"Well? You can break his heart" (p. 42)
H. M. Brock
Photographic reproduction of pen and ink drawing
1901-3
16.5 cm high by 9 cm wide (5 ⅜ by 3 ½ inches), framed
Second regular illustration for Dickens's Great Expectations, facing p. 42
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
Passage Illustrated: An Unsettling Visit to the Heiress's Mansion
Miss Havisham beckoned her to come close, and took up a jewel from the table, and tried its effect upon her fair young bosom and against her pretty brown hair. “Your own, one day, my dear, and you will use it well. Let me see you play cards with this boy.”
“With this boy? Why, he is a common labouring-boy!”
I thought I overheard Miss Havisham answer, — only it seemed so unlikely, — “Well? You can break his heart.”
“What do you play, boy?” asked Estella of myself, with the greatest disdain.
“Nothing but beggar my neighbour, miss.”
“Beggar him,” said Miss Havisham to Estella. So we sat down to cards. [Chapter VIII, 43]
Relevant Illustrations from Other Editions (1861-1898)
Left: Charles Green's introduction of the enigmatic brewer heiress in a characteristic pose: Miss Havisham: "In an arm-chair, with an elbow resting on a table, etc. (1898). Centre: In the American serialisation, periodical illustrator John McLenan introduces Miss Havisham with her decaying wedding-cake as a projection of herself: "It's a great cake. A bride-cake. Mine!" (5 January 1861). Right: F. W. Pailthorpe introduces the brewery heiress only when she meets Joe to ratify Pip's apprenticeship papers: I present Joe to Miss Havisham (1885).
Left: "It's a Bride-Cake. Mine!" by A. A. Dixon in the Collins Pocket Edition (1905). Center: F. A. Fraser's Household Edition illustration of a middle-aged Miss Havisham, supported by Estella, meeting Pip and his brother-in-law to finalize the boy's indentures in "Well, Pip, you know . . . you yourself see me put 'em in my 'at" (1876). Right: Harry Furniss's's illustration of an enthroned but aged bride, "Miss Havisham" (1910).
Other Artists’ Illustrations for Dickens's Great Expectations
- A Comparison of Fraser's Illustrations in the original 1870s Household Edition plates and those in the Collier New York edition of 1900
- J. Clayton Clarke or "Kyd"
(2 coloured lithographs) - Felix O. C. Darley (2 plates)
- A. A. Dixon (8 lithographs)
- Sol Eytinge, Jr. (8 wood-engravings)
- F. A. Fraser (30 wood-engravings)
- Harry Furniss (28 plates)
- Charles Green (10 lithographs)
- Frederic W. Pailthorpe (21 lithographs)
- John McLenan (40 plates)
- Marcus Stone (8 plates)
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Imperial Edition. 16 vols. London: Gresham Publishing Company [34 Southampton Street, The Strand, London], 1901-3.
Created 19 January 2002 Last updated 28 April 2026