Miss Havisham
A wealthy woman whose abandoned wedding becomes the setting for an education in revenge.
She wants to retaliate against the betrayal she suffered, while also demanding the affection her revenge has taught Estella to withhold.
The book
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeMiss Havisham preserves her own humiliation and recruits others to repeat it. Her eventual remorse matters because it recognizes damage done to children who did not cause her injury.
How Miss Havisham Is Portrayed
- Stopping the clockChapters VIII and XXII connect the clocks at twenty minutes to nine with the letter that ended her wedding plans. The preserved dress and rooms make one moment govern an entire household.
- Making children perform an injuryIn Chapter VIII, she watches Estella humiliate Pip and encourages the girl's power over him. What looks like entertainment is already a rehearsal for the heartbreak she wishes to inflict.
- Demanding what she prohibitedIn Chapter XXXVIII, she accuses Estella of coldness toward her. Estella's answer reveals the contradiction between raising a child to suppress affection and expecting that child to offer it freely.
- Allowing a useful mistakeIn Chapter XLIV, she admits letting Pip suppose she supplied his fortune. She has benefited from his hope without making the promise on which that hope depends.
- Paying for a different futureIn Chapter XLIX, she authorizes £900 to complete Pip's help for Herbert. The money supports another person's work, giving her influence a purpose beyond emotional control.
- Recognizing the child she harmedIn Chapter XLIX, she describes how protecting Estella from pain became a project of making her incapable of affection. Her request for Pip's forgiveness does not undo that upbringing, but it names her responsibility.
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