Summary: Great Expectations
Charles Dickens Great Expectations
In the vicinity of Rochester, an ancient town southeast of London, there lived a seven-year-old boy nicknamed Pip. He was left without parents, and he was raised “with her own hands” by his older sister, who “possessed the rare ability to turn cleanliness into something more uncomfortable and unpleasant than any dirt.” She treated Pip as if he had been “taken under the supervision of a police obstetrician and handed over to her with the instruction to act to the fullest extent of the law.” Her husband was the blacksmith Joe Gargery - a fair-haired giant, docile and simple-minded, only he protected Pip as best he could.
This amazing story, told by Pip himself, began on the day he encountered an escaped convict in the cemetery. He, under pain of death, demanded to bring “grub and filing” in order to free himself from shackles. How much effort it took the boy to secretly collect and hand over the bundle! It seemed that every floorboard shouted after them: “Stop the thief!” But it was even more difficult not to give myself away.
They had barely stopped gossiping about the prisoners when in a tavern some stranger discreetly showed him a file and gave him two pound notes (it is clear from whom and for what).
Time passed. Pip began to visit a strange house in which life stood still on the day of the failed wedding of the owner, Miss Havisham. She grew old, not seeing the light, sitting in a decayed wedding dress. The boy was supposed to entertain the lady, play cards with her and her young pupil, the beautiful Estella. Miss Havisham chose Estella as an instrument of revenge on all men for the one who deceived her and did not show up for the wedding. “Break their hearts, my pride and hope,” she repeated, “break them without pity!” Estella's first victim was Pip. Before meeting her, he loved the craft of a blacksmith and believed that “the forge is a sparkling path to an independent life.” Having received twenty-five guineas from Miss Havisham, he gave them for the right to become an apprentice to Joe and was happy, and a year later he shuddered at the thought that Estella would find him black from rough work and would despise him. How many times had he imagined her flowing curls and arrogant gaze outside the forge window! But Pip was a blacksmith's apprentice, and Estella was a young lady who should be educated abroad. Having learned about Estella's departure, he went to the shopkeeper Pumblechook to listen to the heartbreaking tragedy of "George Barnwell". Little could he have imagined that a real tragedy awaited him on the threshold of his home!
People were crowding around the house and in the yard; Pip saw his sister, struck by a terrible blow to the back of the head, and shackles with a sawn ring lay nearby. The constables tried unsuccessfully to find out whose hand struck the blow. Pip suspected Orlik, the worker who helped in the forge, and the stranger who showed the file.
Mrs. Joe had difficulty regaining consciousness and needed care. That's why Biddy, a pretty girl with kind eyes, appeared in the house. She ran the household and kept up with Pip, taking advantage of every opportunity to learn something. They often spoke heart to heart, and Pip admitted to her that he dreams of changing his life. “You want to become a gentleman to annoy that beauty who lived with Miss Havisham, or to woo her,” Biddy guessed. Indeed, the memories of those days “like an armor-piercing shell” shattered good intentions of entering into a share with Joe, marrying Biddy and leading an honest working life.
One day, a tall gentleman with a contemptuous expression on his face appeared at the Three Jolly Sailors tavern. Pip recognized him as one of Miss Havisham's guests. It was Jagger, a lawyer from London. He announced that he had an important mission to his cousin Joe Gargery: Pip was to inherit a considerable fortune on the condition that he immediately leave these places, leave his previous occupation and become a young man of great promise. In addition, he must keep the surname Pip and not try to find out who his benefactor is. Pip's heart beat faster, he could barely mutter words of agreement. He thought that Miss Havisham had decided to make him rich and unite him with Estella. Jagger said that Pip has a sum at his disposal that is enough for education and metropolitan life. As a future guardian, he advised him to seek guidance from Mr. Matthew Pocket. Pip also heard this name from Miss Havisham.
Having become rich, Pip ordered a fashionable suit, hat, gloves and was completely transformed. In his new guise, he paid a visit to his good fairy, who had accomplished (he thought) this wonderful transformation. She gladly accepted the boy's grateful words.
The day of parting has arrived. Leaving the village, Pip burst into tears at the road sign: “Farewell, my good friend!”, and in the stagecoach he thought how nice it would be to return to his native roof... But it’s too late. The time of first hopes has ended...
Pip settled into London surprisingly easily. He rented an apartment with Herbert Pocket, the son of his mentor, and took lessons from him. Having joined the Finches in the Grove club, he recklessly squandered his money, imitating his new friends in trying to spend as much as possible. His favorite pastime was compiling a list of debts “from Kobs, Lobs or Nobs.” That's when Pip feels like a first-class financier! Herbert trusts his business skills; he himself is only “looking around”, hoping to catch his luck in the City. Swirling in the whirlpool of London life, Pip is overtaken by the news of his sister's death.
Pip finally came of age. Now he has to manage his property himself, part with his guardian, of whose sharp mind and enormous authority he has more than once become convinced; even on the streets they sang: “Oh Jaggers, Jaggers, Jaggers, the most necessary humanggers!” On his birthday, Pip received five hundred pounds and the promise of the same amount annually for expenses “as a pledge of hope.” The first thing Pip wants to do is to contribute half of his annual allowance so that Herbert can work in a small company and then become a co-owner of it. For Pip himself, hopes for future achievements fully justify inaction.
One day, when Pip was alone in his home - Herbert had gone to Marseilles - suddenly footsteps were heard on the stairs. A powerful gray-haired man entered; he did not need to take out filings or other evidence from his pocket - Pip instantly recognized that same escaped convict! The old man began to warmly thank Pip for the act committed sixteen years ago. During the conversation, it became clear that the source of Pip’s success was the fugitive’s money: “Yes, Pip, my dear boy, it was I who made a gentleman out of you!” It was as if a bright flash illuminated everything around - so many disappointments, humiliations, and dangers suddenly surrounded Pipa. So, Miss Havisham's intentions to raise him to Estella are just a figment of his imagination! This means that Blacksmith Joe was abandoned for the sake of the whim of this man, who risks being hanged for illegally returning to England from an eternal settlement... All hopes collapsed in an instant!
After the appearance of Abel Magwitch (that was the name of his benefactor), Pip, overcome with anxiety, began to prepare to leave abroad. The disgust and horror experienced at the first moment were replaced in Pip's soul by a growing gratitude for this man. Magwitch was hidden in the house of Clara, Herbert's fiancée. From there it was possible to sail along the Thames unnoticed to the mouth and board a foreign steamer. From Magwitch's stories it was revealed that Compeson, the second convict caught on the swamps, was the dirty deceiver, Miss Havisham's fiancé, and he is still pursuing Magwitch. In addition, from various hints, Pip guessed that Magwitch was Estella’s father, and her mother was Jagger’s housekeeper, who was suspected of murder, but was acquitted through the efforts of a lawyer, and then Jagger took the baby to the rich, lonely Miss Havisham. Needless to say, Pip swore to keep this secret for the benefit of his beloved Estella, despite the fact that by that time she was already married to the scoundrel Drumle. Thinking about all this, Pip went to Miss Havisham to get a large sum of money for Herbert. As he was leaving, he looked back - her wedding dress had flared up like a torch! Pip, in despair, burning his hands, put out the fire. Miss Havisham survived, but, alas, not for long...
On the eve of his upcoming escape, Pip received a strange letter inviting him to a house on a swamp. He could not imagine that Orlik, who harbored a grudge, became Compeson’s henchman and lured Pip to take revenge on him - to kill him and burn him in a huge oven. It seemed that death was inevitable, but his faithful friend Herbert arrived in time to answer the cry. Now on the road! At first everything went well, only a chase appeared at the ship itself, and Magwitch was captured and convicted. He died of his wounds in the prison hospital before his execution, and his last moments were warmed by Pip's gratitude and the story of the fate of his daughter, who became a noble lady.
Eleven years have passed. Pip works in the eastern branch of the company with Herbert, finding peace and care in his friend's family. And here he is again in his native village, where he is met by Joe and Biddy, their son, named Pip, and baby daughter. But Pip hoped to see the one he never stopped dreaming about. There were rumors that she buried her husband... An unknown force draws Pip to an abandoned house. A female figure appeared in the fog. This is Estella! “Isn’t it strange that this house has united us again,” said Pip, took her hand, and they walked away from the gloomy ruins. The fog cleared. “Wide open spaces spread out before them, not darkened by the shadow of a new separation.”
