Great Expectations Contents
- Social / political context
- Religious / philosophical context
- Literary context
- Note on chapter numbering
- Chapters 1-9
- Chapter 1 (Volume 1, Chapter 1) (Instalment 1):
- Chapter 2 (Volume 1, Chapter 2) (Instalment 1):
- Chapter 3 (Volume 1, Chapter 3) (Instalment 2):
- Chapter 4 (Volume 1, Chapter 4) (Instalment 2):
- Chapter 5 (Volume 1, Chapter 5) (Instalment 3):
- Chapter 6 (Volume 1, Chapter 6) (Instalment 4):
- Chapter 7 (Volume 1, Chapter 7) (Instalment 4):
- Chapter 8 (Volume 1, Chapter 8) (Instalment 5):
- Chapter 9 (Volume 1, Chapter 9) (Instalment 6):
- Chapters 10-19
- Chapter 10 (Volume 1, Chapter 10) (Instalment 6):
- Chapter 11 (Volume 1, Chapter 11) (Instalment 7):
- Chapter 12 (Volume 1, Chapter 12) (Instalment 8):
- Chapter 13 (Volume 1, Chapter 13) (Instalment 8):
- Chapter 14 (Volume 1, Chapter 14) (Instalment 9):
- Chapter 15 (Volume 1, Chapter 15) (Instalment 9):
- Chapter 16 (Volume 1, Chapter 16) (Instalment 10):
- Chapter 17 (Volume 1, Chapter 17) (Instalment 10):
- Chapter 18 (Volume 1, Chapter 18) (Instalment 11):
- Chapter 19 (Volume 1, Chapter 19) (Instalment 12):
- Chapters 20-29
- Chapter 20 (Volume 2, Chapter 1) (Instalment 13):
- Chapter 21 (Volume 2, Chapter 2) (Instalment 13):
- Chapter 22 (Volume 2, Chapter 3) (Instalment 14):
- Chapter 23 (Volume 2, Chapter 4) (Instalment 15):
- Chapter 24 (Volume 2, Chapter 5) (Instalment 15):
- Chapter 25 (Volume 2, Chapter 6) (Instalment 16):
- Chapter 26 (Volume 2, Chapter 7) (Instalment 16):
- Chapter 27 (Volume 2, Chapter 8) (Instalment 17):
- Chapter 28 (Volume 2, Chapter 9) (Instalment 17):
- Chapter 29 (Volume 2, Chapter 10) (Instalment 18):
- Chapters 30-39
- Chapter 30 (Volume 2, Chapter 11) (Instalment 19):
- Chapter 31 (Volume 2, Chapter 12) (Instalment 19):
- Chapter 32 (Volume 2, Chapter 13) (Instalment 20):
- Chapter 33 (Volume 2, Chapter 14) (Instalment 20):
- Chapter 34 (Volume 2, Chapter 15) (Instalment 21):
- Chapter 35 (Volume 2, Chapter 16) (Instalment 21):
- Chapter 36 (Volume 2, Chapter 17) (Instalment 22):
- Chapter 37 (Volume 2, Chapter 18) (Instalment 22):
- Chapter 38 (Volume 2, Chapter 19) (Instalment 23):
- Chapter 39 (Volume 2, Chapter 20) (Instalment 24):
- Chapters 40-49
- Chapter 40 (Volume 3, Chapter 1) (Instalment 25):
- Chapter 41 (Volume 3, Chapter 2) (Instalment 26):
- Chapter 42 (Volume 3, Chapter 3) (Instalment 26):
- Chapter 43 (Volume 3, Chapter 4) (Instalment 27):
- Chapter 44 (Volume 3, Chapter 5) (Instalment 27):
- Chapter 45 (Volume 3, Chapter 6) (Instalment 28):
- Chapter 46 (Volume 3, Chapter 7) (Instalment 28):
- Chapter 47 (Volume 3, Chapter 8) (Instalment 29):
- Chapter 48 (Volume 3, Chapter 9) (Instalment 29):
- Chapter 49 (Volume 3, Chapter 10) (Instalment 30):
- Chapters 50-59
- Chapter 50 (Volume 3, Chapter 11) (Instalment 30):
- Chapter 51 (Volume 3, Chapter 12) (Instalment 31):
- Chapter 52 (Volume 3, Chapter 13) (Instalment 31):
- Chapter 53 (Volume 3, Chapter 14) (Instalment 32):
- Chapter 54 (Volume 3, Chapter 15) (Instalment 33):
- Chapter 55 (Volume 3, Chapter 16) (Instalment 34):
- Chapter 56 (Volume 3, Chapter 17) (Instalment 34):
- Chapter 57 (Volume 3, Chapter 18) (Instalment 35):
- Chapter 58 (Volume 3, Chapter 19) (Instalment 36):
- Chapter 59 (Volume 3, Chapter 20) (Instalment 36):
- The ending of Great Expectations
Food and meals
Dickens is always alert to the significance of food and meals, both in understanding social situations and in the lives of individuals (see also, Big ideas from the Bible, Feasting and fasting) . Great Expectations contains numerous examples of individual and collective eating, of which a few examples are given here:
- Pip steals food for Magwitch (Ch. 1; Vol. 1, Ch. 1):
- this is the primary act of charity and compassion: Pip is terrified into bringing the food, but his sympathy for Magwitch grows as he watches him eat, and the convict never forgets his actions
- Pip suffers at the Christmas dinner table (Ch. 4; Vol.1 Ch. 4):
- the adults victimize Pip as a moral example
- he is compared to a piglet so that he almost becomes the food being consumed
- Joe is helpless to protect Pip from this onslaught, but expresses his sympathy by giving him more gravy
- there are the remains of a wedding feast at Satis House (Ch. 8; Vol. 1, Ch. 8):
- this is another indication of how Miss Havisham has stopped time at the moment she learnt that she had been jilted
- Herbert corrects Pip's table manners (Ch. 22; Vol. 2, Ch. 3):
- this scene is part of Pip's initiation into the behaviour of a new social class
- Herbert's tact and use of humour is very evident;
- dinner at Jaggers' house (Ch. 26; Vol. 2, Ch. 7):
- this is in great contrast to the later scene at Wemmick's house: it is controlled by Jaggers himself, who takes charge of all the crockery, cutlery and serving
- Jaggers seems to be testing the young men, allowing them to lose some of their control to see what they might say
- there is the strange incident with Molly his housekeeper, which initiates a new mystery in the plot;
- Joe visits Pip (Ch. 27; Vol. 2, Ch. 8):< ul>
- when Joe visits Pip and Herbert for lunch, Pip is embarrassed by his table manners
- he lacks Herbert's ease and tact in dealing with the situation;
- the scene is an indication of the social distance Pip has travelled and also of the social distance he still has to travel
- eating at the Wemmick household (Ch. 37; Vol. 2, Ch. 18):
- this is a pleasant, informal and gently comic scene, with the Aged P making the toast and Miss Skiffins making the tea and doing the washing-up
- Pip is repelled by Magwitch's eating (Ch. 39; Vol. 3, Ch. 1):
- ‘He ate in a ravenous way that was very disagreeable, and all his actions were uncouth, noisy and greedy'
- as with Joe, Pip's reaction arises from the social distance he has travelled.
Investigate!
- List some of the other meals in the novel and make notes on the part they play in the development of the narrative.
Recently Viewed
Scan and go
Scan on your mobile for direct link.