# Chapter XVI explained — Great Expectations

> Chapter companion for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

Pip reflects on the attack on his sister, Mrs. Joe, and the discovery of a filed convict's leg-iron as the weapon. He suspects either Orlick or the strange man who showed him the file, but keeps his secret from Joe. The police investigation proves ineffective. Mrs. Joe recovers but is left with impaired speech and memory, and Biddy comes to live with them to help care for her. Biddy solves the mystery of Mrs. Joe's repeated drawing of a hammer on her slate, revealing it signifies Orlick. Mrs. Joe shows a fearful desire to appease Orlick.

## Themes in this chapter

### Guilt and Redemption

Pip struggles with guilt over his secret connection to the leg-iron and the attack on his sister, yet he cannot bring himself to confess to Joe.

### Crime and Injustice

The attack on Mrs. Joe and the ineffective police investigation highlight the theme of crime and the failure of justice.

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Pip's hidden knowledge and the contrast between Mrs. Joe's former domineering nature and her new submissive behavior toward Orlick illustrate deception and shifting appearances.

## Character check-ins

### Pip

Wrestles with guilt over providing the weapon and considers confessing to Joe, but ultimately keeps his secret.

### Joe Gargery

Discovers Mrs. Joe after the attack, examines the leg-iron, and is deeply saddened by her condition.

### Mrs. Joe Gargery

Survives the attack but suffers lasting impairments to sight, hearing, memory, and speech; her temper improves and she becomes submissive, especially toward Orlick.

### Biddy

Joins the household to care for Mrs. Joe and proves invaluable, solving the mystery of the hammer symbol on the slate.

### Orlick

Suspected by Pip but has an alibi; Mrs. Joe's hammer symbol points to him, and she behaves fearfully and appeasingly toward him.

## Key lines

> With my head full of George Barnwell, I was at first disposed to believe that I must have had some hand in the attack upon my sister...

Pip initially fears he is implicated in the assault on his sister because of his guilty conscience.

_Pip's guilt and self-blame are evident from the start of the chapter._

> I believed the iron to be my convict’s iron—the iron I had seen and heard him filing at, on the marshes—but my mind did not accuse him of having put it to its latest use.

Pip recognizes the leg-iron as the one he saw the convict filing, but he does not think the convict used it to attack his sister.

_Pip's secret knowledge of the convict complicates his understanding of the crime._

> Biddy instantly taking the cleverest charge of her as though she had studied her from infancy; Joe became able in some sort to appreciate the greater quiet of his life...

Biddy's skillful care of Mrs. Joe brings some peace to Joe's life.

_Biddy's arrival marks a positive change for the household._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xvi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/great_expectations_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters