Great Expectations by Charles Dickens(1860) – A review

Résumé du document

This is a passage of a novel written by the famous author Charles Dickens during the great period described in the novel, the end of the nineteenth century.

An adult remembers his experience, his first meeting with the other character when he was a child; so there is a question of remembering.
L.15 "it was not in the first few moments that I saw all these things" There is a mental re-creation of that first meeting because he cannot remember all these details after all these years. Theatricality is an important element in the text. Description of the stage with the decor, the outfits...

What does the word "play" signify here? To play a game? Or to act in the play she is managing?

Extraits

[...] Great Expectations by Charles Dickens(1860) A review First person narrative. Long description and a dialogue. This is a passage of a novel written by the famous author Charles Dickens in the great period of the novel, in the end of the XIXth century. An adult remembers his experience, his first meeting with the other character when he was a child; so there is a question of remembering. L.15 was not in the first few moments that I saw all these things” Mental re-creation of that first meeting because he cannot remember all these details after all these years. [...]

[...] ) into a signifying fetichist object. She is a kind of fetichist, sadist. They were symbol of happiness and love (they were going to get married). Then they became signs of her sadness, her abandon (because the wedding never took place). Symbols of lasting sorrow and betray. Reversal of signifiance. Fetichism. The place of woman in the society without being married is also pointed out. She twisted signs. She managed to master time but she failed. What Pip identifies is the principle of decade. [...]

[...] Life has been immobilized like in a picture. “looking-glass” Mrs Havisham is both actress and spectator but also the stage manager making her show herself. She is half-dressed as if the time has stopped her too. It is a carefully staged scene; Miss Havisham exhibits herself. What she really wants is Pip to look at her. “Look at L41-43: she's playing; it's a very theatrical attitude. Pip's reaction: he compares her with a skeleton, “some ghastly waxwork” (ghastly= horrible, atroce). She's playing a part of a victim. [...]

[...] Question of passing of time. We could associate this character with the gothic novel (candles, no light, the place itself, the different things catered in the room, she appears as a skeleton or a ghost; time has stopped). Importance of marriage at this time: a woman had to get married otherwise she would be condemned to live on her own as an old maid /spinster (vieille fille). Probably not a very nice experience to meet such a woman and enter such a place when you are a child but it is told with a will to make it appear nice (ex L.35). [...]

[...] Everyday she immobilizes herself. She has been the victim of a man but now she is her own victim. She also victimizes others which is a way to identify with them. OUTLINE: - Theatricality / gothic / sight (vision, verbs of perception) - Process of decoding / fascination / manipulation - Problem of showing and watching (Who's the actor? Who's the spectator? You will write a critical commentary of the following text, paying particular attention to the child's reactions to what he discovers; you may also point out the influence of the gothic in the passage and analyse its value. [...]