Miss Havisham Quotes

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In Great Expectations, Pip is set up for heartbreak and failure by a woman he trusts, identical to Hamlet and Gertrude, but Pip is rescued by joe who pushes Pip to win the love of his life. Similar to Gertrude in Hamlet Miss Havisham becomes a bystander in Pip’s life as she initiates the play that leads to heartbreak several times and she watches Pip’s life crumble due to her teachings. The next quote shows Miss Havisham explaining to Pip the way she manipulated his love Estella to break his heart every time. “‘but as she grew, and promised to be very beautiful, I gradually did worse, and with my praises, and with my jewels, and with my teachings… I stole her heart away and put ice in its place’” (Dickens, 457). This quote makes it clear the Miss Havisham set Hamlet up for failure by making him fall for a woman he could never have. …show more content…

While the cause of Hamlet’s downfall is a murder, for Pip is is his love. Miss Havisham becomes a bystander throughout the rest of the novel as she watches pip pine over Estella while losing himself in the process. The situation Miss Havisham puts Pip in leads to his tragedy, as he realizes that Miss Havisham never cared for him, and he also realizes that Estella might never love him either. Heartbroken, Pip goes to Joe to seek refuge, and after eleven years, Pip can finally have Estella, the love of his life, because of Joe pushing him to her direction. The following quote describes Joe questioning Pip about Estella and reminding him of her so he can go after her one last time. “Tell me as an old friend. Have you quite forgotten [Estella]?” (551). Unlike Gertrude and Miss Havisham who only brings hopelessness and tragedy, Joe reminds Pip about Estella after eleven years so he can either move on, or win her

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