Victorian Age Literature

The Victorian Age

• The Victorian era was from 1832 to 1900.
• It was a time of extremes, with the working classes being poor and living in terrible conditions, while the middle classes grew rich and comfortable.
• The novel became the most popular and important literary form during this time.
• Novels were published in monthly parts, a fashion that went on for most of the century.

Charles Dickens

• Charles Dickens emerged on the literary scene in the late 1830s and became one of the most famous novelists in English literature.
• He satirized various aspects of society, including the failure of the legal system and the dehumanizing effect of money.
• Dickens' writing focused on the suffering of children and the importance of education for all.

Great Expectations

• Great Expectations is a novel that explores the complexities of society during the Victorian era.
• The novel has a partly autobiographical nature, reflecting Dickens' own life experiences.
• The original ending of the novel was more melancholy, but was changed to make it more acceptable to readers.

Characters

• Pip: the protagonist and narrator of the novel, an orphan living with his sister and brother-in-law.
• Estella: the adopted charge of Miss Havisham, raised to exact revenge on men.
• Miss Havisham: an heiress and the owner of Satis House, who employs Pip and delights in watching him play with Estella.
• Joe Gargery: Pip's brother-in-law, an honest and earnest blacksmith.
• Mrs. Joe: Pip's sister, who is more than twenty years older than him and has a strong personality.

Themes

• The novel explores the themes of social class, identity, and the complexities of human relationships.
• The novel begins with a comedic tone, but gradually becomes more tragic and serious.

Narrative Style

• The novel is written in a first-person retrospective narrative style, which allows Pip to look back on his life and comment on it.
• This style creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, and allows the reader to understand Pip's thoughts and feelings.

Setting

• The novel is set in the marsh country, down by the river, and features a sense of isolation and desolation.
• The setting reflects the themes of the novel, with the marsh country symbolizing the complexities of life and the characters' struggles.### Pip's Sister and Brother-in-Law
• Pip's sister is a strong, soldier-like woman with a strong personality.
• She is shrill, while her husband, Mr. Joe, is a sweet-tempered man.
• Pip's sister has a dominating personality, reflected in her use of the cane, "Tickler", to punish Pip.

Pip's Relationship with Joe

• Pip and Joe have a trusting relationship, despite being treated poorly by Pip's sister.
• Joe is a large, childlike figure, with a simple and gentle nature.
• Pip considers Joe as a larger species of child, and they treat each other with a sense of equality.

The Encounter with Mrs. Joe

• Mrs. Joe returns home, furious, and Pip hides behind the door.
• She discovers Pip and throws him at Joe, who tries to calm her down.
• Pip is afraid of her and feels guilty for stealing food.

The Stealing of Food

• Pip steals food from the pantry, including bread, cheese, and a pork pie.
• He tries to hide his theft by putting tar-water in the brandy bottle.
• He takes a file from Joe's tools to help the convict, Magwitch.

The Meeting with Magwitch

• Pip meets Magwitch, the convict, and gives him the stolen food and file.
• Magwitch eats ravenously and is dressed in a grey uniform with an iron chain on his leg.
• Pip is afraid of Magwitch but tries to treat him kindly.

The Encounter with the Other Convict

• Pip sees another convict, dressed in grey, with a flat, broad-brimmed hat.
• The convict tries to strike Pip and runs into the mist.
• Pip is frightened and thinks that the convict is the one Magwitch told him about.

The End of Chapter 3

• Pip leaves Magwitch and returns home, expecting to be caught by a Constable.
• However, no one has discovered the theft, and his sister is busy with Christmas preparations.
• Pip's guilty conscience is a major theme in the novel.

Chapter 4

• Pip's family and friends gather for Christmas dinner.
• The guests include Mr. Wopsle, the clerk at church, and Mr. and Mrs. Hubble, the wheelwright and his wife.
• Uncle Pumblechook, Joe's uncle, brings gifts of sherry and port wine.

Characterization of Mr. Wopsle

• Mr. Wopsle has a Roman nose, a large shining bald forehead, and a deep voice.
• He is proud of his voice and punishes the Amens when reading the psalm.

Characterization of Uncle Pumblechook

• Uncle Pumblechook is a large, hard-breathing, middle-aged, slow man.
• He has a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his head.

Characterization of Mrs. Hubble

• Mrs. Hubble is a little curly sharp-edged person in sky-blue.
• She is younger than her husband, Mr. Hubble.

Characterization of Mr. Hubble

• Mr. Hubble is a tough, high-shouldered, stooping old man.
• He has a sawdust fragrance and stands with his legs extraordinarily wide apart.### Chapter 4
• Pip meets a strange and interesting combination of sawdust and fragrance in Mr. Pumblechook, implying a mix of dirty and nice qualities.
• Pip is fascinated by Mr. Pumblechook's behavior, who drinks brandy diluted with tar-water, which makes him act out of his mind.
• The company is shocked and Mrs. Joe goes to get the tar-water, while Mr. Pumblechook and Mr. Wopsle show signs of hunger and appetite.

Chapter 5

• The sergeant enters, looking for the blacksmith, Mr. Joe, to help repair the escaped convicts' handcuffs.
• Mr. Joe agrees to help and proposes that some of them, including Pip, go with the soldiers to help with the hunt.
• They find the two escaped convicts, Magwitch and Compeyson, fighting with each other.
• Magwitch tells the soldiers that he gives Compeyson up, while Compeyson accuses Magwitch of trying to murder him.

Chapter 5 (continued)

• Magwitch eventually sees Pip, and Pip tries to assure him of his innocence.
• The convicts are taken away, and Magwitch tells the sergeant that he stole food from the blacksmith's house.
• Magwitch apologizes to Mr. Joe for eating their food, showing a sense of remorse and humanity.

Chapter 6

• Pip reflects on his state of mind, feeling relieved but not guilty about stealing from Mrs. Joe.
• Pip loves Joe and doesn't want to lose his confidence, so he doesn't confess to stealing the food and file.
• Pip knows that not telling the truth is wrong, but he's too cowardly to do what's right.

Chapter 7

• Pip tells Joe about the convict's confession, and they discuss how the convict might have stolen the food.
• Mr. Pumblechook makes deductions about how the convict might have entered the pantry.
• Pip visits the churchyard, reading the family tombstones, and shows his innocence and limited understanding of the world.

Chapter 7 (continued)

• Pip meets Biddy, Mr. Wopsle's great-niece, who is an orphan like him.
• Biddy is a dirty girl from the lower class, and Pip describes her as needing to be cleaned and groomed.
• Biddy helps Pip learn the alphabet, and Pip struggles to read and write.

Chapter 8

• Pip and Mr. Pumblechook go to Miss Havisham's house, where Pip meets Estella, a beautiful and proud young lady.
• Estella is dismissive of Mr. Pumblechook and takes Pip to meet Miss Havisham.
• Miss Havisham's house is dark and lit only by candles, with a sense of decay and neglect.

Chapter 8 (continued)

• Miss Havisham wears a wedding dress, but with one shoe on, and her hair is white, symbolizing death and decay.
• Pip describes Miss Havisham as a waxwork or a skeleton, emphasizing her eerie and unsettling nature.
• Miss Havisham's watch and the clock on the wall have stopped at twenty minutes to nine, implying a sense of time standing still.

Explore the Victorian era, a time of extreme social contrasts, and its reflection in literature. Learn about the writers who exposed the underlying problems of the society.