Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is a novel about an orphan named Pip who is taken in by a wealthy family after he makes a great discovery. Throughout the novel, Pip develops a relationship with Estella, who was raised by the family and is meant to be his bride. Estella is a cold and heartless person, but Pip still loves her dearly.
Many readers interpret Estella’s character as a symbol of greed and classism. She was raised to believe that money and appearances are everything, which causes her to treat others poorly. Additionally, she knows that Pip is in love with her and uses this to manipulate him.Ultimately, Estella’s character teaches Pip about the importance of kindness and compassion. Even though she is cruel to him, he understands that she is just misguided. In the end, Pip is able to forgive Estella and they live happily ever after.
When we’ve finished the book, one of our first thoughts is to make two lists: one for good characters and the other for terrible ones. Is Estella a good character or a bad character? Before proceeding with the analysis of Estella in the novel in order to try and answer this question, we’ll address the symbology of her name. As we already know, Dickens’ characters have significant names.
The name Estella is derived from the Latin word Stella which means star. So, what is the significance of giving this name to the character? It could be said that Dickens wanted to indicate with this name that Estella was a special character and that she would have a bright future. Furthermore, the name Stella is also associated with the Virgin Mary.
This could be interpreted as Dickens indicating that Estella was pure and innocent like a virgin. However, other critics argue that the name of Estella is linked with the goddess Astarte. Astarte was a Phoenician goddess who was associated with fertility and war. So, her name could be interpreted as meaning “strong” or “fierce”.
Taking into account all of these interpretations of the name of Estella, we can say that she is a character with many layers and that her name reflects this complexity. Now, let’s move on to analyze her role in the novel. Firstly, it is important to note that Estella is not a main character in Great Expectations. She only appears in a few chapters and her role is not very important. However, what Dickens does with her character is very interesting.
We first meet Estella when Pip goes to visit Miss Havisham at Satis House. Miss Havisham has adopted Estella and she has been brought up to despise men and to be cruel to them. In fact, one of Miss Havisham’s main motivations for adopting Estella is to get revenge on all men. She wants Estella to break their hearts as hers was broken. So, from the very beginning, we see that Estella is being used by Miss Havisham for her own ends.
However, it would be unfair to say that Estella is a completely bad character. This is because she has also been hurt by Miss Havisham’s manipulation. As we saw, she has been brought up to believe that all men are worthless and deserve to be treated badly. So, in some ways, Estella is a victim of Miss Havisham’s cruelty.
Pip falls in love with Estella even though she is always cruel to him. However, we see a change in her towards the end of the novel. After she meets Pip’s friend Herbert and sees that he is a good person, she starts to change her opinion of men. In fact, she even falls in love with Herbert. So, we can say that Estella is not completely bad and that she is capable of change.
Estella’s appearance and behavior might also reveal her personality and interactions with other characters in the book. Estella makes a reference to stars, which is a clue to her personality. Estella has a chilly demeanor, yet she is incredibly beautiful.
Remember that Sydney was presented to Miss Havisham at night, and that is when stars appear. The name of Sydney’s beloved is Stella (without the initial “e”). He most likely gave his beloved this name because she was married in reality and thus he could not contact her. Because they are distant, we can’t reach them.
Great Expectations is the novel written by Charles Dickens. This novel was first published in serial form in 1860. The story is narrated by the protagonist, Pip. Great Expectations tells the story of Pip’s life from childhood to maturity, and it includes many interesting and complex characters, such as Miss Havisham, Estella, Magwitch, Joe Gargery, and Herbert Pocket. Great Expectations is a coming-of-age novel, and it is also a bildungsroman, which is a novel that tells the story of the main character’s development.
Pip goes through many important changes as he grows older, and he learns many valuable lessons about life and love. Great Expectations is considered to be one of Charles Dickens’s best novels, and it has been adapted for stage and screen many times. One of the most famous adaptations is the 1951 movie starring John Mills and Valerie Hobson.
One of the most interesting characters in Great Expectations is Estella. Estella is Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter, and she was raised by Miss Havisham to be a cold and heartless woman. Estella is incredibly beautiful, and she uses her beauty to manipulate and hurt the men who fall in love with her.
Estella is a very complex character, and she is one of the most important people in Pip’s life. Pip falls in love with Estella when he first meets her, and he remains in love with her throughout the novel. Even though Estella constantly hurts Pip, he can’t help but love her. Estella is one of the major reasons why Pip decides to become a gentleman, and she also plays a role in his eventual downfall.
Even though Great Expectations is set in Victorian England, the characters are still relevant today. The themes of love, loss, betrayal, and redemption are universal, and everyone can relate to the characters in some way. Great Expectations is a timeless classic that should be read by everyone.