like for a young boy like Pip?
What makes Mrs. Joe go on such a rampage when she hears that Joe has been summoned by Miss Havisham? What does this reveal about Mrs. Joe?
6 comments:
I feel that the narration does have some reliability. Miss Havisham obviously had some large even occur in her life in which her heart has been broken. I got the feeling that Havisham is using Estella for her tool of revenge on men. Her heart was broken, so she molds Estella into this being to break hearts and spread around Havisham's pain. Mrs. Joe proves to a very vain character. Her outrage of not being invited to Miss Havisham shows that she holds herself in a higher station than she is actually in. She felt that she was insulted, because she wasn't invited. It shows that she is very haughty and feels superior to many of her peers.
Although we are not told how old Pip is when he is telling this story I do not believe that this is the true reason for his uncertainty in what Miss Havisham told Estella. I think the reason that Pip is unsure of what Miss Havisham said is because he does not want to believe what he heard. Mrs. Joe goes on a rampage because she is the only one who has not been invited to Miss Havisham’s house. Mrs. Joe takes this as an insult believing that in some way this means that Pip and Joe are better than her. This overreaction not only reinforces the idea that Mrs. Joe is very emotional and has a tendency to respond violently it also reveals that Mrs. Joe is a very jealous person.
The narration seems to be reliable, especially since Pip thinks that he heard Miss Havisham saying something to Estella about breaking his heart a couple of times, not just once. As well, based on how Miss Havisham keeps asking Pip from time to time about whether he thinks Estella is pretty or not it seems like she is hoping he will fall in love with her. Also, the whole creepy bridal stuff surrounding Miss Havisham and her house really makes it seem like she probably was supposed to get married and then for some reason did not. This would give good reason to think that she has some want for vengence against men, wanting them to feel the same pain she may have had. From what I could find, it looks like apprenticeship was something that was good for children in the Victorian Era simply because it would bring them a good job that would lead to a better life as an adult. However, it seems apprentices had to work extremely hard, working long hours and doing whatever their master needed of them. This explains why Pip wants to be an apprentice to Joe because he knows Joe is a kind person who would give him the education to have a stable job. I think that Mrs. Joe is just jealous that everyone else in her family gets to go and see Miss Havisham except for her. Seeing as how she looks down on Joe and Pip, she is probably having a hard time thinking that Miss Havisham would want to see them over her. This really just adds on to how much of a self absorbed and unhappy person Mrs. Joes is.
Mrs. Havisham seems like a bit of a shady character. She mentions in the novel that she goes through phases where she fancies odd things, such as watching Pip play. I wonder, though if she brought him over with different ideas in mind. It seems very obvious that Mrs. Havisham was possibly wronged by her fiancee on their would-have-been wedding day. These things that she whispers to Estella and the way she has Estella verbally tear Pip apart while he is silent, make me think she is living out some longed-for revenge through watching Estella hurt Pip. I think it is possible Pip is making these assumptions after things that may happen to him later in the novel, when he mentions her talking to Estella.
In the Victorian Era, most children ended up working in factories or mills. It was considered fortunate to be able to be apprenticed to a trade, because it was less dangerous and more profitable. Even though Pip is considered to be fortunate, he still wants more. Education is of the utmost importance to him so that he can be on the same level as Estella. Unfortunately for Pip, only the upper class can achieve the quality education that he wants. It will be interesting to see how far he will go to be good enough for Estella.
I agree with Chelsea that when Miss Havisham tells Estella to break Pip’s heart, she is trying to get revenge from a previous heartbreak that she experienced. It is possible that she could be using the relationship between Estella and Pip to help mend her own heart. Whether Pip is a reliable narrator or not is definitely questionable. Since he is telling his story from an older version of himself, is it possible that he simply can’t remember what was said. However, he hasn’t really had any trouble recalling any of his other memories. I believe, for the most part at least, that Pip is a reliable narrator. He probably doesn’t enjoy remembering that Miss Havisham would say something like that about him. When Mrs. Joe finds out that Miss Havisham wanted to meet with Joe, she goes on another rampage and then begins cleaning frantically. She yells at Joe and Pip and accuses them as using her as “door-mats under their feet.” The way that Mrs. Joe responds to the news reveals that she is extremely dramatic. It also shows how she is an envious person and can’t stand to be put on a lower level than Pip or Joe.
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