Pip's life is constantly related to crime. From a very young age he is exposed to crime and feels
incredibly guilty. As he has no one that he can really tell he ends up becoming convinced that he has
done a very bad thing. After his visits to Miss Hvasham's house he becomes obseeses by the idea that he
wants to be something more and asks Biddy to mimpart all of her knowledge on him. He bcomes
extremely upset when he realises he is to become apprenticed to Joe and dreams of bigger things.
Mrs Havisham
Miss Havasham is decaying and deteriorating. She was jilted at the alter and ever since has been
wearing her bridal gown and left the wedding arrangement out in the house. She has almost paused time
as all the clocks have been stopped in the house. Her physical appearance is described in detail in
Chapter 8. "Everything that ought too be white had been long ago and has lost its lustre." She is
portrayed as almost dead; "she sat corpse like" and at one point Pip actually sees her hanging from a
rope. Her game is to break Pip's heart through Estella. She has built up a vendetta against men through
her wedding experience. She's very theatrical and is a bit of an attention seeker
Estella
Estella is Miss Havasham's apprentice in breaking men's hearts. She is very upper class and snouty- she
looks down on Pip- chapter 8. She is also very patronizing to him not only through her poshness but by
her actions for instance allowing him the kiss. She is also very horrible to him by making him cry and
slapping him.
Satis House
Satis house plays tricks with Pip's mind. Throughout the novel Pip is drawn to the house but then
pushed away but always drawn in again. The house is the embodiement of Miss Havasham- dark, damp
and decomposing. Chapter 8 and p84
Mrs Joe
Mrs Joe Gargery is presented by both Dickens and Pip as a
horrible woman. In the early chapters Pip describes her in a
very negative fashion both on the outside and on the inside. She
is horrible to Pip and makes him feel grateful for her looking
after him. She consistently refers to her bringing him up by
hand, her way of saying; "Be grateful". She also is shown to be
greedy when she takes Pip's apprenticeship money. She is
most definitely a beater until her unfortunate encounter with
Olrick after which she is severly brain damaged.
Joe Gargery
Joe is the husband of Mrs Joe. He is often described by Pip as his only friend in the forge. He presents a
stark contrast to Mrs Joes as he is always presented as kind and loving. Also, he is the moral figure in the
play. Although he is daft and stupid he is always morally correct and very christian. Interestingly he
never lashes out at Pip or his wife and we learn this stems from his childhood where his father beat both
him and his mother.
The Forge
The forge is Pip's home. His whole childhood revolves around this place. It
is home to Pip, Joe Gargery and Mrs Gargery- Pip's elder sister. Pip
describes how at first he likes his home but soon becomes ashamed of it