Reflection of the Life of Minors in 19th Century Britain

How far do the experiences of young Pip reflect the life of minors in

the 19th century

Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is narrated by its young hero,

orphan Philip Pirrip, known as Pip, living with his older sister and

her husband, blacksmith Joe Gargery, in the Kent marshes. Young Pip

lived a life similar to other orphans yet confronted a vast range of

improbable incidents, such as helping a fugitive convict. Pip’s

background, opportunities offered to him, and familial life make his

experience uncharacteristic compared to others in a similar position.

From the first page of the novel, Pip enlightens the reader “I never

saw my father or my mother ... and infant children of the aforesaid,

were also dead and buried.”. This is a very precise portrayal of 19th

century Britain as the deficiency of nutritious food, hygiene and

sanitation resulted in a low life expectancy and a high infant

mortality rate. It was well documented that in industrial towns the

average age of death was twenty-six years, which means that as a child

grew older, it was expected for them to lose one or more siblings as

well as one or both parents, just like Pip. Many women died due to the

fact that childbirth was attributable to infectious agents transmitted

by unwashed hands. As Mrs Pirrip gave birth to seven children it is

very likely that her appearance was as how Pip imagined – “freckled

and sickly,”. Many children died young, struggling with harsh living

conditions, and were poorly nourished and prone to infectious and

deficiency diseases. Even though Pip describes himself as

“undersized…and not strong.” he appears to be reasonably healthy,

unlike most orphans. However, Mr Wopsle’s great-aunt is introduced as

a living grandmother, which was highly unlikely in Victorian Britain

due to poor hygiene and especially the dooming consequence of having a

child, as she did. Dickens includes a very old character when

describing Pip’s education to exaggerate the quality, or rather the

inadequacy, of it.

Unlike most orphans, Pip attends evening school kept by Mr Wopsle’s

great aunt. Pip depicts her as “a ridiculous old woman … who used to

go to sleep from six to seven every evening, in the society of youth

who paid twopence per week each, for the improving opportunity of

seeing her do it.”. This underlines the poor quality of schooling

available in the 19th century to most children as the quality of a

child's education was in direct correlation to the cost of it. Pip,

coming from a working class family, is very fortunate to receive

tutoring, albeit that of a very low standard as most of his class