Symbols in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- Satis House

M.A. Contemporary Literature and Culture/ Brunel University/London/UK

Works at:
English Department,
College of Arts,
University of Mosul
Iraq

1. NOVEL (3RD YEAR)
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
BY CHARLES DICKENS
SYMBOLS
Prepared by:
Lect. Huda Abdullah Abdulateef

2. Symbols / Great Expectations
What are Symbols?
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to
represent abstract ideas or concepts.
There are Threemain symbols in Great Expectations:
SatisHouse,
The Mists on the Marshes, and
Bentley Drummle.

3. SatisHouse
InSatisHouse,wehavethefollowingsymbols:
Gothicsettinganditselements,
MissHavisham&HerWedding,
TheBreweryNexttotheHouse,and
House’sstones,darknessanddust.

4. Gothic setting and its elements in Great
Expectations
The setting inGreat Expectations(The Satis House, London, and the Misty
Marshes.)
The Satis House is a Gothic Castle. The Gothic castle is decayed, ruinous and
mazy and has a grotesque owner (Miss Havisham).
The atmosphere is scary, dark & menacing.
Villains (Criminals).
Horror, terror & fear.
Gloomyweather(cold, mist, fog).
Exoticlandscape (The misty marshes, foggy churchyard).
Note:The mist indicates wicked, sinister and criminal happenings.

5. Gothic setting and its elements
InSatisHouse,Dickenscreatesamagnificent
Gothic setting whose various elements
symbolize Pip’s romantic perception of the
upper class and many other themes of the
book.(seethenextdiagram)

6. Gothic setting and its elements/Diagram
Gothic
setting with
its various
elements.
Pip’s romantic
perception of
the upper class
Symbolize
many other themes
of the book like
crime, guilt and
innocence

7. Miss Havisham & Wedding
On her decaying body, Miss Havisham’s wedding
dress becomes an ironic symbol of death and
degeneration.
The wedding dress and the wedding feast symbolize
Miss Havisham’s past, and
the stopped clocks throughout the house symbolize her
determined attempt tofreeze time by refusing to
change anything from the way it was when she was
jilted on her wedding day. (See the next diagram)

8. Miss Havisham & Wedding/Diagram
?an ironic symbol of
death and
degeneration.
?symbolize Miss
Havisham’s past.
?symbolizeher
determined attempt to
freeze time by refusing
to change anything from
the way it was when she
was jilted on her
wedding day.
Wedding
dress
Wedding
dress &
Feast
Stopped
Clocks

9. The Brewery Next to the House
The brewery next to the house symbolizesthe
connection between commerce and wealth:
Miss Havisham’s fortune is not the product of
an aristocratic birth but of a recent success in
industrial capitalism. (see the next diagram)

10. The Brewery Next to the House /Diagram
The
brewery
next to the
house
symbolizes the
connection
between
commerce and
wealth
Miss Havisham’s
fortune is not the
product of an
aristocratic birth but
of a recent success
in industrial
capitalism.

11. House’s stones, darkness and dust
The crumbling, dilapidated stones of the house,
as well as the darkness and dust that pervade
it, symbolizethe general decadence of the
lives of its inhabitants and of the upper class as
a whole. (see the next slide)

12. House’s stones, darkness & dust
symbolizethe
general decadence
of the lives of its
inhabitantsand of
the upper class as
a whole.

13. References
Phillips, B., Cheng, W., Florman, B., Burns, J. (2002).
SparkNotes: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
New York: Spark Publishing.