Great Expectations · Chapter
XLII explained
Magwitch recounts his life story to Pip and Herbert, detailing his criminal past, his partnership with the gentlemanly but treacherous Compeyson, and how Compeyson manipulated and betrayed him, leading to Magwitch's harsher punishment.
What happens
Magwitch recounts his life story to Pip and Herbert, detailing his criminal past, his partnership with the gentlemanly but treacherous Compeyson, and how Compeyson manipulated and betrayed him, leading to Magwitch's harsher punishment. Herbert reveals that Compeyson was Miss Havisham's fraudulent lover.
Themes in this chapter
Crime and Injustice
Magwitch's account highlights the unfairness of the legal system, where Compeyson's gentlemanly appearance and connections lead to a lighter sentence, while Magwitch is punished more severely.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Compeyson's respectable facade masks his true villainy, contrasting with Magwitch's rough exterior and genuine remorse.
Social Class and Ambition
Magwitch's story illustrates how class bias affects legal outcomes and life opportunities, with Compeyson's education and manners granting him privilege.
Characters to notice
- Magwitch
Narrates his life of crime, imprisonment, and partnership with Compeyson, expressing affection for Pip.
- Pip
Listens to Magwitch's story and feels pity mixed with revulsion.
- Herbert Pocket
Listens to Magwitch and writes a note identifying Compeyson as Miss Havisham's former lover.
- Compeyson
Described as a smooth, gentlemanly criminal who betrayed Magwitch and was Miss Havisham's lover.
- Miss Havisham
Revealed to have been deceived by Compeyson, who pretended to be her lover.
Key passages
“In jail and out of jail, in jail and out of jail, in jail and out of jail. There, you’ve got it. That’s my life pretty much, down to such times as I got shipped off, arter Pip stood my friend.”
Magwitch sums up his life as a cycle of imprisonment, ending only when Pip helped him.
Magwitch's blunt summary of his criminal history.
“He set up fur a gentleman, this Compeyson, and he’d been to a public boarding-school and had learning. He was a smooth one to talk, and was a dab at the ways of gentlefolks.”
Compeyson posed as a gentleman, with education and polished manners.
Magwitch describes Compeyson's deceptive gentility.
“Young Havisham’s name was Arthur. Compeyson is the man who professed to be Miss Havisham’s lover.”
Herbert reveals that Compeyson was the man who pretended to love Miss Havisham.
Herbert's note connects Compeyson to Miss Havisham's past.