# Chapter XXV explained — Great Expectations

> Chapter companion for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

## What happens

Pip describes his fellow students, the surly Bentley Drummle and the gentle Startop, and his deepening friendship with Herbert Pocket. He settles into Mr. Pocket's household, where he encounters the greedy Camilla and Georgiana. Pip visits Mr. Wemmick at his home in Walworth, a whimsical cottage he calls 'the Castle,' complete with a drawbridge and a flagstaff. Wemmick reveals his strict separation between his professional and private lives, introduces his Aged Parent, and entertains Pip with curiosities and a homemade cannon. Pip learns of an upcoming dinner invitation from Mr. Jaggers.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Wemmick's dual life—stern clerk at work, whimsical castle-dweller at home—exemplifies the contrast between public persona and private self.

### Social Class and Ambition

Pip's expensive habits and his interactions with the greedy Camilla and Georgiana underscore the social climbing and class tensions in his new life.

## Character check-ins

### Pip

Narrates his experiences with Drummle and Startop, his friendship with Herbert, and his visit to Wemmick's home.

### Herbert Pocket

Pip's intimate companion and friend; they share a boat and chambers, and Herbert helps Pip with his education.

### Drummle

Described as sulky, heavy, idle, proud, and suspicious; a disagreeable fellow among Mr. Pocket's students.

### Wemmick

Invites Pip to his Walworth home, shows his whimsical 'Castle,' and explains his separation of work and private life.

### The Aged Parent

Wemmick's elderly father, who lives at the Castle and participates in the nightly cannon ceremony.

### Camilla

Mr. Pocket's sister, who along with Georgiana, fawns on Pip in his prosperity out of cupidity and disappointment.

## Key lines

> Bentley Drummle, who was so sulky a fellow that he even took up a book as if its writer had done him an injury, did not take up an acquaintance in a more agreeable spirit.

Bentley Drummle was so ill-tempered that he approached reading a book as though the author had personally offended him, and he was no more pleasant in making friends.

_Introduces Drummle's disagreeable nature._

> These people hated me with the hatred of cupidity and disappointment. As a matter of course, they fawned upon me in my prosperity with the basest meanness.

Camilla and Georgiana resented me out of greed and envy, yet they flattered me shamelessly because of my newfound wealth.

_Highlights the hypocrisy of Pip's relatives._

> When I go into the office, I leave the castle behind me, and when I come into the castle, I leave the office behind me.

Wemmick keeps his work life and home life completely separate, never letting one intrude upon the other.

_Reveals Wemmick's strict division between his professional and private selves._

## Links

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