Pip was a relatively happy, contented little boy until he met Miss Havisham and Estella. He loved Joe and endured his sister. He looked forward to becoming apprenticed to Joe and learning the blacksmithing trade.
He is young and impressionable when he goes to Miss Havisham’s house so the old woman can ‘see a child play.’ For the first time Pip encounters Estella, a beautiful, cold, haughty girl who makes him feel inferior. Estella addresses him as ‘boy,’ treating him as someone beneath her. She makes fun of his ‘thick-soled shoes’ and his ‘common’ social status. She even mocks him for calling the jacks in a deck of cards ‘knaves.’
This is the first time anyone has ever made Pip aware of the differences in social rank and wealth. He feels hurt and confused. The seeds are planted for a growing discontent with his current life and the people within it, including Joe. He longs for Estella to admire him and to be far removed from his ‘common’ existence. From this day forward, he nurtures a growing dislike for the life he previously wanted. Now his focus is on becoming a gentleman, someone Estella will admire, respect, and perhaps love. This newfound purpose shapes many life-altering decisions he makes throughout the rest of the novel.
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