Great Expectations · Chapter
Chapter XXXVIII explained
Pip struggles with jealousy over Estella's favor toward the contemptible Drummle, confronts her about it, and witnesses a tense confrontation between Estella and Miss Havisham, where Estella asserts that she has been made what she is by Mis
What happens
Pip struggles with jealousy over Estella's favor toward the contemptible Drummle, confronts her about it, and witnesses a tense confrontation between Estella and Miss Havisham, where Estella asserts that she has been made what she is by Miss Havisham's own teachings. Pip later accompanies Estella on visits to Satis House, observing Miss Havisham's obsessive and vengeful hold over Estella, and comes to understand that Estella is being used as an instrument of revenge against men.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Unrequited Devotion
Pip's deep but unreciprocated love for Estella is highlighted as he suffers jealousy over Drummle and realizes he is part of Miss Havisham's revenge plot.
Deception and Appearance vs. Reality
Estella's behavior toward Drummle and her coldness toward Miss Havisham reveal the deceptive nature of her upbringing and the false appearances maintained at Satis House.
Wealth and Moral Corruption
Drummle's wealth and family status give him confidence despite his boorish nature, illustrating how money can corrupt social values and relationships.
Characters to notice
- Pip
Pip is tormented by Estella's attention to Drummle and confronts her about it. He also observes the fraught relationship between Estella and Miss Havisham, and realizes he is part of Miss Havisham's revenge scheme.
- Estella
Estella tolerates Drummle's attentions and defends her behavior to Pip. She later confronts Miss Havisham, asserting that she is a product of Miss Havisham's own teachings and cannot be otherwise.
- Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is emotionally distraught over Estella's hardness toward her, and is shown to be using Estella as a tool for revenge against men, while clinging to her with obsessive affection.
- Drummle
Drummle is the object of Pip's jealousy, as he persistently pursues Estella with her toleration, despite being generally despised.
Key passages
“I cannot adequately express what pain it gave me to think that Estella should show any favor to a contemptible, clumsy, sulky booby, so very far below the average.”
Pip is deeply pained that Estella would show favor to someone as contemptible and clumsy as Drummle.
Pip's jealousy and sense of superiority over Drummle are evident.
“I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.”
Estella tells Miss Havisham that she is the product of her upbringing, and cannot be blamed for either her virtues or her flaws.
Estella asserts her identity as shaped by Miss Havisham's teachings.
“I saw in this that Estella was set to wreak Miss Havisham’s revenge on men, and that she was not to be given to me until she had gratified it for a term.”
Pip realizes that Miss Havisham is using Estella as an instrument of revenge against men, and that he will only get Estella after she has fulfilled that purpose.
Pip understands the manipulative scheme behind his relationship with Estella.