Great Expectations

1
Great Expectations

• Mrs. Fairchild

2

• God knows youre welcome to it --so far as it
  was ever mine, returned Joe, with a saving
  remembrance of Mrs. Joe. We dont know what you
  have done, but we wouldnt have you starved to
  death for it, poor miserable fellow creature.
  Would us, Pip?

3

• Then the ends of the torches were flung hissing
  into the water, and went out, as if it were all
  over with him.

4

• Biddy arranged all the shop transactions. Biddy
  was Mr.Wopsles great-aunts granddaughter. She
  was an orphan like myself like me, too, had been
  brought up by hand. Her hair always wanted
  brushing, her hands always wanted washing, and
  her shoes always wanted mending and pulling up at
  heel.

5

• Well, Pip, said Joe taking up the poker, and
  setting himself to his usual occupation, when he
  was thoughtful, of slowly raking the fire between
  the lower bars, Ill tell you. My father, Pip,
  he were given to drink, and when he were overtook
  with drink, he hammered away at my mother most
  onmerciful. My mother and me we ran away from my
  father several times and then my mother shed go
  out to work, and shed say, Joe, shed say,
  now, please God, you shall have some schooling,
  child, and shed put me to school. But my
  father were that good in his heart that he
  couldnt bear to be without us. So, he took us
  home and hammered us. Which, you see, Pip said
  Joe, were a drawback on my learning.

6

• Joes blue eyes turned a little watery. It were
  but lonesome then, said Joe, living here alone,
  and I got acquainted with your sister. Now,
  Pip, Joe looked firmly at me, as if he knew I
  was not going to agree with him, your sister is
  a fine figure of a woman.

7

• Whatever family opinions, or whatever the
  worlds opinions, on that subject may be, Pip,
  your sister is, Joe tapped the top bar with the
  poker after every word following,
  a-fine-figure-of-a-woman!

8

• I broke out crying and hugged Joe round the neck,
  who dropped the poker to hug me, and to say,
  Ever the best of friends aint us Pip? Dont
  cry, old chap!

9

• Young as I was, I believe that I dated a new
  admiration of Joe that night. We were equals
  afterward, as we had been before but afterward,
  at quiet times when I sat looking at Joe and
  thinking about him, I had a new sensation of
  feeling conscious that I was looking up to Joe in
  my heart.

10

• Does she grow prettier and prettier, Pip? And
  when I said yes (for indeed she did), would seem
  to enjoy it greedily.

11

• I had heard of Miss Havisham uptown --everybody
  for miles round had heard of Miss Havisham uptown
  --as an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in
  a large and dismal house barricaded against
  robbers, and who led a life of seclusion.

12

• I could see at first no stars from the
  chaise-chart. But they twinkled out one by one,
  without throwing any light on the questions why
  on earth I was going to play at Miss Havishams
  and what on earth I was expected to play at.

13
We came to Miss Havishams House, which was of
old brick, and dismal, and had a great many bars
to it.
14
The cold air seemed to blow colder there than
outside the gate.
15
-Enough House! said I. Thats a curious name,
miss.It meant that whoever had this house,
could want nothing else.
16
She was dressed in rich materials-satins, and
lace, and silks-all of whiteBut I saw that
everything within my view which ought to be white
had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow.
(689)
17
I saw that her watch had stopped at twnety
minutes to nine, and that the clock had stopped
at twenty minutes to nine.
18
With this boy! Why, he is a common laboring
boy! I thought I heard Miss Havisham
answer-only it seemed so unlikely-well? You can
break his heart.
19
Miss Havisham sat corpselike as we played at
cards. He calls the knaves jacks, this boy!
said Estella with disdain, before our first game
was out. And what coarse hands he has! And what
thick boots! I had never thought of being
ashamed of my hands before but her contempt for
me was so infectious, and I caught it.
20

• Break their hearts my pride and hope, break
  their hearts and have no mercy!

21

• I reposed to complete confidence in no one but
  biddy but, I told poor Biddy everything. Why it
  came natural to me to do so, and why Biddy had a
  deep concern in everything I told her, I did not
  know then, though I think I know now.

22

• I could hardly have imagined dear old Joe looking
  so unlike himself or so like some extraordinary
  bird standing, as he did, speechless, with his
  tuft of feathers ruffled, and his mouth open, as
  if he wanted a worm.

23

• I know I was ashamed of him- when I saw that
  Estella stood at the back of Miss Havishams
  chair, and that her eyes laughed mischievously. I
  took the indentures out of his hand and gave them
  to Miss Havisham.

24

• No. Gargery is your master now. Gargery! One
  word!

25

• Pip, I do assure you this is as-TON-ashing! and
  so, by degrees, became conversational and able to
  walk away.

26

• It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of
  home. There may be black ingratitude in the
  thing, and the punishment may be retributive and
  well deserved but, that it is a miserable thing,
  I can testify.

27

• I made proposals to Mr. Wopsle to bestow some
  intellectual crumbs upon me with which he kindly
  complied. As it turned out, however, that he only
  wanted me for a dramatic lay-figure

28

• That was a memorable day to me, got it made great
  changes in me. But, it is the same with any
  life. Imaging one selected day struck out of it,
  and think how different its course would have
  been. Pause you who read this, and think for a
  moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of
  thorns or flowers, that would never have bound
  you, but for the formation of the first link on
  one memorable day.

29

• On this day of the year, long before you were
  born, this heap of decay stabbing with her
  crutched stick at the pile of cobwebs on the
  table but not touching it, was brought here. It
  and I have worn away together. The mice have
  gnawed at it, and sharper teeth than teeth of
  mice have gnawed at me.