Although the machinations of the mystery plot have been resolved, this passage is important to the novel's plot because, finally, after so many years (and, on behalf of the reader, so many pages), Pip finally has achieved closure as far as his relationship with Estella is concerned. Throughout the novel he spends so much time obsessing over her that it's only right the novel end in this manner. After everything he has been through and after he has finally accepted who he is, Pip deserves such closure. this passage also furthers our appreciation of Pip's character and leaves us satisfied with his development. One feels, too, that Estella got her just deserts, even though one sympathizes with a woman who has been brutalized by her husband to such an extent that she required medical attention. She spent so long torturing Pip and verbally assaulting him that it is difficult to have much pity for her when she ends up alone after the death of her abusive husband. The reader also enjoys the Nemesis meted out to Drummle--the big oaf dies through the agency of the very animal he abuses: how perfect a justice is that?
Other responses by students in English 3412, Lakehead University, Ontario
- Realism versus Desire
- Coming to Consciousness
- The Validity of the Original Ending
- Generic Expectations and the Original Ending
Last modified 26 April 2004