Abstract
This article examines the portrayal of women in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations from a feminist perspective. In an age of postmodern multiplicity and heterogeneity, the identity of women has always been defined in relation to that of men. The present paper attempts to study the portrayal of women in Great Expectations — Mrs. Joe Gargery, Biddy, Miss Havisham, and Estella — exploring whether Dickens is equally dexterous in portraying female characters as he is in portraying his male ones. The study argues that while the four women in Pip’s life fall into stereotypes of either divinely good or diabolically bad creatures, they all undergo transformation, and by the end of the novel they occupy an authoritative central position rather than the conventionally subdued peripheral state, thereby partially redeeming Dickens from the charge of misogyny.
Keywords: Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, feminism, women, Mrs. Joe Gargery, Biddy, Miss Havisham, Estella, patriarchy, identity
Mrs. Joe Gargery
The first female character of some significance in the novel is that of Mrs. Joe Gargery, Pip’s elder sister and wife of blacksmith Joe Gargery. She has earned quite a reputation with herself and the neighbours because she had brought Pip up “by hand.” Mrs. Gargery regards Pip not just as a “burden” but as a “delinquent, to be treated as such.” She is held in high esteem in the eyes of her husband who married her on account of her good reputation of bringing up her orphaned brother as her own child.
Biddy
Biddy is another female character who plays an instrumental role in the growth of the protagonist Pip. She is a true friend and close confidant of Pip, who does not hesitate in reproaching him when he develops snobbery. In her growing years, Pip noticed a remarkable change in her personality. With each passing day Pip saw a better side of her, and Biddy came to take care of the whole household, becoming an indispensable part of the family. In the entire gallery of female characters in the novel, Biddy’s character stands out as the brightest and the noblest.
Miss Havisham
If on one hand Dickens shows utmost goodness of heart in the character of Biddy, on the other he exemplifies heartless cruelty in the character of Miss Havisham. She is introduced as an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers, and who led a life of seclusion. She commands Pip to play the game of cards with Estella, her adopted child, whom she employs as an instrument to break the hearts of men. Miss Havisham tells Pip about her past and tells him what real love is — blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world.
Estella
Estella is the lady love in Pip’s life. Throughout the novel this remains a one-sided affair, as Estella could never reciprocate the feeling of Pip. She insulted him in their very first meeting by calling him a “common labouring boy.” Her decision to marry a ruthless brute Bentley Drummle proves to be the biggest misfortune of her life. The bitter experiences of life chastise the soul and psyche of Estella, and like Pip she also becomes wiser and nobler towards the end of the novel.
Transformation and Central Position
The four female characters in the novel have been designed and developed more or less in a set pattern. All of them pass through the stage of transformation and turn out to be better individuals than before. The portrayal of women in Great Expectations due to their falling into a fixed category seems akin to stereotype. Yet the way they control his destiny instead of being controlled by him, these four women are in an authoritative central position not in the conventionally subdued peripheral state. As the female characters in the novel redeem themselves of their sins towards the end, their creator also, by way of assigning some power to them, redeems himself to a certain extent of the charges of misogyny.
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