Great Expectations Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Great Expectations follows Pip, an orphan raised by his sister and her kind husband, the blacksmith Joe. When an unknown benefactor makes him a gentleman with great expectations, he leaves for London, grows ashamed of his humble home and learns too late where his good fortune really came from.
Dickens wrote two endings; the one usually printed is the second, more hopeful one.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Pip | Orphan who becomes a gentleman |
| Joe Gargery | Pip's gentle brother-in-law, a blacksmith |
| Mrs. Joe | Pip's harsh older sister |
| Abel Magwitch | Escaped convict Pip helps as a boy |
| Miss Havisham | Rich, bitter woman jilted on her wedding day |
| Estella | Her beautiful, cold adopted daughter |
| Mr. Jaggers | Powerful London lawyer |
| Herbert Pocket | Pip's cheerful friend in London |
| Biddy | Kind village girl |
| Compeyson | Criminal who betrayed Magwitch and Miss Havisham |
How does the story begin?
On Christmas Eve, young Pip is visiting his parents' graves on the Kent marshes when an escaped convict seizes him and demands food and a file. Terrified, Pip steals them from home. Soldiers later recapture the man, Abel Magwitch, who protects Pip by claiming he stole the food himself.
↑ Back to the topWho are Miss Havisham and Estella?
Pip is sent to play at Satis House, home of Miss Havisham, who was jilted on her wedding day years ago and still wears her wedding dress among stopped clocks and a rotting cake. She has raised the beautiful Estella to break men's hearts. Estella mocks Pip's coarse hands, and he falls hopelessly in love with her and begins to feel ashamed of Joe and the forge.
↑ Back to the topWhat are Pip's great expectations?
Pip is apprenticed to Joe. One day the lawyer Jaggers announces that an anonymous benefactor will pay for Pip to become a gentleman. Pip assumes it is Miss Havisham, who must mean him for Estella. In London he shares rooms with Herbert Pocket, runs up debts and treats Joe with embarrassment when he visits. His sister dies after being attacked by Orlick, a vicious former worker at the forge.
↑ Back to the topWho is the benefactor?
One stormy night Magwitch appears at Pip's door. He was transported to Australia, made a fortune and has secretly paid for everything out of gratitude. Pip is horrified. Magwitch faces death if caught in England. Pip learns that Magwitch's old partner Compeyson was also the man who jilted Miss Havisham, and that Estella is Magwitch's daughter by Jaggers's housekeeper. Estella marries the brutish Bentley Drummle. Miss Havisham begs Pip's forgiveness and is badly burned when her dress catches fire; she dies soon after.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Magwitch?
Pip, now loyal to Magwitch, plans to smuggle him out of England by boat on the Thames. Compeyson leads the police to them. In the struggle Compeyson drowns and Magwitch is badly hurt. Sentenced to death, he dies in prison before the execution, with Pip holding his hand and telling him his daughter lives and is a lady.
↑ Back to the topHow does Great Expectations end?
Pip falls seriously ill and wakes to find Joe nursing him and paying his debts. He returns to the village to propose to Biddy, only to find her marrying Joe. He goes abroad to work with Herbert's firm. Eleven years later he visits the ruins of Satis House and finds Estella there, widowed and softened by her suffering. They leave the ruins hand in hand, and Pip sees no shadow of another parting from her.
↑ Back to the topMore about Great Expectations
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.