Parents in Great Expectations Essay

Examine how Dickens portrays the incompetence of parents Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a bildungsroman, which is primarily concerned about the literal and metaphorical metamorphosis of the central protagonist, Pip. However, Dickens main thrust is that of parenting through the utilization of Mrs. Joe Gargery and Miss Havisham to establish their injustices towards children. Miss Havisham from an affluent class abuses her privileges of being a parent by using Estella, her adopted daughter to attack the male gender. In contrast, Mrs. Joe Gargery is from a lower class, yet she too torments pip, but through physical and verbal means. Through Miss Havisham and Mrs. Joe, Dickens dam’s the ethical codes of the rich and the poor and moreover, conveys that the incompetence of parents that transcend economic boundaries. Contrastingly, Charles Dickens utilizes Mr. Joe Gargery as the leading embodiment of how parents should be offering Pip wisdom, but more importantly love and friendship. In the beginning, Dickens emphasizes the ill treatment of children in a low-class through the use of Mrs. Joe Gargery. Mrs.  Joe’s apron symbolizes her unwillingness to perform her expected role and acts as a reminder of the troubles Pip gives her: â€Å"†¦ I may truly say I’ve never had this apron of mine off, since born you were. It’s bad enough to be a blacksmith’s wife (and him a Gargery) without being your mother. â€Å"(Pg 7) Mrs. Joe makes Pip feel guilty by reminding him of her domestic slavery. Thus, Pip is left feeling like he warrants all the abuse Mrs. Joe inflicts upon him. Moreover the â€Å"coarse† apron, â€Å"stuck full of pins and needles,† reflects Mrs. Joe’s unapproachable and unloving nature. Also Through this Dickens’s mocks the traditional gender roles in the Victorian times, as Mrs. Joe is perceived to be more masculine. Other incidents of Mrs. Joe’s rough behavior towards Pip further highlights the injustices of children. Mrs. Joe’s â€Å"trenchant† way of preparing meals portrays her negative attitude towards Pip and Mr. Joe. The adjective â€Å"trenchant† implies a deliberate and hurtful action. â€Å"She jammed the loaf hard and fast against her bib – where it sometimes got a pin into it, and sometimes a needle, which we afterwards go into our mouths†. (pg 8) This is peculiar for a married woman, of a mature age to be acting in this way. In addition this again demolishes the stereotypical mother figure. Furthermore, Dickens depicts the incompetence of parents in a wealthy class through Miss Havisham’s exploitation of Estella to highlight the ill treatment of children. Miss Havisham wallows in self-pity because the person she loved left her alone, on her wedding day. Miss. Havisham never recovered or allowed herself to recover. Her bluntness and harshness was not coming from a rude old lady, but more from a lonely women trying to break free and escape. Miss Havisham surrounds herself in an environment that reflect her inner feelings: â€Å"†¦ The passages were dark†¦ † (p. 57) This can be seen as suppression; keeping her problems inside and letting them kill her slowly. How she damages herself harms Estella as well. Estella was raised in a controlled environment, and psychologically disturbed by Miss. Havisham. Miss. Havisham say’s she cannot love anymore because of her uncontrollable suspicion that everyone is out to hurt her; hence Estella will never experience love. By adopting Estella, it shows her longing for companion – however hides this by claiming it is only for training purposes to break all men’s hearts. Because of this Estella will never know what real love is. On the other hand, Dickens use of Mr. Joe exhibits elements of hope and contrastingly conveys the humanity of parents. Mr. Joe is not just a father figure to Pip, but as an â€Å"equal† too: â€Å"I always treated him as a large species of child and no more than my equal† This quotation exhibits the genuine love Pip has for Joe and their close relationship. Mr. Joe conveys an interest about Pip’s education: â€Å"I say, Pip, old chap! † cried Joe, opening his blue eyes wide, â€Å"what a scholar you are. An’t you? † (p. 42) Joe is proud of Pip and doesn’t want Pip to be uneducated like him. He treats Pip like his own, even though he is adopted. He admits in Chapter seven that the only reason he is staying with Mrs. Joe is solely because of Pip. Lastly, Joe’s acceptance of Pip back into his house again reinforces his father qualities. Through Joe, Pip realizes the importance of family and friendship. In addition appreciates his relationship with Joe. Ironically, Dickens had a life somewhat similar to that of Pip’s life. Dickens grew up in Kent and moved to London, like Pip. His mother made him work in a Blacking warehouse at age twelve due to his father’s financial dilemmas. This incident in his life trampled him psychologically. Through his experience, Dickens’s sympathizes for children and mocks the abuse of children in society as a whole. Dickens wrote strongly about people who ill-treated children through his novels, for example Oliver Twist. The underlying fact, in ‘Great Expectations’, is that parents lack sufficient love for the maintenance of emotional stability in their children.