Pip’s Paternal Personas

by Chaim Gartenberg and Benjy Ratzersdorfer

Pip’s Father Figures

Joe

Name: Joseph Gargery (AKA Joe)Location: The Marsh Country, EnglandOccupation: BlacksmithEducation: Minimal to NoneRelationship to Pip: Brother-in-Law, Guardian

Mr. Pocket

Name: Matthew PocketLocation: London, EnglandOccupation: TeacherEducation: Unknown, Assumed to be highRelationship to Pip: Teaches Pip the ways of a gentleman

Magwitch

Name: Abel Magwitch (AKA The Convict)Location: London, Australia, the Marsh CountryOccupation: Convict, BusinessmanEducation: NoneRelationship to Pip: Benefactor, Friend

Traits and Relationships

LoyaltyLoyalty is a concept that appears extensively throughout the

novel. The support that characters give to each other is essential in the relationships that are a core of the novel.

Joe, when he is Pip’s guardian, is a good and loyal friend to Pip - the two of them play together and grow together, as well as protecting him from the harshness of Mrs. Joe

Pip in his early life is loyal to Joe as well, the two of them being close companions.

As Pip grows, he moves farther away from Joe, seeing Joe as Estella once saw him - plain and coarse.

Despite this distance, in Pip’s time of need, Joe still has unwavering loyalty to Pip, and does whatever he can to help him. - “...dear old Pip, old chap, you and me [Joe] was ever friends.”

Joe

LoyaltyLoyalty is a concept that appears extensively throughout the

novel. The support that characters give to each other is essential in the relationships that are a core of the novel.

Pip is loyal to Mr. Pocket, but in a professional sense of student and teacher, as well as being friends with Henry, his son.

Mr. Pocket in turn is kind to Pip, but again, in a very professional sense. Despite this seeming distance, it is Mr. Pocket who gives Pip the only formal education he receives.

Mr. Pocket

LoyaltyLoyalty is a concept that appears extensively throughout the

novel. The support that characters give to each other is essential in the relationships that are a core of the novel.

Magwitch is loyal to Pip as well, first seen when he places his life in Pip’s hands, and trusts Pip (arguably with “some” persuasion) to get him food and the means to survive. Pip in turn only trusts Magwitch through fear.

Magwitch’s faith in Pip can also be seen in his making Pip a gentleman, as well as the renewed trust he puts in Pip in his return to London.

Pip, as a gentleman, isn’t sure what to make of Magwitch. Over time, he begins to recognize him as a kindred soul, an example of what Pip might have been without Magwitch’s intervention, and begins to become his friend, up until Magwitch’s death.

Magwitch

What They Teach PipJoe - Teaches pip the value and importance of compassion

Late in the story after pip has lost his benefactor, Pip realizes how much Joe has done for him even though he is so coarse which teaches Pip some humility

Mr. Pocket - Is pips tutor in London and works to teach pip the ways of a gentleman.

Magwitch - When pip learns that Magwitch is his benefactor he is a rich snobby person, however when pip learns that his money came from the convict he starts to realize that he isn’t as important and great as he thought so that his expectations aren’t what he believed them to be showing how tenuous everything he has is starting him on the road to redemption

Teaches pip about the importance of helping those who have always stood by him, as well as to not judge others from initial appearance

Preparations for LifeJoe - Takes pip in, feeds him, clothes him, and treats him like his own son so pip has one person in his life who tries to nurture him into a happy healthy person

Before Pip is told he will be made into a gentleman Joe takes pip as his assistant and works to give him a trade.

Gives Pip his blessing to go to London and become a gentleman so he can have a better life even though it is painful for Joe. This is evident in Joe’s response to jaggers offer of money in return for pips services. "Pip is that hearty welcome," said Joe, "to go free with his services, to honour and fortun', as no words can tell him. But if you think as Money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child — what come to the forge — and ever the best of friends! — "

Mr. Pocket - Gives pip a place to stay in London, and Teaches pip how to act in high society

Magwitch - Gives pip the money to become the gentleman he so wanted to be

Relationships with PipJoe - Joe acts as Pip’s father for most of his young life, and therefore at that point, had a strong relationship with Pip. However, as Pip grows and becomes a gentleman, he loses that relationship. Joe however, due to his supreme loyalty, tries to keep that relationship, and when Pip at the end of the novel is in truly dire straits, he is the one who comes and helps.

Magwitch - Magwitch has a totally different relationship with Pip - when they first meet, he views Pip as a mere tool for his survival. However, over time, he realizes the impact of his actions, and tries to make up for it by granting Pip his greatest wish - to become a gentleman and therefore achieve his great expectations of meeting Estella. It is in this, along with the fact that Pip begins to realize the circumstances of Magwitch’s turn to crime, that he is able to empathize with Magwitch, and eventually become his friend.

Mr. Pocket - Pip is probably most distance from Mr. Pocket out of all his father figures. Mr. Pocket however, is not meant to be a close person to Pip, as his goal is totally different - to educate Pip. Therefore, he has a more distant bond then the other two.

Impact on Pip

Joe - Joe raised Pip, and was his friend and comrade against Mrs. Joe. He instilled in Pip the notions of hard work, and an appreciation for what you have the Pip doesn’t fully accept until much later on. Of the 3 of Pip’s father figures, it is Joe who is most content and satisfied with who he is and his place in life. And while Pip doesn’t grasp it until the end of the novel, it is Joe that truly has the greatest impact on who Pip is.

Magwitch - Magwitch is incredibly important on Pip’s life, in two ways:

He is responsible, by his meeting with Pip as a child, for instilling in Pip the fear of crime and the lower class, forever changing the course of his life.

Furthermore, because of what he put Pip through, he also is responsible for Pip’s growth as a person through the novel, as it is Magwitch who secretly sponsors Pip’s rise to being a gentleman.

He also teaches Pip once they meet again in London not to judge other’s without first knowing the circumstance of their life.

Mr. Pocket - Mr. Pocket is Pip’s teacher, and is responsible for making Pip into the refined Gentleman that he becomes for the middle of the novel. And while he doesn’t have a personal relationship, he is still relevant to Pip’s growth and development as a personal as he gives Pip his formal education, as well as indirectly causing him to be separated from Joe.

Finally, and most importantly, is the impact on Pip’s life that each of these character's have on Pip’s life.