Bildungsroman: a recap

Hi,

It's probably the easiest and most useful way of getting into context when writing about Great Expectations. If you get a question about Pip - or a question where Pip is important - then you've got to mention the literary context of bildungsroman.







Here's a reminder of what it is:

 

 

Now think of Pip.

At the start of the novel, the marshes and the forge are all he knows. The symbolic 'horizontal lines' that he sees as the horizon in Chapter 1 represent his limited expectations and his bleak prospects.

When he goes to Satis House, everything changes. His horizons suddenly expand. But he also starts to feel 'coarse and common'. He is no longer content to be a blacksmith. This loss of identity leads his on a quest to improve himself and make himself worthy of Estella.

He makes lots of mistakes along the way. He becomes a bit of a snob, he rejects Joe, he gets into debt; in the the middle chapters, he faces humiliation after humiliation. These are all part and parcel of the learning process of bildungsroman.

In the end, Pip is able to move on from the haunting presence of Miss Havisham and Satis House, and he's forced to let go of any hope of being with Estella. He recognises Joe as a 'gentle Christian man', he recognises that Joe is more worthy of Biddy's hand, and he accepts a job. He accepts his limitations and his place in the world. He learns, from Herbert's example, the virtues of hard work and 'looking about you' for an opportunity - and gets over the idea that some benefactor can make his dreams come true. By the end, he redeems himself - and perhaps he earns the half-chance of happiness with Estella - if that is what Dickens suggests at the end.


Hope this helps,


Mr M