Literary Context

Question 1

What is a Bildungsroman?

Answer 1

A coming-of-age story.

Question 2

How do elements of a Bildungsroman feature in the novel?

Answer 2

1. “the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”
   - the older Pip breaks away from narrating to deliver this wisdom to readers. “Iron” could represent his interactions with convict (“iron fetters”), as such, that the chains of iron the physically restrain prisoners are the same ones that bind Pip to the convict and remind him of his place in society.
   - gold could represent Pip’s complex relationship with and insatiable desire for wealth and ambition, the first link of which was forged when he first visited Satis. He’s now been exposed to two extremes of the social hierarchy - the criminal class and the upper class - and feels he has to choose which he would rather belong to rather than being content. Rather than be consumed by poverty, he’d prefer to be surrounded by wealth and luxury.
   - thorns represents his relationship with Estella. a rose is beautiful but its thorns prevent you from touching it, showing that however much he admired Estella, he could never be with her without being hurt. thorns = hardship and suffering, so thorns + roses = pain of unrequited love and pleasure of being able to fall in love.
   - flowers represents his relationship with Joe; they represent purity and love but are inevitably weak to the effects of time and will wilt. Pip went from “looking up to Joe in my heart” to degrading him to a “mere blacksmith”. flowers also represent rebirth, foreshadowing a rekindling of their connection.

Question 3

What is Gothic fiction?

Answer 3

A type of literature that combines horror and death with passion and romance.

Question 4

How are features of Gothic fiction shown through Miss Havisham?

Answer 4

1. “Vanity of sorrow…of penitence…of remorse…of unworthiness”
   - vanity mean a fruitless effort, which would mean that the feelings mentioned are also futile and fruitless efforts, which is true, since they never helped M.H and only drove her further towards her demise rather than providing relief. vanity can also mean to be enamored by ourselves so vanity in sorrow could mean a desire to appear pitiful and sad or the admiration of those qualities, to which Pip deems useless and as such, prevents M.H.’s feelings of sincerity and dignity. Wallowing in that misery is tear than coming to terms with her reality - that she was betrayed, that she is no longer beautiful and that she is not loved by anyone.
2. “before I and the world parted”
   - treats herself as if she’s already dead, but the ‘parting from the world’ is just her disconnecting from reality. She is very much alive but is surrounded by death and decay. She seems to be unable to move on from her past, yet is both endlessly powerful and powerless, as she allows herself to stay trapped in her own misery, but oppresses those around her.

Question 5

How are features of Gothic fiction shown through Pip? (1)

Answer 5

“Death”

• capitalization shows a personification of death that represents the concept as a human-like entity with a will and a personality, consciousness and intention. Suddenly becomes capitalized in volume 2, where I believe it becomes something real and palpable to Pip, not as a concept but as an actual experience..