Great Expectations · Chapter
Chapter XXXIX explained
Pip learns that his benefactor is the convict Magwitch, who has risked his life to return to England and reveal himself.
What happens
Pip learns that his benefactor is the convict Magwitch, who has risked his life to return to England and reveal himself. Pip is horrified and ashamed, realizing that his great expectations are built on crime and that he has deserted Joe and Biddy for a false dream. He locks Magwitch in his room and is consumed by fear and regret.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
Pip's great expectations are revealed to be funded by a convict, shattering his illusions of social advancement and exposing the corrupt foundation of his new status.
Guilt and Redemption
Pip is overwhelmed by guilt for abandoning Joe and Biddy, and for benefiting from Magwitch's crimes, setting the stage for his eventual quest for redemption.
Crime and Injustice
Magwitch's return from transportation is a capital crime, and Pip is forced to confront the criminal origins of his fortune and the injustice of the legal system.
Characters to notice
- Pip
Pip is devastated to discover his benefactor is the convict Magwitch, feeling wrecked and ashamed for having deserted Joe and Biddy.
- Magwitch
Magwitch reveals himself as Pip's benefactor, expressing pride in making Pip a gentleman and showing deep affection, though Pip recoils from him.
- Joe Gargery
Pip reflects on his abandonment of Joe, feeling that his sense of worthless conduct toward Joe is greater than any consideration.
- Biddy
Pip thinks of Biddy with regret, acknowledging he cannot undo his past treatment of her.
- Estella
Pip realizes Estella was never meant for him and that he was only used as a convenience at Satis House.
- Miss Havisham
Pip understands that Miss Havisham's intentions toward him were a mere dream, and he was only a tool for her revenge.
Key passages
“Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practise on when no other practice was at hand”
Pip realizes that Miss Havisham never intended him for Estella, and that he was merely used as a tool to torment her relatives.
Pip's disillusionment with his past hopes.
“it was for the convict, guilty of I knew not what crimes, and liable to be taken out of those rooms where I sat thinking, and hanged at the Old Bailey door, that I had deserted Joe”
Pip is anguished that he abandoned Joe for a convict who could be executed.
Pip's guilt over deserting Joe for Magwitch's money.
“I’m your second father. You’re my son—more to me nor any son. I’ve put away money, only for you to spend.”
Magwitch declares himself a father figure to Pip, having saved his money solely for Pip's benefit.
Magwitch's paternal affection and pride in Pip.