Great Expectations

How does Walworth reflect Wemmick’s personality?

short answer

Asked by
Last updated by jill d #170087
Answers 1
Add Yours

Pip first visits Wemmick's house in Chapter 25. Though Pip sees Wemmick as a strict, all-business worker in Jaggers's office, Pip sees an entirely different side of Wemmick when he visits Wemmick's house at Walworth.

When the two arrive at Wemmick's house, Pip observes the house to be a "little wooden cottage in the midst of plots of garden, and the top of it was cut out and painted like a battery mounted with guns."

Immediately, readers understand the pride Wemmick has in his home; he says, "My own doing. Looks pretty, don't it?" and then proceeds to tell Pip about his flagstaff, bridge, animals, and vegetable garden. Next, Pip meets Wemmick's "aged parent," who is also proud of the care Wemmick takes both of him and of the home.

When Pip questions Wemmick about Jaggers's reaction to Wemmick's house, Wemmick says,

Never heard of it. Never seen the Aged. Never heard of him. No, the office is one thing, and private life is another. When I go into the office, I leave the castle behind me, and when I come into the castle, I leave the office behind me. If it's not in any way disagreeable to you, you'll ablige me by doing the same. I don't wish it professionally spoken about.

Obviously, Pip realizes that Wemmick is not as one-dimensional as Pip had thought. He is a caring man who loves his home and loves his father, and does his job because it is simply that--a job.

Source(s)

http://www.enotes.com/great-expectations/q-and-a/chapter-25-26-how-does-walworth-reflect-wemmicks-190807