Great Expectations Contents

Introduction
Timeline
Images
Author(s)
- Dickens, Charles
The context of Great Expectations
Great Expectations Synopses
Narrative
Characterisation
- Role and significance
- Creation of character
Themes and significant ideas
Imagery and symbolism
Structure
Critical analysis
Approaching exams and essays
Resources and further reading

Religious / philosophical context

Dickens' approach to religion was quite complex. He was baptised into the Church of England but we know nothing about his religious upbringing.

More on the family's religion: His sister Fanny became an evangelical Congregationalist in later life, and is reported as saying ‘I was brought up in the Established Church, but I regret to say without any serious ideas about religion.' This suggests that religious instruction did not loom large in her early life, and this may well have applied to Charles as well.

The 'Established' or state church of England, the result of a break with the Catholic church under Henry VIII and further developments in the reign of Elizabeth I.

1. Devout, involved in religious practice 2. Member of a religious order, a monk or nun.

1. Term used of all Protestant churches since the Reformation. 2. Movement in England and elsewhere from the eighteenth century onwards which stresses the importance of the Bible in understanding the truth about God and the need for individuals to e

Describing a system of Church governance, whereby the individual local church is largely self-governing, in contrast to the Church of England

1. Term for a worshipping community of Christians. 2. The building in which Christians traditionally meet for worship. 3. The worldwide community of Christian believers.

Great Expectations Contents

Religious / philosophical context

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