Great Expectations

How do you respond to Pip-Estella relationship?Examples from the text.

assignment of MA  English 1st year

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There is a disparity between the two since the beginning. Pip loves Estella but Estella is too much caught in Miss. Havisham’s web. Estella has been shaped and indoctrinated by Miss. Havisham. Estella will not allow Pip to get close to her. We really do not see a marked change in Estella until the end of the book. Although we are not witness to Estella's transformation from ice queen to sensitive lady, we, as readers, must in the end forgive her for her treatment of Pip. Estella, moreso than Pip, represents the abused child, the true victim of circumstance, that Dickens presents in many other characters throughout his novels. The above quote speaks to a love between the two that is much different from their previous relationship. There is some justice in Estella and Pip finally finding love in each other. Because of their difficulties, they seem both to have come to a realization of what it means to be happy and therefore are ready for a healthy relationship with each other. Chapter Nineteen demonstrated that Pip had been living an upright life for 11 years when he finally runs into Estella again. Estella might be seen as the final reward for a true Victorian gentleman.