A Question of Life and Death in *Great Expectations*
Perhaps you’ve come here with a burning question: Who killed Pip? It’s a query that suggests a dark, tragic end for the beloved protagonist of Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, Great Expectations. Let’s clear the air right at the start: in the pages of the novel, Philip Pirrip, or Pip, does not physically die. There is no murderer, no dramatic deathbed scene, and no tombstone bearing his name. However, the very fact that this question arises is a testament to the profound and turbulent journey Pip endures. To truly understand the story is to recognize that while no one killed Pip’s body, his life is a landscape littered with the ghosts of his former selves. The real investigation, then, is not into a literal murder, but into the series of brutal, metaphorical deaths that dismantle the boy he was and forge the man he becomes. So, while the short answer is “no one,” the long answer is far more fascinating. It’s a story of how innocence is slain, how dreams are executed, and how a flawed identity is ultimately put to rest. This article will delve into the forces and figures responsible for the “death” of the Pip we first meet, exploring the very heart of his great expectations and even greater disappointments.
The “Crime Scene”: The Many Deaths of Philip Pirrip
Pip’s life is a progression of symbolic deaths, each one stripping away a layer of his identity. To understand who “killed” him, we must first visit the scenes of these transformative endings, which are far more significant than any physical demise.
The Death of Childhood Innocence
Our first encounter with Pip is as a small, lonely orphan in a desolate churchyard, contemplating the tombstones of his parents. This setting is already steeped in mortality, but Pip’s innocence is still intact. He is a boy of simple conscience, raised with a “great fear of losing Joe’s confidence.” The first, decisive blow to this innocence comes not from a person, but from a moment of terror. When the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch, springs from behind a gravestone, he violently shatters Pip’s peaceful world. Magwitch’s terrifying threats—of a mysterious accomplice who will tear out Pip’s heart and liver—force the boy into an act of theft and deceit. When Pip steals the “wittles” and the file from his sister’s pantry, he is not just committing a crime; he is killing the simple, honest boy he was only a day before. A seed of guilt and secrecy is planted, one that will haunt him for years. This encounter is the first death—the end of a life lived without the heavy burden of a dark secret.
“I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to the sign-post to support myself. I had had a terrible time; I had been caught and thrown by the prospect of slingers, I had had my head sideways, and my breath was tight, and I had been held by my ankles and my hair after lying on my back.”
Later, the crucible of Satis House serves as the stage for the next phase of this death. Here, the beautiful but cold Estella and the decaying Miss Havisham systematically dismantle his self-worth. When Estella scorns his coarse hands and thick boots, she introduces him to a new, painful emotion: shame. He had never before been conscious of his social standing or his “commonness.” This experience kills his unselfconscious contentment. The innocent boy who played happily on the marshes is replaced by a restless, aspiring youth who is deeply ashamed of his home, his background, and his dearest friend, Joe. The Pip who leaves Satis House for the first time is a ghost of his former self, now haunted by the desire to be “uncommon.”
The Murder of a Gentleman’s Dream
The announcement of Pip’s “great expectations” feels like a resurrection. It promises to breathe life into his grandest fantasy: becoming a gentleman worthy of Estella. Yet, this dream is built on a foundation of lies and self-deception, and its eventual collapse is the most spectacular “death” in the novel. As a newly minted gentleman in London, Pip zealously sheds his old skin. He becomes embarrassed by Joe, cruel in his neglect of Biddy, and indulgent in a lifestyle of debt and idleness with his friend, Herbert Pocket. He is living the life he thought he wanted, but it’s a hollow performance. The gentleman he has become is snobbish, ungrateful, and fundamentally unhappy. This version of Pip is a carefully constructed effigy, and it is waiting for a fatal blow.
That blow comes on a dark and stormy night, with the return of his secret benefactor. The revelation that the source of his fortune is not the aristocratic Miss Havisham but Abel Magwitch—the very convict from the churchyard—is the climax of the novel and the execution of Pip’s entire worldview.
In this single moment:
- His social status is revealed as a fraud, funded by a criminal.
- His romantic aspirations are shattered, as he now sees the impossibility of winning Estella with a fortune so tainted.
- His moral identity is thrown into chaos, as the man he has scorned in his memory turns out to be his greatest champion.
The grand dream of being a gentleman, which he had pursued with such single-minded devotion, dies instantly and violently. The “London Pip,” with all his airs and ambitions, is killed on the spot, leaving only a terrified, disillusioned man in his place.
Investigating the “Suspects”: Who is to Blame?
If Pip’s innocence and dreams were murdered, who were the culprits? A literary investigation reveals several key suspects, each playing a role in the “death” of the old Pip and the painful birth of the new one.
Miss Havisham: The Mastermind
Miss Havisham is arguably the primary architect of Pip’s suffering. Jilted at the altar decades ago, she weaponizes her misery, using Pip as a pawn in her twisted revenge against the male sex. She deliberately allows Pip to believe she is his benefactor, fostering his romantic delusions about Estella and his dreams of gentility. She cultivates his love for Estella knowing it will bring him nothing but pain. Her instructions to Estella are chillingly clear: “Break their hearts, my pride and hope, break their hearts and have no mercy!” Miss Havisham is the puppet master who sets the stage for Pip’s emotional death, poisoning his heart with false hope and unattainable desire.
Estella: The Beautiful Weapon
While Miss Havisham is the mastermind, Estella is the weapon she wields. Raised to be devoid of warmth and affection, Estella dutifully carries out her purpose. Her cold beauty and calculated cruelty are what first make Pip feel ashamed and inadequate. She is the physical embodiment of the class and refinement he longs for, and her constant rejection fuels his obsession. Though Estella herself is a victim, lacking the capacity for love that was stolen from her, her actions are undeniably destructive. She is the one who delivers the cuts that make Pip bleed, killing his self-esteem and breaking his heart with brutal efficiency.
Abel Magwitch: The Unwitting Accomplice
It is a profound irony that the person who loves Pip most is also central to his downfall. Magwitch’s motivation is one of pure, albeit misguided, love and gratitude. He sees in Pip a chance at vicarious redemption. By making Pip a gentleman, he believes he is creating a better version of himself. However, his anonymous patronage is what enables Pip’s worst tendencies—his snobbery and alienation from his true friends. The very money that is meant to elevate Pip is what corrupts him. When Magwitch reveals himself, he unintentionally deals the final, fatal blow to Pip’s manufactured identity. He is an unwitting killer, destroying Pip’s dream out of a desperate, paternal love.
Pip Himself: The Self-Inflicted Wound
A truly honest investigation must conclude that Pip is a key accomplice in his own “death.” While external forces shape him, his choices are his own. It is Pip who chooses to be ashamed of Joe, a man of unwavering goodness and loyalty. It is Pip who abandons Biddy, whose quiet wisdom offered him a path to genuine happiness. His ambition, fueled by pride and a deep sense of inadequacy, makes him blind to the true value of love and friendship. He willingly participates in the illusion of being a gentleman, embracing snobbery as a shield. Therefore, the death of his dreams is also a form of suicide; he sacrifices his authentic self on the altar of a hollow social aspiration.
The Final Verdict: A Tale of Two Endings
Dickens’s uncertainty about Pip’s ultimate fate is captured in the fact that he wrote two different endings for the novel. Neither involves Pip’s physical death, but they offer starkly different visions of his “life” after the death of his great expectations. The choice of ending profoundly impacts our understanding of his journey and rebirth.
The original ending, preferred by Dickens himself, is melancholic and realistic. The revised ending, written at the suggestion of his friend Edward Bulwer-Lytton, is more hopeful and romantic, satisfying the public’s desire for a happier resolution.
A Comparison of Pip’s Fates
| Feature | Original Ending (1861) | Revised (Published) Ending |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting with Estella | Pip briefly encounters a remarried Estella in London. She has been tamed by an abusive marriage to a “Shropshire doctor.” | Pip meets a widowed Estella in the ruins of Satis House. She is sorrowful and transformed by suffering. |
| Estella’s State | Changed but emotionally distant. The meeting is brief and somewhat formal. | Deeply remorseful and softened. She speaks of her suffering and her regret for throwing away his love. |
| Pip’s Emotional State | Pip is single and seemingly content with his modest life working with Herbert. He shows no lingering romantic attachment. | Pip’s love for Estella is rekindled, and there is a strong suggestion of a future together. |
| Overall Tone | Somber, realistic, and bittersweet. It emphasizes that some wounds never fully heal. | Hopeful, romantic, and conciliatory. It offers a sense of closure and reunion. |
| Implication for Pip’s “Rebirth” | Pip’s rebirth is complete without Estella. He has found peace in friendship and meaningful work, separate from his past illusions. | Pip’s rebirth is fulfilled by his reunion with a reformed Estella, suggesting that their shared suffering allows them to find solace in each other. |
The existence of these two endings shows that Pip’s final “life” was not set in stone. In one, he survives his past by moving on from it completely. In the other, he survives by redeeming it, finding a new beginning with the very person who was once the instrument of his pain.
Conclusion: The Survival of Pip
So, who killed Pip? The answer is that everyone and no one did. Miss Havisham laid the trap, Estella sprung it, Magwitch provided the means, and Pip walked right into it. But to frame it as a “killing” is to miss the ultimate point of Dickens’s novel. Great Expectations is not a tragedy about the death of a man, but a profound coming-of-age story about the necessary death of illusions.
The naive, ambitious, and snobbish Pip had to “die.” His journey through shame, heartbreak, and ruin was a painful but essential crucible. In the ashes of his former self, a new Pip is born—one who learns the true meaning of loyalty from Joe, the nature of selfless love from Magwitch, and the value of hard work from Herbert. He is stripped of his “great expectations” only to find a more humble, more meaningful reality.
Ultimately, the story of Pip is one of survival. He survives the terror of the marshes, the cruelty of Satis House, the emptiness of London society, and the devastation of his broken dreams. The “death” of Pip is the painful, messy, and absolutely necessary process of growing up. He had to lose himself to find himself, and in doing so, he teaches us that sometimes, the most important deaths are the ones we live through.