Great Expectations

As Herbert helps Pip change the bandages from his fire wounds, the two of them discuss their changing feelings toward Magwitch. They agree that his demeanor has “softened” to the degree that they’ve developed a certain fondness for him.

Herbert explains that the night before, Magwitch told him a story about a jealous woman from his past who murdered another woman. Magwitch had a girl child with this woman, and he was “exceedingly fond” of her. On the night of the murder, the woman attempted to kill the child in a jealous rage. Magwitch hid himself so that he wouldn’t have to testify in the jealous woman’s hearing. Compeyson was fully aware of Magwitch’s situation and cruelly held it over his head. Pip realizes that Magwitch is Estella’s father. 

Pip visits Jaggers’s office, where he reveals to Wemmick and Jaggers that he knows the identities of Estella’s mother and father. Jaggers seems surprised to learn that Magwitch is Estella’s father. He asks if Magwitch supports Pip’s claims, and Pip replies that Magwitch has no knowledge that Estella is still alive. Jaggers is cagey about revealing additional information about Molly until Pip pleads with Wemmick, saying that he knows he’s a good man and he hopes he’ll entreat Jaggers to give him more information.

Jaggers is amused to learn that Wemmick has “playful and pleasant ways” (924), as Pip puts it, and he confirms that Molly is Estella’s mother. He cautions Pip not to tell Magwitch or Estella, believing the news would only bring Magwitch additional hardship, and Estella would likely be displeased to learn that her mother is a murderess.

Pip secretly helps secure Herbert’s partnership. As he does so, he learns that Herbert will move to the Middle East for work. Saddened, Pip comforts himself with dreams that Herbert is escorting Clara to the land of Arabian Nights.

Wemmick sends a message that Pip should prepare to row Magwitch down the river in two days. Soon after, Pip receives a strange letter that urges him to go to the old marshes at nine to learn more information about Magwitch. The letter instructs Pip to tell no one. Pip leaves quickly by coach to make the meeting on time.

Pip stops at an inn and chats with the landlord, who does not recognize Pip and ends up regaling him with Pip’s own fortuitous story, but with Pumblechook as his first benefactor. This story leads Pip to reflect on how seldomly he visits Joe and Biddy. He deeply regrets the loss of Joe’s friendship and feels his heart has been humbled. In this frame of mind, he heads toward the marshes.

A blood moon casts a foreboding light over the marshes. Pip sees a light in an old control house at the lime mill. No one answers when he knocks or when he enters the house and calls out. Suddenly, a man apprehends Pip from behind, crying out, “I’ve got you!” (947). The man wraps tight binds around Pip, further injuring his burns from Miss Havisham’s. He threatens to kill Pip if he calls for help. The man then strikes a flint, illuminating his face: It is Orlick.

Orlick seeks revenge. He accuses Pip of coming between him and Biddy and claims that Pip has always been in his way, ever since he was a child. Orlick declares that he plans to kill Pip and grind him in the lime kiln so that there’s nothing left of him. Orlick confesses that he beat Pip’s sister, though he only did it to get back at Pip because Joe always “favored” him. Orlick was also the shadowy man Pip noticed on the stairs shortly after Magwitch’s arrival.

As Orlick’s rage grows, he continually takes sips from a bottle of liquor. Pip fearfully watches him drink, comparing the draining of the bottle to the draining of his life. Orlick taunts Pip viciously about his burns, the “uncle” he was hiding away, and his high-class pretensions.

Just as Orlick raises a stone hammer to kill Pip, Herbert arrives with a group of local men, including Trabb’s son. They pull Orlick away from Pip and untie his bonds. Herbert learned that Pip was heading for the marshes when he found the letter and worried for his friend’s well-being.

Herbert helps Pip home and redresses his wounds. He looks out over the river and refers to Magwitch’s escape, which will take place at nine o’clock the next day.

The weather is clear, and spirits are high on the day of Magwitch’s escape. Pip briefly explains that the group’s plan is to row to a quiet area just below Gravesend and spend the night there, then join up with a large Hamburg steamer. Pip, Herbert, and Startop set out on the river with Magwitch. When Pip promises that they will deliver Magwitch safely, Magwitch runs his hand through the water, musing that the future is as uncertain as the bottom of the murky river. Pip worries that he hears sadness in Magwitch’s voice, but Magwitch reassures him that life is like a river in the sense that it keeps on flowing, regardless of what happens.

The mood darkens, however, as the sun goes down on the river. At the inn where they spend the night, a servant tells the landlord about a mysterious boat he has seen outside. The conversation makes everyone in the group uneasy, as they wonder if the boat might belong to Compeyson, the police, or both. In the wee hours of the morning, Pip wakes up and looks out the window while the rest of his group is still sleeping. He sees two strange men looking into their boat. Though his first impulse is to wake up his peers and alert them, he reflects that both Startop and Herbert are tired, having rowed much harder than the still-injured Pip.

The group sets out and rows until the early afternoon, when they catch sight of the Hamburg steamer. As their boat nears the steamer, a police rowboat appears with Compeyson in tow, calling for Magwitch’s arrest. Magwitch dives into the river and drags Compeyson into the water. They engage in a fierce underwater struggle before the police apprehend Magwitch. Compeyson drowns. Magwitch notes that he did not kill Compeyson in their struggle—even though he wanted to—but the police chain him and take him away for trial. Pip’s loyalty to Magwitch grows with his capture, and his feelings of disgust melt away. Before Magwitch goes to jail, Pip vows his loyalty to him.

Jaggers is cynical about Magwitch’s fate in the trial. He is also annoyed with Pip for losing Magwitch’s wealth, as the state seizes the convict’s assets. Pip’s sole focus, however, is Magwitch’s well-being. With Jaggers’s help, Pip goes to great lengths to (falsely) reassure Magwitch that his inheritance is safe.

Meanwhile, Herbert prepares to marry Clara and move to Cairo. Saddened by the idea of parting with his closest friend, Herbert offers Pip a job as a clerk. He tellingly hesitates over the job title, worrying that Pip will think it is beneath him. Pip thanks him but says that he cannot come because he feels obligated to see through the situation with Magwitch. Furthermore, he has a vague feeling that something else may happen in his life that will keep him in England.

The chapter culminates in a surprise wedding between Wemmick and his longtime sweetheart, Miss Skiffkins. Pip and Wemmick's aged father attend, with the latter comically cheering his son on throughout the church ceremony.

Pip loyally visits Magwitch in prison in the days leading up to his trial. Because Magwitch is sick and badly injured, he isn’t in solitary confinement, allowing for Pip’s visits. The trial is short, though Jaggers provides his best defense. The court finds Magwitch guilty and sentences him to death. On the day of Magwitch’s execution, Pip tells him that his daughter, Estella, is alive. He also tells Magwitch that Estella is very beautiful, and he loves her. With this news revealed, Magwitch quietly dies in his cell. Clasping Magwitch’s hand, Pip prays that God has mercy on Magwitch.