vivisms_82 's review for:

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens
3.5
adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Classic tale of poor and kind Pip who comes into some money by an unknown benefactor that inspires his Great Expectations. Themes of moral standing of folks with money and those of lesser means, moral and psychological growth, nature vs nurture influences, prejudice.

Having read this story a few times I will never, ever for the life of me understand 2 things that involve Pip:
#1. his intense love for Estella. The only thing about her that is attractive is her physical appearance. She is haughty, proud, arrogant and so cruel to Pip. I know that we are lead to believe this is due to Mrs Havisham's influence and I get that part of her allure is because she represents an unattainable angel of grandeur. However, at the end he is supposed to be in his 30s, not a boy so he hasn't grown up yet when it comes to romantic maturity? At the end when she has been beaten and broken by her marriage, is when she is humbled. I don't particular like how this message sits. The nastiness was beaten out of her and she got a reality check? I would rather her character had evolved due to a combination of life's obstacles, personal maturity and not solely by being married to a man that was a brute.  She is just awful. It doesn't make sense to me that someone like Pip would be so steadfast in his love for her #2. how Pip decides he's going to make a romantic play for Biddie. I was all for Biddie and Pip ending up together until I realised that Pip didn't give a hoot about her. We realise this after she marries Joe and in whiplash fashion Pip is back in love with Estella. Yes, I get he is happy for two people he loves but not even a second of disappointment? Really? So what growth has he done here? Shows he had zero feelings for Biddie so why pursue her? If she had said yes and married him, he would be false; perhaps they did have a fine life together, that would unravel when he bumps into Estella. Either way it's bad intentioned and considering it's at the end of the book, leaves a bad last impression of our "hero". I was hoping he would return to the sweet, earnest, little boy he was but with a backbone that would have not only been self assured and no longer fickle in his romantic feelings but had moved on from the shallow, baseless love for Estella.
 

Biddie, uncle Joe and Herbert are my favourite characters; just have admirable traits and moral compass; this is where I feel like books in characters offer so much in reflection of society and despite circumstances that may never change, you can still be a good human to someone in need. They always made me smile.
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