Las obras clásicas son las -en teoría- más complicadas de leer, y por ende, entender ¿Por qué? Por su alto contenido metafórico y en mi opinión, también por una razón muy simple: los tiempos de aquellos libros son muy diferentes a los nuestros.
La forma de vida, la sociedad, la cultura, la libertad, lo que era bueno y malo, todo era diferente. Si se le suma a esto hablar sobre tramas sociales, familiares o amorosas... temas siempre complicados para el ser humano, se vuelve aún (valga la redundancia) más complicados.
Y es en esta temática donde Grandes esperanzas aparece en todo su esplendor. Un libro difícil de comprender si se lee por primera vez y sin la atención necesaria.
La señora Havisham, un personaje tanto completo como complejo. En pocas palabras, ella para mí simboliza perfectamente a un padre (o una madre) buscando el éxito a través de su hijo.
La forma que usó Dickens para escribir el libro también la encontré genial: es totalmente impredecible, ya que a veces está lleno de amor, otras de esperanzas, otras de esfuerzo y otras de odio. El orden siempre varía en el libro y ese es el tipo de libros, que al menos a mí, me gusta.
Creo que no es necesario que hable de Pip o Estella, por ejemplo, ya que, si leyeron el libro, se sabe de quien se habla. Lo importante aquí, más que describir cada personaje, es describir el libro en general, the book as a whole.
¿Recomendable? ¡Absolutamente! Siempre y cuando se dediquen a leer el libro pacientemente, ya que la idea de este libro en particular es amarlo y sentir lo que cada personaje siente.

My students (and some of my friends) can't ever figure out why I love this novel so much. I explain how the characters are thoroughly original and yet timeless, how the symbolism is rich and tasty, and how the narrative itself is juicy and chock-full of complexity, but they just shake their heads at me in utter amazement and say, "What's wrong with you, dude?"

What's wrong, indeed.

I give them ten or fifteen years. Perhaps they'll have to read it again in college, or maybe they'll just try reading it again as an adult to see if they can try to figure out why it's such a "classic," but after some time has passed from their initial encounter with the novel, they will find that I am not so crazy after all and that the book is in fact one of the best examples--if not the best example--of the novel. This happens to me all the time: I will re-read something I was forced to read in middle school and high school, remembering how much I hated it then, and will find that I actually love it now, as an adult. Sure, those "classics" may have taught me something about literary analysis, symbolic patterns, and the like, but I couldn't appreciate it for its complexity until I was older. I guess the rule of wine appreciation applies here, too: good taste only comes after much patience and experience.

***

Perhaps the thing I love best about this novel is the cast of characters--their names as well as their personalities. Ms. Havisham is one of my favorite characters to ever appear in all of the literature I have read. There is so much density and complexion to her character that I could literally make an entire career out of writing discourses on her characterization. She has even invaded the way I think about the world and the people I have met: I have, for instance, started referring to those instances where parents try to achieve success through their children "the Havisham effect" (unfortunately, you see this all too often in the world of teaching). Havisham's name is another exasperatingly fantastic aspect of her character: like the majority of Dickens' characters, you pretty much know what you're in for when you first read her name--she is full of lies, tricks, and deceits (or "sham"s). You don't get this sort of characterization much of anywhere else in the literary scene.

Another reason I love this novel so much is its plotting. Remember, Dickens was writing in a serialized format so he needed to keep his readers hooked so that they'd want to buy the next issue of his periodical, All the Year Round, in order to see what happens next. Thus, the plot of Great Expectations is winding, unpredictable, and quite shocking at points. Certainly, in terms of heavy action--well, what our youngsters these days would call action, fighting and big explosions and what-not--there is none, or very little at most, but that's not the thing to be looking for. Figure out the characters first, and then, once you've gotten to know and even care for them (or hate them), you will be hooked on the plot because you will want to know what happens to these people who you've invested so much feeling into. This is, of course, true of all novels, but it's what I tell my students when they read Great Expectations for the first time, and by gum, it's helped more than a few of them get through the novel successfully.

So, if you read Great Expectations in middle school, high school, or college, but haven't picked it up since, I urge you to do so. With a more patient and experienced set of eyes, you just might surprise yourself.

Boring, dull, lifeless, and flat. This is so drawn out and boring I kept having to remind myself what the plot was.
Best to get someone else to sum up the story rather than undergo the torture of reading it.

Yes Pip’s expectations met my expectations in this brilliant Classic. I’ll be reading more Dickens over the years as I have the full set.

Great Expectations was initially published in All the Year Round, a weekly periodical founded and owned by Charles Dickens. There were nine monthly instalment's, running from December of 1860 until August 1861.

In the novel, Pip, like Dickens himself, dreams of becoming a gentleman. However, Pip comes to realise that there is more to life than wealth and station.

The moral theme of Great Expectations is quite simple: affection, loyalty, and conscience are more important than social advancement, wealth, and class. Something that I was taught at an early age.

2024/16

Review in English below

Mi primera lectura con mi madre este 2024 ha sido toda una maravillosa experiencia, y no se podía haber esperado menos de uno de los grandes de la época victoriana y literatura inglesa en general. Grandes esperanzas es una de esas obras que no te suelta una vez que estás dentro, y que no te soltará una vez que la hayas terminado de leer, ya que tanto sus personajes como su trama tan entretenida y bellamente escrita se quedarán contigo para siempre.

Creo que lo que más disfruté de esta historia, y por ahora lo puedo decir también, lo que más disfruto de este género que se conoce como novela sensacionalista, es que jamás te deja tener un momento de aburrimiento y siempre hay algo que está sucediendo capítulo tras capítulo, independientemente de lo mucho o poco que pueda impactar a la trama en sí. No cabe duda que una obra de este estilo me recuerda a una buena telenovela mexicana, con esa intensidad y fuerza que se da en una escena en particular por poner un ejemplo, esperando que las consecuencias puedan ser muy desastrosas o muy positivas, dependiendo del contexto. Uno de los mejores ejemplos que puedo poner es el cómo la vida le 'sonríe' a Pip, nuestro protagonista, en un momento determinado de la historia de manera inesperada, lo cual es el típico tema que se ha visto replicado en numerosas telenovelas hoy en día. Otro singular momento en Grandes esperanzas es el destino de la hermana de Pip, que no dejó de recordarme cierta escena de la única telenovela mexicana que defendería a capa y espada y por supuesto recomendaría ver, Cuna de lobos (1986). Básicamente obras como esta y La mujer de blanco fueron las telenovelas del ayer.

Si tuviera que quejarme de algo es definitivamente el abrupto final de la historia; no solo te deja con muchas preguntas, sino que además se siente forzado, el típico final que esperas encontrar en una obra victoriana pero donde se ha tenido que hacer así porque el público no estaría contento de haber sido de otra manera. Leí además que el final canónico es el segundo final que Dickens escribió para la novela a petición de Wilkie Collins, y al leer el original me di cuenta que ese hubiera sido un final mucho más adecuado y más apegado a la trama ya que sigue el mismo tono de toda la novela. Es lo que hay, pero tampoco es para llevarme la decepción de mi vida.

En general, recomendaría Grandes esperanzas a todo el mundo: si es tu primer Dickens, ve por él, si ya has leído muchas obras del autor, con más razón leerlo sería una gran idea, si eres un apasionado de los clásicos, no sé qué esperas para darle una oportunidad, y si los clásicos no son para ti, este te hará cambiar de opinión. Es el libro perfecto para cualquier situación, y no creo que pueda ser de otra forma.

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My first reading with my mother this 2024 has been a wonderful experience, and nothing less could have been expected from one of the best books of the Victorian era and English literature in general. Great Expectations is one of those works that does not let go once you are in, and that will not let go once you have finished reading it, since both its characters and its plot are so entertaining and beautifully written that will stay with you forever.

I think what I enjoyed about this story the most, and for now I can also say, what I enjoy most about this genre best known as sensation novels, is that it never lets you have a dull moment and there is always something happening chapter after chapter, regardless of how much or little it may impact the plot itself. There is no doubt that a novel of this style reminds me of a good Mexican telenovela, with the intensity and strength that take place in a particular scene, for instance, expecting that the consequences could be very disastrous or very positive, depending on the context. One of the best examples I can give is how life 'smiles' at Pip, our protagonist, at a certain moment in the story in a very unexpected way, which is the typical theme that has been replicated in numerous soap operas these days. Another singular moment in Great Expectations is the fate of Pip's sister, which did not fail to remind me of a certain scene from the only Mexican telenovela that I would defend tooth and nail and of course I would recommend watching, Cuna de Lobos (1986). Basically books like this and The Woman in White were the soap operas of yesterday.

If I had to complain about something though, it's definitely the abrupt ending of the story; Not only does it leave you with a lot of questions, but it also feels forced, the typical ending you expect to find in a Victorian novel, where it had to be done that way because the readers back then wouldn't be happy if it had been any other way. I also read that the canonical ending is the second ending that Dickens wrote for the novel at the request of Wilkie Collins, thus, when reading the original I realized that this would have been a much more appropriate ending and more attached to the plot since it follows the same tone of the entire novel. It is what it is, but fortunately it wasn't the disappointment of my life.

All in all, I would recommend Great Expectations to everyone: if it is your first Dickens, go for it, if you have already read many of the author's works, even more so, reading it would be a great idea, if you are passionate about classic literature, I don't know what you're waiting for to give it a try, and if the classics aren't for you, this one will change your mind. It is the perfect book for any occasion, and I don't think it could be any other way.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 5:

Quality of writing [5/5]
Pace [5/5]
Plot development [4.5/5]
Characters [5/5]
Enjoyability [4/5]
Insightfulness [5/5]
Easy of reading [4.5/5]
Photos/Illustrations [N/A]

Total [33/7] = 4.71

„What is detestable in a pig, is more detestable in a boy.“ – Or: How to Become a Gentleman

Unfortunately, monotheistic religions, for some reason or other, seem to be quite reluctant when it comes to giving the pig its due, irrespective of all the crunchy potential of this bountiful creature in the form of fried bacon or roast pork. Mr. Wopsle, to whom we are indebted for the quotation above, in this vein, deems it quite appropriate to ponder on the dangers of a young boy’s being pampered and degenerating towards ingratitude and gross sensuality, while he himself is actually partaking of a dish of fine hog roast, and Uncle Pumblechook, this servile hypocrite, dutifully backs him up – in both actions. This Christmas dinner is one of the finest comic scenes in Charles Dickens’s novel “Great Expectations” (1861).

Dickens was already a well-established author and editor at the time of writing this novel, and for all his fame and popularity likewise had experienced some fears of his old star being about to wane, what with Thackery’s appealing to the genteel readers and with social problems also being treated by the Brontës, George Eliot and Mrs. Gaskell. The happy-go-lucky days of Pickwick, Nickleby and Little Nell were long over. When sales of Dickens’s magazine “All the Year Round” were dropping alarmingly, due to the public’s lack of interest in the serialization of a novel by Charles Lever, the Inimitable himself stepped into the breach with “Great Expectations”, a novel that showed a new Dickensian quality – that of drawing life-like, full-dimensional characters instead of mere caricatures.

The story centres around the orphan boy Pip, who grows up in his virago sister’s household on the marshes near a town that is easily recognizable as Rochester. One day, this young boy is threatened into helping an escaped convict, and from this day on his existence changes, which is, first of all, noticeable in his awakening sense of guilt. Some time later, he is taken to the secluded place of Miss Havisham, a bitter old lady who was jilted in her youth and who raises her beautiful ward, Estella, in the spirit of taking revenge on the male sex by making her break everybody’s heart. Pip soon falls in love with this cruel and haughty girl. When he suddenly learns that he has an unknown benefactor and that he is to move to London and become a gentleman, the case is clear to him: Miss Havisham must have singled him out to become a worthy husband for Estella. Very quickly, Pip’s character changes, and soon he thinks himself above the company of Joe Gargery, a simple blacksmith and his foster-father, and Biddy, the only childhood friends he had. One day, however, the truth about his benefactor’s identity is disclosed, and all of a sudden he finds himself in a whirlwind of remorse, danger and guilt.

Although in some respects “Great Expectations” is similar to “David Copperfield”, I would consider this work of fiction as one of the Inimitable’s finest achievements. There is a lot of humour, especially in the first third of the book, which thrives on Dickens’s childhood memories, and it is peopled with all sorts of memorable caricatures, such as brazen Uncle Pumblechook, hapless Mr. Wopsle, the walnut-shell faced Sarah Pocket, and the audacious Trabb’s boy. Yet, there are also more complex characters: Miss Havisham may be a freak, but behind the façade of madness there is deep suffering; Estella may be cool and cold-hearted, but she is the victim of a cruel education; Mr. Jaggers, the seemingly unfeeling lawyer, may be a jaundiced man, but not altogether an evil one; there may be a business-like Wemmick, but there is also a private-life one, and let’s not forget about the touching death scene of Mrs. Joe Gargery, as recounted by Biddy. And there is Pip, the first-person narrator, who is warped by his promising prospects, and who has to re-learn how to behave with decency and kindness.

This, to me, seems to be the major idea of “Great Expectations”: It does not take a title, nor money, nor just manners to make a gentleman – as can be seen from the example of Pip’s rival for Estella, Bentley Drummle, who actually has no manners, because he has no heart –, but it takes the potential for affection, sympathy, and friendship to entitle you to this epithet. Pip’s moral rise becomes most obvious in his decision to provide for his friend Herbert and in his change of feelings for his unexpected benefactor.

Unlike “A Tale of Two Cities”, this brilliant tale is fired with all the sparks of Dickens’s unique imagination, which is even capable of bringing to life the casts of the faces of two convicts that serve as sinister ornaments in Jaggers’s London offices and of giving a waterside man “a slushy voice, as if much mud had washed into his throat”.

All in all, “Great Expectations” shows Dickens at his best, and may be recommended as a good first-read to anyone interested in getting to know this non-pareil author.

Great expectation was my first book of Dickens. Years ago when I read it, I could not possibly understand its importance from the perspective of social injustice and class conflict of that time. I remembered that initial self-introduction of a young boy, where he talked about his family names and discussed why he preferred himself to be called as Pip and not Philip.

I still had a fresh picture of how one day suddenly Pip encountered that fearful man, who was soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and stung by nettles. Who limped, shivered, glared and growled and cried in a terrible voice...

“Keep still, You little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

Another image that was still persisting in my mind was that of Miss Havisham, who lived in a dilapidated house. Where in a dreary room, which was faintly lighted by candles, speckled legged spiders running home on that table cloth darkened with black fungus, mice rattling behind the panels, and she with a hand upon Pip’s shoulder, leaning on her crutch headed stick, pointing to that big table saying …

“This is where I will be laid when I am dead. They shall come and look me here.”

I reread it, to recall what else had happened in Pip’s life, which I had partially forgotten. This time I could feel this dramatic work of Dickens with some maturity and totality. I could feel the constant inner struggle of Pip with his own conscience. Pip was ambitious and he constantly tried to become a gentleman. His purpose was to impress a young noble girl, Estella.

In fact, I grew with this story this time; I understood and reckoned many new themes. Themes of crime, class conflict, ambition, and guilt were more clearly comprehended by me.

The imagery of Dickens has created some eternal and timeless characters in this book. I truly adored and approved this story yet again.

It just sprawled and quivered into me!

n   “I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.” n

I guess I’ll try to pick this up again next year.
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Not saying I’m out of my reading slump, but I’m marking this as “currently reading” just to feel more motivated to pick it up as soon as I can.
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I love classic literature, Shadowhunters's The Last Hours trilogy is totally not the reason why I want to read Great Expectations.

Update June, 2019: One of my favorite bookish podcasts, Backlisted, recently featured a discussion of Great Expectations where they shared their insights and heaped lots of love on this Dickens classic. Definitely worth a listen if you love Dickens! https://www.backlisted.fm/episodes/90...

I’m late to the party in reading Dickens. Everyone I’ve told that I’m reading Great Expectations said they hated having to read Dickens in school. I can empathize with that given how long and dense this book is – I thought it was never going to get to the end - but, I’m glad I’ve come to Dickens later in my own life because I love his storytelling and writing!

When we meet our hero, Philip Pirrup, or Pip as we will know him, he is a young boy who lost his parents and is being raised in very meager circumstances by his (mean) sister and her (caring, simple) husband Joe Gargary, the local blacksmith. He freely roams the eerie marshes that surround their home and small town. One day young Pip gets an invitation to visit reclusive Miss Havisham to see if he can be a companion to her. When he approaches her falling down mansion, I felt like I was in the audience of a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, yelling at him “Nooooo! Turn Back!”. Of course, he doesn’t and he meets one of the most iconic literary characters ever, she who is stuck in time, rotting away from bitterness after being stood up at her wedding many years in the past. He also meets Estella, a young ward of Miss Havisham, who becomes the love of Pip’s life. But will Pip become the love of Estella’s life? Ah, the first of many questions he will be seeking answers for in Great Expectations. At Miss Havisham’s he clearly sees that he is a “common and course” uneducated boy, which simultaneously makes him feel bad and inspires him to greater things.

Fast forward a few years. He has become apprenticed to Joe to learn the trade of blacksmithing, not something that supports his vision of better things for himself. One day he learns that an anonymous benefactor has given him an endowment that comes with, you guessed it, great expectations. He immediately outfits himself in clothing fit for a gentleman and moves to London to begin his life of expectations. Things don’t always go smoothly for him, and, unfortunately he goes way over the top in this endeavor, getting carried away with himself and putting himself in great debt. After all he doesn’t have any training in how to be a gentleman, nor any good examples in his upbringing. You can see where this is going! But even though you know where this is headed – probably no place good – the ride to get there is exhilarating and rarely predictable.

Dickens writes with great energy and humor. There’s a diverse cast of memorable characters with great names (as you would expect with Dickens!) that keep things interesting and moving forward. Great Expectations is a story of human nature and a cautionary tale for the ages. Even though Dickens wrote this in 1861, the themes of love, loyalty, betrayal, integrity, meanness, class and upward/downward mobility could be easily transported to the 21st Century.

On another note, I just watched the classic 1946 David Lean movie and, while I loved seeing young John Mills and Alec Guiness, unlike the book, it definitely showed its age.

5.0 Stars What a tremendous experience reading this novel has been. I enjoyed every moment of it, and delighted in its characters, its story, and its message.

In Pip, we have a good natured young man who after meeting the beautiful Estella, becomes overly ambitious in hopes of winning her affection. Once he comes into his great expectations, he becomes convinced that Miss Haversham means for he and Estella to be together. And is stunned when this turns out not to be the case. In the last third of the book, Pip learns some valuable lessons about wealth, gratitude, love, and family. And in the end is a much better person for his experiences.

I love Pip as a character, and he is of course my favorite, but there were so many great characters in this book. Pip has some great friends in Herbert and Wemmick, and he has love of family in Joe and Biddy. Magwitch is another tremendous character, and the Pocket family is good fun. In the end even Estella seems to have overcome her upraising and turned out pretty good.

All in all, a story of mistakes and redemption. But most of all, a story of love and the family you make.

I think that I will actually miss Pip, in the coming days. I’ve enjoyed being in his world.

My thoughts while reading this book...
n  n

I was really mad when I finished this book last night. I have to say I enjoyed this much more than the other Dickens' books I've read which is funny because someone told me it was written for kids so I should read it because I would like it better probably and I did. It just felt too long and I kind of saw the twist of who was Pip's benefactor coming but at the same time I think the way everything is told and developed is really good. I think I mostly felt it was long because I had to read slower than I would have otherwise because the writing was more complex and I wanted to make sure I was understanding what was happening and fully understanding each sentence. I think the last sentence or two of this book was really beautiful and so well written but it made me really mad to have it end that way despite the fact that it was a really good ending because it was ambiguous. I know it seems like no matter what happens with a book I complain and I think that's just my disposition as a person. Most of the characters were so unlikable though, especially Pip, so many times through out the book I wanted to throttle him. Anyway definitely the best Dickens book I've read thus far, and I would say this ones a 3.5 stars from me, it be higher but reading it felt slow and like I had to trudge through it at multiple points.