Great Expectations

A person in life has many choices as to how they are going to choose to live their life. Some come from impoverished life styles, but were able to break the trend and get an education. Others are so set in their way, that nothing will be able to break from how they were raised. The fact is, many people in the world end up being just like their parents or guardians. In the novel, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, love is a cruel fact of life, and when it is not present it can make a person become very cold to the world, and unfortunately for a lady named Estella she falls fatal to living her life just how she had been raised.

Striving for one thing and one thing only is the life of Estella. Her mission in life is to get back at anyone who dares to try and love her. This philosophy has been developed by a horrible mother Miss. Havisham. At one point in Miss Havisham’s life, she almost became a “Mrs.” Being stood up by the man she loved left Miss Havisham with a scar that can never be removed. In her life time she makes sure that Estella will never forget it either. This type of a lifestyle would be very difficult, but it is not impossible to break free. Estella just chooses to break a man’s heart, the thing she had been preparing for her whole life.

Eventually the time comes to put all she has trained for and lived for into action. “It is in the nature formed within me. I make a great difference between you and all the other people when I say so much. I can do no more.” (pg. 363) This powerful moment happens right after Pip profusely professed his love to Estella. This is what Estella and Miss Havisham had wanted all along. To see a man break down in dire agony to try and gain the love of the woman only to be left standing. Surprisingly though, the response from Miss. Havisham was less than likely.

“I saw Miss Havisham put her hand to her heart and hold it there, as she sat looking by turns at Estella and at me.” (pg.362) After all Miss Havisham realizes this notion she had wanted to see so badly doesn’t really fulfill her desire or her one love in life. Instead it makes her feel an emotion or action other than self-pity -- the feeling of regret or sorrow. Regret that she raised a person to break such a nice lads heart, and sorrow, to see Pip go through such an emotional time. At the end of this ordeal, Miss Havisham begins to slightly change her outlook on life, and is able to open her eyes to the fact that all men are not that bad.

Breaking free of the lifestyle you had been so accustomed to is a concept adapted by many people in the world. For a few people, this way of life does not fit into the plan of how they want to live. This happens to Estella, and forever affects the life of Pip. For those fortunate like Miss Havisham, they are able to see that maybe they were wrong after all. Parents influence your life in great ways, but it is up to the person dealing with it to choose how it will affect them in the long run.