Pip Arrives in London explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Wealth and Moral Corruption

  Pip's new allowance and credit from Mr. Jaggers symbolize the corrupting influence of wealth, as he is warned he will 'go wrong somehow' and is surrounded by the grim realities of London's criminal justice system.

• Social Class and Ambition

  Pip's arrival in London and his introduction to Mr. Jaggers' world highlight his social ascent and the ambition that drives him, but also the moral compromises and harsh realities of his new life.

• Crime and Injustice

  The chapter vividly depicts the criminal justice system through Mr. Jaggers' legal practice, the presence of clients, and Pip's visit to Smithfield and Newgate Prison, emphasizing the brutality and injustice of the era.

Characters to notice

• Pip

  Pip arrives in London, receives his allowance from Mr. Jaggers, and explores the city, feeling overwhelmed by its size and squalor.

• Jaggers

  Mr. Jaggers gives Pip instructions about his allowance and credit, and sends him with Wemmick to his office.

• Wemmick

  Wemmick is the clerk who accompanies Pip from Mr. Jaggers' office to the street, clearing a path through the waiting clients.

• Mike

  Mike is a one-eyed gentleman in a velveteen suit who is unceremoniously ejected from Mr. Jaggers' office by the clerk while Pip waits.

Key passages

• “You will find your credit good, Mr. Pip, but I shall by this means be able to check your bills, and to pull you up if I find you outrunning the constable. Of course you’ll go wrong somehow, but that’s no fault of mine.”

  Mr. Jaggers tells Pip that his credit is good, but he will monitor his spending and correct him if he overspends, adding that Pip is bound to make mistakes, but that is not his responsibility.

  Jaggers sets financial boundaries for Pip, foreshadowing Pip's moral and financial struggles.

• “I was scared by the immensity of London, I think I might have had some faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty.”

  Pip is overwhelmed by the vastness of London and begins to suspect it is actually ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty.

  Pip's first impression of London contrasts with his earlier expectations, highlighting the theme of appearance vs. reality.

• “This was horrible, and gave me a sickening idea of London; the more so as the Lord Chief Justice’s proprietor wore mildewed clothes which had evidently not belonged to him originally, and which I took it into my head he had bought cheap of the executioner.”

  The sight of the gallows and the executioner's assistant, who wore old clothes possibly bought from the executioner, fills Pip with a sickening dread of London.

  Pip's encounter with the grim realities of capital punishment deepens his disillusionment with London.