In both of today’s readings shame is shown to be a result of the Victorian criminal justice system. In particular, “Ballad of Reading Gaol” reflects the huge role of shame in crime and punishment during this time period. The prison is said to be “built with bricks of shame,” the noose is described as “the rope of shame,” and the grave is the “pit of shame.” The poem describes the shameful way criminals are buried. The people are “eaten by teeth of flame” and then put in nameless graves. The poem reflects the inner turmoil of these prisoners in the lines, “And down the iron stair we tramped, Each from his separate Hell.” This poem makes it clear that Victorian society can be very toxic. Specifically, the justice system cripples people with shame leaving them unable to grow as people. Wilde writes, “and by all forgot, we rot and rot, with soul and body marred.” Shame is also a recurring theme in Great Expectations. We see Pip feel ashamed many times throughout the novel. Estella makes Pip feel shameful of his upbringing and social status by criticizing his rough hands and unrefined manners. This haunts Pip causing him to obsessively think about improving his social status. Pip also grapples with feeling ashamed of Joe. For example, when Joe visits Pip in London, Pip dreads Joes arrival and mentions that he is relieved that he won’t be meeting Drummel. Pip even feels ashamed when he thinks he will be killed by Orlick; he worries that his friends will think that he ditched them for his own sake. This shame keeps Pip stagnant; he is held back from developing as a person. For example, when he realizes that he must not feel shame for Joe by the end of the novel, Pip is set free, now able to evolve into a better person. It is well-known that Dickens did not approve of many aspects of Victorian society, including it’s brutal criminal justice system. “Ballad of Reading Gaol” depicts the justice system in a way that sheds light on the tendency of Victorian society to demonize, humiliate and degrade its citizens. Dickens uses shame in Great Expectations to reflect the harmful effects that society can have on its people. While society does this institutionally through the criminal justice system you see guilt and shame seep into daily life in these examples of Pip’s shame in Great Expectations. Whether in prison or not, people become stuck by their shame.

From what I’ve gathered in both the texts, The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De Profundis by Oscar Wilde, is that the speaker is being kept inside of jail cell. However, I believe that this ‘jail cell’ is a metaphor for the entrapment of depression. When one is in this state, they detach themselves, becoming someone they aren’t. In the poem, when it repeats that ‘the man killed his love’, I believe that this is a representation of who ‘he’ is and all ‘he’ has lost; his desires, his dreams, his fortune. Although this can be read literal, I choose to see my interpretation as the correct path as it relates to any reader who reads these texts. When looking back at our semester’s catalog of texts, I think back to every text we have read, as it gives off this dark ominous theme that leaves characters and the audience feeling sorrow and gloom.

In Oscar Wilde’s letter, “De Profundis,” it was disheartening to read of people’s reaction to seeing him handcuffed in his convict’s uniform. Evidently, he recalls the experience and describes, “I had to stand on the centre platform of Clapham Junction in convict dress, and handcuffed… When people saw me they laughed. Each train as it came up swelled the audience. Nothing could exceed their amusement… For half an hour I stood there in the grey November rain surrounded by a jeering mob” (97). Hence, people thought the situation was humorous and lacked compassion for someone who was suffering. All in all, just because of his attire and appearance as a criminal, people’s initial reaction was to make fun of him. Notably, no one had any inclination of sympathy or attempt to understand his situation. Similarly, the way that people made instinctual judgements because of his appearance can be compared to Magwitch in Great Expectations. Indeed, Pip’s initial reaction to him is fear, based on his appearance. However, after learning about his character and situation, he grew to be more understanding and tried to help him in an escape plan. Thus, this proves how by getting to know someone, and not making assumptions based on appearances, that can change your whole perspective. If the people who were laughing at Wilde actually tried to get to know him and his situation, they might have more compassion for what he is going through. Not to mention, it is easy to make fun of a stranger because there are seemingly no consequences because there is no personal attachment. Therefore, appearances don’t tell someone’s full story and instead of making assumptions about people who you don’t know, if you get to know them and try to understand their situation, that can change your entire outlook on the situation.

Abel Magwitch is likely not the first person, real or fictional, who would come to mind when contemplating religion; however, while Abel had a difficult childhood, he still strives to follow some type of moral code. Abel is never without the Testament and obliges others to swear on it so that he may hold them accountable to their words and their actions.

Upon learning a bit more about Abel’s backstory, it appears that he never really had a chance when it came to avoiding a life of crime. Nonetheless, Abel clings to his little black book for many years, although he probably would not be considered religious or consider himself in this respect. This led me to draw a parallel between the mystery surrounding Abel’s religion and spirituality and one of the first few lines of Huxley’s “Agnosticism and Christianity”, which reads, “The people who call themselves ‘Agnostics’ have been charged with doing so because they have not the courage to declare themselves ‘Infidels.’ It has been insinuated that they have adopted a new name in order to escape the unpleasantness which attaches to their proper denomination.” Perhaps Abel continues to grasp onto the Testament because, for him, it is the difference between “Infidel”, and the negative connotations associated with this, and “Agnostic”, as well as the positive implications of this term. It also seems that, at the time during which this book was set to take place, society tended to tie Christianity to morality, so without being somewhat religious or spiritual, Abel feels he is nothing in the eyes of society and God. Abel is a much sought after convict, outcasted from society— perhaps he clings to what little semblance of religion he has in order to maintain some dignity and social status, at least in his own eyes, or in the eyes of society through himself.

What stood out to me the most in these last chapters of Great Expectations was the similarities, as well as the differences, between Pip and Magwitch. As we come to learn in chapter 42, Magwitch was an orphan just as Pip had been. However, Magwitch did not have other family he could rely on, and instead had to resort to crime to support himself. The two also share the experience of being somewhat exploited by wealthy individuals who manipulate them. Pip has Miss Havisham, who taunts him with Estella and allows him to believe that she is the source of his wealth. Meanwhile, Magwitch had Compeyson, who ends up getting him arrested through his schemes. The experiences they have with their respective exploiters, however, has different impacts on the two. Miss Havisham’s abuse causes Pip to want to “better” himself and become a gentleman. Magwitch, on the other hand, becomes bitter, and almost vengeful. And understandably so.

Yet another similarity between the two is their lost or unattainable love. Pip is in love with Estella, but in these chapters, she officially rejects him and instead marries Drummle. While talking about his past, Magwitch briefly brings up a girl before quickly brushing it off. This leads the reader to believe that he has lost someone he loves as well. The commonalities continue a bit later in the story as each of the men’s enemies come into more prominence, but I’ll avoid that for now to remain spoiler-free. Overall, I think it is interesting to see how close the two backstories are, and to realize how simply each of them could have gone down opposite paths.

I have seen many people comparing Heathcliff and Pip in their connection posts for this week, particularly their shared experience of pining over a woman who doesn’t love them back. I’d like to point out a few differences between how the two react in these circumstances, however. When Heathcliff is faced with the loss of Catherine, in this case to death, he becomes an even more miserable man than he was before, his first words on the matter of her death are essentially the Victorian equivalent of “good riddance”, and later, when faced with the prospect of his own death, he requests to be buried next to her, knowing full well that she would likely object, were she not dead. In Pip’s case, when faced with the loss of Estella, not to death, but to another man, his reaction, while not entirely healthy, is in my opinion at least, entirely preferable to Heathcliff’s. He has one last argument with Estella about the man she’s marrying, goes on a bit of a rant about how she is a part of his identity (another all too obvious parallel to Withering Heights), and then leaves, telling her that he will remember her fondly, even after this, only associating her with the good. In the time after this, he seems to take every precaution to avoid hearing of her but doesn’t speak ill of her in any way. In addition, he forgives Miss Havisham for the part she played in driving Estella away from him, and even attempts to comfort her. Then only minutes later, ends up saving her life, and calling for medical attention when she catches fire. With these massive distinctions in Pip and Heathcliff’s reaction to finding the one they loved suddenly beyond their reach, I think it”s unfair to compare Heathcliff and Pip as if their actions are one in the same, as Pip clearly has the moral high ground here, not just between him and Heathcliff, but just in general

The parallels between Wuthering Heights and Great Expectations continuously jump out at me as we continue to read this novel. Relationships in the Victorian Era have a weird dynamic, especially when we see a contrast in certain ideologies of class, gender and social structure within the novels we have read. In chapter 44 we see a change in Pip and Estellas relationship, Pip confesses his love to Estella, but it is shared that Estella does not reciprocate those same feelings. We then learn that she is going to marry Drummle. This reminds me a lot of Catherine and Heathcliffs relationship. Although it is not exactly identical in accounts of feelings of both parties, it is very similar in situational aspects. Estella marrying another man, just like Catherine marrying another man. But here, it is interesting to see why Estella is marrying Drummle, as he is not a character who is portrayed as a very nice one. Pips innocence and recognition of his social class to Estella is one that reminds me of Heathcliffs early characterization in Wuthering Heights. One quote from Heathcliff that I thought of when reading Great Expectations (as Pip was speaking) was “‘But, Nelly, if I knocked him down twenty times, that wouldn’t make him less handsome or me more so. I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!” (Bronte 37) In both novels we see the recognition of social status from Heathcliff and from Pip in Great Expectations, yet they still pursue something outside of their social status or their “realm” and predetermined expectations of the time period. It is interesting to compare these two novels and their characters with many themes, one here being the rise of social status through romanticism and love, through relationships.

So, like usual, I’m going to be an improper student and connect Great Expectations to an outside-of-the-class text. This time it’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I’m reading for my Europe in the Age of Revolutions class (which offers me a lot of historic/political context to the texts we’re reading). When Pip feels shame over the origin of his fortune stemming from Magwitch, a criminal, I could not help but think of Dorian Gray and his own upswing in “fortune” brought about by the introduction of portrait in his life. The portrait gives Dorian eternal youth, and merely at the cost of his humanity – and the deaths of several men and women who crossed his path. Pip feels the guilt, though none of the transpired events were his fault; Dorian has no such inhibitions, and in fact relishes in the new vitality that his mirror image has given him. In effect, both characters were given a new chance at life, a chance to rebirth themselves and experience life anew. Dorian, however, was tainted from the outset, as he was unable to empathize with anyone other than himself. Coincidentally, he also started as an aristocrat. Pip, on the other hand, began life as part of the disenfranchised working class. Dorian and Pip spend their days performing much of the same activities: absolutely nothing. Pip though commits only benign acts for the most part, simply happy to be flush with so much wealth and just buys material things. Dorian lives as a hedonist, following the advice of his friend Lord Henry. He drinks, whores, and drugs his way through the London underground even as he continues to hold the visage of a perfectly upright gentleman. Fundamentally, I think the reason for their difference in outlook is not because Pip started humble, or because Pip just naturally had a more developed sense of morality; humility and kindness can be taught. Rather, it is Dorian’s inability to accept the natural way of things: he will get older, he may get poorer, and he will be unable to accomplish everything life has to offer before he dies. Pip just seems to be happy to be along for the ride, and has not yet terribly exploited those around him (though his treatment of Joe I find frequently heartbreaking). I could see Pip becoming much like Dorian if he is unable to control his urges, and finds his new status on top of the hill somehow too sweet to lose. Perhaps his metaphorical portrait is his desire for Estella, something that can push him into forgoing his humanity in the pursuit of something unattainable.

Let’s just hope he won’t become a aristocratic vampire-lich; that role belongs to Miss Havisham.

One of the connexions that I was particularly interested in was Pip’s condemnation of Miss Havisham’s duplicity and his hope that Estella will leave Drummle behind to Catherine II’s animosity and outrage concerning Heathcliff’s treatment of Hareton in Wuthering Heights. One of the things that I realised these two characters have in common is that they both have come to terms with the truth and want nothing more than to free their loved ones from the manipulation of their superiors. 

In chapter 44 of Great Expectations, Pip takes his newfound knowledge about his benefactor straight to Miss Havisham and condemns her for leading him on and coercing Estella into an unhappy marriage, for the sake of petty vengeance. This is precisely the same manner Catherine II forges her alliance with Hareton in Wuthering Heights. After having suffered directly from the hands of Heathcliff and has become accustomed to his cruel, tyrannical behavior, Catherine II implores Hareton to advance his station by informing him of the displacement that Heathcliff has caused him. Whether this is out of spite for Heathcliff, genuine love for Hareton, or perhaps a combination of both- Pip’s actions are directly informed by his infatuation with Estella. Interestingly enough, both Estella and Hareton react in the same manner- and while they acknowledge that they have been wronged, they do not hold their oppressors accountable. Estella claims that her marriage to Drummle is of her own will, her own doing and Hareton, on numerous occasions, chastises Catherine II when he believes her tone regarding Heathcliff borders disrespect or treachery. 

These parallels, among many others throughout Dickens’ novels, nonetheless makes me curious about the extent to which he was familiar with the tropes of Bronte’s novel, or whether or not these narrative techniques are normative for novels written during the Victorian era.