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The Presentation of Miss Havisham in Chapter 8 and in Chapter 49 of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

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The Presentation of Miss Havisham in Chapter 8 and in Chapter 49 of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens In chapter 8 of 'Great Expectations', the author, Charles Dickens, initially presents Miss Havisham through Pip's eyes as an eccentric old lady "her hair was white", who lives in seclusion with her adopted daughter, Estella. She lives vicariously through Estella, all her inner thoughts and feelings are brought to life through Estella; therefore she is able to teach her to break the hearts of men. We discover that she was deserted on her wedding day, and then made it her life's purpose to raise Estella as a cruel- hearted woman who'll break the hearts of men and seek revenge on the male population …show more content…

By wilfully stopping her life at a moment of pain and humiliation, she indulges her own anger, self-pity, and desire for revenge. She imagines her death as an ultimate curse upon the man who jilted her. In her revenge, which destroys her life, she is like a child who hurts itself in its anger at someone else. Dickens uses strong imagery to describe Miss Havisham's house ("The Manor House") as barren of feelings or even life, "The cold wind seemed to blow colder there, than outside the gate..." Also the surroundings of the house is described in a gothic theme as it is unusual and gloomy, "the passages were all dark, and that she had left a candle burning there." This suggests a peculiar setting and household. Miss Havisham is rich too, and deceives Pip by implying that she's his benefactor. In chapter 8, Miss Havisham is exceedingly manipulative, "I stopped, fearing that I might say too much." This implies that Pip is afraid of Miss Havisham. Also, Pip indicates that he is nervous whilst talking to Miss Havisham and tries to say as little as possible in case he accidentally speaks out of turn and she does something unpleasant to him. Miss Havisham's character is presented to be fairly miserable and unhappy, "sure that Miss Havisham's face could not smile." This is suggested to us by Pip quoting Miss Havisham's

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