Although not the protagonist, Miss Havisham is a memorable character in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.
She significantly impacts the lives of several characters, especially Pip and Estella.
Miss Havisham is a bitter, angry recluse who was jilted on her wedding day.
Remains in her wedding dress.
Wedding food left to decay.
Stops all clocks at the time she was jilted.
Hates humanity, particularly men.
Sees men as symbolic of the one who jilted her.
Relationship with Estella
Raises Estella, her adopted child, to hate men and use her beauty to manipulate them.
Misleads Pip into believing she intends for him to marry Estella.
Dies in a horrific accident, burning in her wedding clothes.
Key Quotations and Analysis
Quotation 1
Pip describes her as "an immensely rich and grim old lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded in a life of seclusion."
Analysis:
Adjectives "rich" and "grim" suggest wealth does not ensure happiness or morality.
Alliteration in "lady lived and large" emphasizes her as a mythical figure.
Quotation 2
Pip notices her watch had stopped at the time she was jilted.
Analysis:
The noun "watch" shows her denial of time passing and fading beauty.
Alliteration in "20" and "to" draws attention to her fixation on the past.
Quotation 3
Miss Havisham to Estella: "Break their hearts my pride and hope, break their hearts."
Analysis:
Repetition of "break their hearts" highlights her desire for revenge on men.
Abusive molding of Estella into a heartbreaker.
Quotation 4
Miss Havisham's definition of real love: "Real love... it is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself."
Analysis:
Hyperbole "blind devotion" shows her bitterness and irrational view of love.
Listing of negative qualities associated with love.
Quotation 5
To Pip: "Love her, love her, love her. If she favors you, love her; if she wounds you, love her."
Analysis:
Repetition of "love her" in an exclamatory sentence shows her glee in Pip's infatuation.
Quotation 6
"The broken heart. You think you will die, but you just keep on living day after terrible day."
Analysis:
Oxymoron "die" and "living"; life as a curse due to unrequited love.
Quotation 7
Regret: "When she first came, I meant to save her from misery like mine."
Analysis:
Illusion of protecting Estella by making her heartless.
Alliteration in "misery like mine." Shows later regret for actions.
Conclusion
Miss Havisham is a powerful and complex character.
Ultimately regrets actions but changes too late.
Key figure in understanding themes of love, revenge, and regret in the novel.