It's very common to have nyctophobia, the fear of the dark. Most people don't hqve much to fear in the dark, but for Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, usually the dark means something is about to happen to Pip, the protagonist. Throughout the novel, the lighting of the situation is significant. Whether it’s how his sister is treating him poorly, or an event at the Satis house, Dickens uses light and dark to represent both the good and the bad influences on Pip’s life.
Our roots make us stronger, however Pip doesn't have the strongest of roots. During Pip’s first introduction, his seen at his parent’s gravesites, a “bleak place overgrown with nettles.” The dark graveyard represents the absent place that Pip’s parents have in his life, leaving him without the influence of two loving parents, and in the care of his abusive sister. At his sister’s home, Pip “was never allowed a candle to light me to bed”. The absence of light reveals how frightened Mrs. Joe makes him feel, imprinting fears based around his home and a desire to leave.
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Upon arriving at the Satis house, Pip is greeted by Miss. Havisham’s ward, Estella. As Estella leads him through the passages to enter the home, the first tuning Pip notices is “that the passages were all dark, and that she had left a burning candle there. She took it up, and we went through more passages and up a staircase, and it was still all dark.” Dickens uses darkness to foreshadow how little good will come from the household, and to demonstrate how Pip will blindly follow Estella through anything. Estella leads him further, and eventually they reach Miss. Havisham's room. The room was “well lighted with candles” with “no glimpse of daylight was to be seen in [the room]”. Estella leads Pip like a lighthouse leads a boat. It is no surprise, since her name translates to star. Estella is a representation of light that tends to lead Pip astray and becomes a negative influence in Pip's