Dickensian Caricature

Mr. Black, a friend of Mr. Wemmick's pounced into the room announcing his entrance. He wore a crisp black suit, leather shoes, a hat, and held a briefcase. He was not as eccentric as Mr. Wemmick, but definitely did not have an air of normality. Mr. Black was a benefactor to many successful young gentlemen. He came from a long line of royalty, and was given wealth at a young age. Although he was kind at heart, he did not spend money wisely at times.

"Hello, son. How do you do?" Mr. Black said with a smooth voice of confidence.

Pip looked at him and immediately took a liking to him. "Hello, Mr. Black. I am well thank you. And you?"

"Fine, fine. Now, let's get down to business."

Pip and Mr. Black spent a good few hours discussing investments and such. By the end, Mr. Black took his briefcase, and left.

That was the last Pip ever saw of Mr. Black again.

Dickensian Caricature

[when Pip returns to Satis House after living in London]
A curious lady, standing beside Estella stared at me with oval eyes. She was not very tall, not a very slender or beautiful person in general, especially standing next to Estella. Her dress was only mediocre in maker and could not compare the shining radiance that was Estella. She had a large mole on the corner of her lip and much of her face was hidden behind a large peacock hat, draped over one eye. She didn’t look up at me and kept her body deceptively hidden between Miss Havisham’s large chair.

Miss Havisham and Estella gave me their hands but this new ward of Miss Havisham’s did not. She stood hidden behind Miss Havisham’s stick which crossed over at a strange angle like an invisible boundary that she could not pass.

“Pip, this is Cordelia,” introduced Miss Havisham. “She is a friend of Estella’s from school and will be staying with Estella for a few weeks.”

Cordelia nodded at me politely and put her hands behind her back. “Would you like to go for a walk, Pip?” she asked me and I gladly accepted. We walked around the garden and she asked me very specific questions about me and what I’ve done so far.

“What’s your background Pip?” she asked. I replied that I reside with Mr. Pocket my tutor in London and my guardian was Mr. Jaggers.

“What about your parents?” she asked and continued to fire questions at me until she had known everything from what time I wake up in the morning to my allowance each month.

“How about you?” I asked as I was now curious to know why she was so interested in knowing these detail about me.

“I’m a friend of Estella’s. We meet in France. I don’t know much about my future but Estella has promised to help me find a new start in London along with her,” she replied while fidgeting with a ring on her finger.

“Are you married?” I asked?

“No this is my engagement ring. My first love died three years ago and I wear it in remembrance to him,” she replied while fondly staring at her ring. As I look closely at her ring I noticed the engraving.

“What does that signify?” I asked and Cordelia quickly put her hands behind her back as I saw her mouth twitch beneath the monstrous black bird hat she was wearing and began to hurry back into the house.

“I hear Miss Havisham calling.”

CARICATURE (from Pip's point of view)

LAURA HAVISHAM

As I approached the Satis house, I saw a girl, not pretty, not tall, walking near the gates. She stared straight at me, and said "Why are you staring at me like that? You may kiss me, if you'd like." She pushed her hair behind her ears and stared at me once again.

I wanted to know who this girl was - what was she doing here?

"I'm Laura. You must be Pip. I heard you are in love with my sister." She pushed her tangled, dark hair back behind her ears.

This girl was Estella's sister? She did not remind me of her at all - she was not beautiful, and not graceful. Her forehead was dotted with pimples, and her nose was too large. But at the same time Laura did remind me of her beautiful sister. Was it her posture? No. Her eyes? No. Her speech?

Yes! The way she spoke, the words she said, was identical to that of Estella. How strange - I did not like this girl. She seems cold, harsh, and unkind.

gender in victorian society

How would you describe the status of women in Victorian society?

What sorts of conventions around gender existed in Victorian times?

How were gender roles affected by class or socio-economic status?

In the Victorian Era, women were considered to be pure and clean. The role of women was to have children, and tend the house. In this society, young ladies were only worth as much as her chastity and appearance of complete innocence. (www.victorianweb.com/gender/sextheory.html, Elizabeth Lee, Victorian Theories of Sex and Sexuality)

There were many gender conventions that existed in Victorian Society. Female intelligence was worth much less than male intelligence, and females were seen to have less independence and courage than men. The strengths of females in the society was affection, sympathetic imagination, patience, open-mindedness, and appreciation of details. (http://www.wikipedia.org/ - Women in the Victorian Era)

Women of the upper and middle class were mainly educated in what was considered to be 'fashionable' subjects, like French, drawing, painting, singing, dancing, and playing the piano. On the other hand, working class women often worked in factories specifically in the garment industry, and laundries.(http://www.wikipedia.org/ - Women in the Victorian Era)