Great Expectations · Chapter
Pip's Return to the Blue Boar and Revelations with Herbert explained
Pip resolves to inform Mr.
What happens
Pip resolves to inform Mr. Jaggers about Orlick's unsuitability for a post at Miss Havisham's, but Jaggers dismisses the concern and pays Orlick off. Pip then escapes the Blue Boar and encounters Trabb's boy, who mocks him. Later, in London, Herbert confides in Pip about his engagement to Clara Barley, and they discuss Pip's adoration of Estella and his uncertain expectations.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
Pip's discomfort with his past and his encounters with Trabb's boy underscore the tensions of social mobility and the pretensions of his new status.
Love and Unrequited Devotion
Pip's deep adoration for Estella and his uncertainty about her feelings highlight the theme of unrequited love and devotion.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Pip's reflections on his own identity and the facade of his expectations, as well as Trabb's boy's mockery, emphasize the gap between appearance and reality.
Characters to notice
- Pip
Pip informs Jaggers about Orlick, escapes Trabb's boy's mockery, and later confides in Herbert about his love for Estella and his uncertain future.
- Jaggers
Jaggers dismisses Pip's concerns about Orlick and pays him off, showing his pragmatic and confident nature.
- Herbert Pocket
Herbert reveals his engagement to Clara Barley, discusses Pip's adoration of Estella, and offers hopeful advice about Pip's expectations.
- Mr. Trabb
Trabb's boy mocks Pip in the street, causing Pip humiliation and frustration.
- Orlick
Orlick is mentioned as being paid off by Jaggers after Pip reports his unsuitability for a post at Miss Havisham's.
- Estella
Pip confesses his continued adoration for Estella, and Herbert reassures him about her being 'allotted' to him.
Key passages
“Why of course he is not the right sort of man, Pip, because the man who fills the post of trust never is the right sort of man.”
Jaggers cynically remarks that no one who holds a position of trust is ever truly suitable for it.
Jaggers' pragmatic and cynical view of human nature is evident as he dismisses Pip's concerns about Orlick.
“I have never left off adoring her. And she has come back, a most beautiful and most elegant creature. And I saw her yesterday. And if I adored her before, I now doubly adore her.”
Pip confesses that his love for Estella has never waned and has only intensified after seeing her again.
Pip's unwavering devotion to Estella is a central emotional thread in this chapter.
“I was a blacksmith's boy but yesterday; I am—what shall I say I am—today?”
Pip struggles with his identity, feeling disconnected from his humble past and uncertain of his present status.
This reflects Pip's internal conflict about social class and his sense of self-worth.