Great Expectations And Sincere Feelings Essay, Research Paper

Webster?s dictionary defines love in many different ways, ?A feeling of

intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make

a pair; the emotion of sex and romance. To have a feeling of intense desire and

attraction toward (a person) (Webster, love)?. In Great Expectations, Pip is

going through maturity, and is always undergoing maturity. We find that Pip is

always longing for friends, family, and for love. Love can be a number of things

to different people. Love is an emotion, where there is no wrong definition, for

it suits each and every person differently, however some characteristics are the

same amongst everybody. Pip thinks he is in love, but in my paper I investigate

if it?s a real desire of infatuation for Estella, or just a first big crush

which lasted through out his teenage years. Pip?s love for Estella is usually

a one-way street, at least in his eyes. From the moment Pip meets her, he feels

an attraction towards her. At the same token, Estella?s outward feelings

towards Pip are confusing and cruel. From slapping him in the face as hard as

she can, to making him feel as low as dirt saying he has coarse hands and thick

soles and such, Estella is able to crush Pip inside. He feels as though he

cannot let Estella know how he really feels besides telling Miss Havisham and

Estella her self that she was pretty, yet mean. As time goes on, Pip learns all

about Estella from her attitude and appearance. This attitude and appearance is

what Pip wanted to attain so that Estella would love him. In chapter 17 Pip

tells Biddy ? I am not at all happy as I am? (Dickens, 127). He wants to

become a gentleman, a complement to a gentlewoman–Estella. Again telling his

feelings to Biddy, he professes. ? the beautiful young lady at Miss

Havisham?s. And she?s more beautiful than anybody ever was, and I admire her

dreadfully, and I want to be a gentle man on her account? (Dickens, 129). This

is the first time we learned about Pip?s love from Pip. Thus far we assume

that he likes her, but we never actually hear him say it. The reasons, which he

gave Biddy, are his desires, his own infatuation, or a ?false love?. Pip has

no real ground to like, let alone love Estella since he hardly knows her at all.

All Pip knows is a young girl, which was taught to break men?s hearts. Estella

is Miss Havisham?s mini me of her self, a heartbroken women who has no

feelings of love, but only hatred in her heart. She taught Estella that men were

bad because of her past, and Estella?s emotions and thoughts we buried under

Miss Havisham?s thoughts. This was so early seen in the beginning when Estella

proclaims that Pip is common. At this moment in time, Pip felt bad and Estella

knew it, but past that she says more insulting things in front of Miss Havisham

for she knows it makes her proud keeping her happy. This was horrible because it

kept Estella from ever really loving somebody throughout the whole novel.

Statements like, ?Well? Can you break his heart?? (Dickens, 60) which are

the source for identity crises in this book amongst both Pip and Estella alike.

The actions which came from statements by Miss Havisham are what keeps Pip and

Estella constantly going through out constant identity changes, thus making it

almost near to impossible to love. Pip never would be able to get a true grasp

of who she was because she, like him, would change like the direction of wind at

any given time. For a great duration of the novel, Pip is infatuated with

Estella. He thinks he is in love, but with no solid reasons as to why. As a

reader, it can be perceived that Pip being a young man, is going through changes

and is attracted physically to Estella however that can only measure so much of

love. This was shown when Biddy told Pip she liked him, but he opted for

Estella. Pip experienced new feelings, which he never had experienced, feelings

that he doesn?t know about. Throughout the book we discover that his false

love controls Pip. His infatuation for Estella inspires him to become an

educated gentleman. We, like Pip have no idea how long he will feel like he does

for Estella. We do know his infatuation is for the wrong reasons. Pip really

didn?t have anybody or anything to compare his infatuation with, thus it gave

him no reason not have one. He never had love before, not the love, leaving him

nothing to compare to see if he is really in love. Pip showed beyond a

reasonable doubt in his mind, that he began with a deep infatuation for Estella.

In the end of the novel, he learns that he does love Estella, and that his love

will never be mutual. Throughout the book Pip professes his love for Estella,

but she always says it can never happen. He thinks that there is always hope up

until he finds out she is to be married to Drumle. In chapter 44 Pip makes a

declaration to Miss Havisham in front of Estella, ? What I had to say to

Estella, Miss Havisham, I will say before you, presently- in a few moments. It

will not surprise you, it will not displease you. I am as unhappy as you can

ever have meant me to be? (Dickens, 359). This prepares Estella for what he is

going to say, and assures that Miss Havisham has destroyed him as a man through

Estella. Now that Miss Havisham is content, he turns to Estella, ? you know I

love you, you know I have loved you long and dearly? (Dickens, 361). Now

Estella, along with, the reader know, he loves her officially, and he also tells

her, I should have said this sooner, but for my long mistake. It induced me to

hope that Miss Havisham meant us for one another. While I thought you could not

help yourself, as it were, I refrained from saying it. But I must say it now.

(Dickens, 362) This is the prelude to why he professes his love. He doesn?t

want to see Estella marry Drummle for he knows he cannot ever attain Estella?s

love, but at the same time he wants who ever is going to marry her to treat her

like a queen. He wants to best for her. His boldness to be able to confront a

problem, knowing he will never be apart of the solution shows how much indeed he

does love her. But being Estella she replies to his statements by saying ??

When you say you love me, I know what you mean, as a form of words; but nothing

more?? (Dickens, 362). She makes it known that she has never been in love,

and is certainly not in love with him. If Pip was infatuated with Estella he

would have begged and pleaded and be totally against Estella marrying the

Drummle, but he was mature instead and accepted what the deck had dealt him,

hoping that she would be happy. Pip now comes to the realization that he must

move on. Pip wants, finds, and deals with love. He knows that Estella is out of

the picture. He realizes from her saying I have no heart, at this point in her

life, she is incapable of love. He deals with this by wishing her the best and

wanting the best for her. He will always love her but he knows he cannot have

her. In the beginning we think that he isn?t in love, for he doesn?t even

know Estella, to the terms of what we think would be the foundation for any

loving relationship. She treats him like crap and tries to make him feel like

crap 24 hours a day. The saying, ?the ones you hate, are the ones you really

love?, applies in this book. Deep beneath that hard skin, I think Estella has

feelings for Pip-not necessarily the feelings of love, but feelings. Through

Pips trials and tribulations, he has learned all about love. Since Estella was

his first infatuation, he had nothing to compare his feelings to, but in the

future he will always be able to compare. A good guess to how we can imply that

he will love someone would be if he thought of her as a queen. Pip learns and

figures out love from everything he has been through. He is capable of loving

and knowing when love has begun and ended. But, like all good things (like love

and this paper) they must come to an end until another good thing comes along;

another wonderful girl- a girl which loves Pip for Pip, as he does for her.

WWWebster Dictionary ?Love? Merriam-Webster, Incorporated 1999 <

http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=love> (26 November 1999)

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York. Penguin Classic, 1996