Great Expectations · Chapter
XLVII explained
Pip lives in a state of anxious waiting and financial strain, avoiding news of Estella and refusing further money from Magwitch.
What happens
Pip lives in a state of anxious waiting and financial strain, avoiding news of Estella and refusing further money from Magwitch. He rows on the river, watches for Wemmick's signal, and eventually attends a play where Mr. Wopsle performs. After the play, Wopsle tells Pip that one of the two convicts from their childhood encounter—the one who was mauled (Compeyson)—was sitting behind him in the theatre, heightening Pip's terror and sense of danger.
Themes in this chapter
Guilt and Redemption
Pip's refusal to take more money from Magwitch reflects his moral struggle and desire to avoid complicity in crime.
Crime and Injustice
The constant threat of Compeyson's discovery and the hiding of Magwitch underscore the criminal undercurrents of Pip's life.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Wopsle's theatrical performance and the mistaken identity of Compeyson in the audience highlight the theme of deceptive appearances.
Characters to notice
- Pip
Living in suspense and financial difficulty, avoiding news of Estella, and haunted by the fear of Compeyson's presence.
- Wemmick
Expected to make a sign but remains silent; Pip trusts him despite the lack of communication.
- Herbert Pocket
Pip sends the unopened pocketbook to Magwitch through Herbert, and confides in him about Estella.
- Magwitch
Pip's patron, now known as his benefactor; Pip refuses to take more money from him and sends back the pocketbook.
- Estella
Pip is convinced she is married, but he avoids confirmation and asks Herbert not to speak of her.
- Mr. Wopsle
Performs in a play and later tells Pip that Compeyson was in the audience, sitting behind Pip.
Key passages
“I had quite determined that it would be a heartless fraud to take more money from my patron in the existing state of my uncertain thoughts and plans.”
Pip decided it would be dishonest to accept further financial help from Magwitch given his current confusion and unresolved plans.
Pip's moral resolve not to exploit Magwitch's generosity after learning the truth.
“It was an unhappy life that I lived; and its one dominant anxiety, towering over all its other anxieties, like a high mountain above a range of mountains, never disappeared from my view.”
Pip's life was miserable, dominated by a single overwhelming fear that overshadowed all his other worries.
The central anxiety of Magwitch's discovery and the danger it brings.
“I cannot exaggerate the enhanced disquiet into which this conversation threw me, or the special and peculiar terror I felt at Compeyson’s having been behind me 'like a ghost.'”
Pip was deeply disturbed and terrified to learn that Compeyson had been sitting behind him in the theatre, unseen.
The revelation that Compeyson is nearby intensifies Pip's fear and sense of vulnerability.