How Does Dickens Present Pip's Maturity

In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens conveys Pip’s maturity through his portrayal of emotional loss. All through the novel, Pip seeks to obtain Estella’s admiration without costs; however, he undergoes heartbreak and society’s cruelty. Overall, Pip’s resolve, rapacity, and lust is derived from him meeting Estella. The encounter corrupts Pip’s childish innocence and happiness, for he is consumed in love. Thus, Pip’s and Estella’s first interaction dictates his moral development. As the novel opens, Dickens highlights Pip’s poor social status that results in his determination to rise up the social ladder. Upon their first interaction, Pip falls in love with Estella, but she was not able to return it. From his unrequited love, Pip centers his low social status as a barrier that separates him from Estella, as stated, “Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious…” (Dickens 63)

Pip meeting Estella changed his limited mindset and gave him the crave for change. His ambition led him to London, where Pip strived for the perfect image. At first sight, Pip was dismayed by the “ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty” (Dickens 171) city that contradicts his fantasy of a gentlemanly world. As can be seen, Dickens foreshadows the hardships and suffering London will deliver as a consequence of Pip’s ambition for Estella’s love. Furthermore, Pip’s lavish appearance led Joe to part ways: “You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywhere else…” (Dickens 238) From this, Dickens hints the relationships that are yet to be broken by Pip’s new status. His changes, caused from him meeting Estella, induced a nightmare as London became a pivotal place for reality to surface. Ultimately, the novel come to be shaped from a fantasy to actuality, through Pip’s decisions that were influenced from him meeting