The Representation Of Women In Mrs Dickens Great Expectations

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Recommended: Analysis of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Dickens, unlike his literary colleagues, such as Anthony Trollope or George Eliot, has always been accused of not understanding women. Although the plight of a Victorian woman was a rather popular theme in the mid 1800’s it has been suggested that due to personal circumstances with women Dickens commonly, particularly in his later works, writes his female characters to play rather unappealing personalities. Following suit, the female characters in Great Expectations stray from the epitome of the ideal Victorian woman. Mrs Joe is physically abusive, Mrs Havisham is mentally abusive, and Estella is directly affected by this mistreatment and develops in a tormenter herself. The only likeable female character is Biddy, who is common, kind and wholesome. Even the minor female characters, such as Mrs Hubble and Mr Wopsle’s great aunt, are cast off as trivial and ridiculous. Nevertheless these harshly written ironically dysfunctional females characters function is to serve as a human representation of the different social classes and Dickens astutely planned timeline of introducing these females characters parallels pips own status-climbing journey.
The first female character Dickens introduces to the reader is Mrs Joe, Pip’s much older sister. She is a low-class hardworking woman who lives an exceedingly modest life and clearly feels burdened with the responsibility with raising pip “by hand'" Pip (Ch, 1). Mrs Joe is responsible for making Pip’s character “sensitive” (Pg 18), the complete opposite of her unexplained harsh and resentful personality. It has been proposed Mrs Joe is accountable for Pip being vulnerable to Estella’s cruelty. If she had been more maternal, kind and created a loving family setting Pip would have a sense of se...

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...t the novel as well as their personal development as characters. Although pip is blinded by the face value of the high-class life by Estella and Miss Havisham, as the novel progresses the reader discovers the sacrifices and heartache suffered by the wealthy female characters. We discover, along with Pip that wealth does not equal to happiness, nobility and does not make one a gentleman. Instead the lower class female character Biddy is the novels true moral compass, and is rewarded for her appreciation of the life she has been born into and ability to make the best of the situation. The journey Pip is escorted on by these female characters through the different social classes has a significant effect on his progression into adulthood. Essentially, Pip's great expectations are ruined, and because of that he becomes a better man and some would say, a true gentleman.

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