CHAPTER 8

Summary
That night Pip stays with Mr. Pumblechook. The next morning he is
taken to Miss Havishams grand mansion, The Satis House. The
house, with its rusty doors and windows, is a dismal sight. The
courtyard is barred from inside. A useless brewery stands off to the
side of the dilapidated monument that is the old ladys home.

The sour young lady who greets them at the gate admits only Pip,
whom she leads to the parlor. It is a dark room lighted with
candles. There, Miss Havisham is dressed in rich garments that
must have once been bridal finery. Now they are old and faded, and
hang loosely on her body. To Pip, the old lady seems like a ghastly
wax work and a skeleton in the ashes. She tells Pip she is old and
heart-broken, that she never goes outside, and that she has called
him here to play with her adopted daughter Estella (the girl who
answered the door).

She calls for Estella and commands the two to play cards. Estella,
who is both beautiful and proud, plays with Pip scornfully, noting his
impoverished appearance. She defeats him at cards and continually
insults him by pointing out his common-ness. When they are
finished, Estella gives him bread, meat, and beer, and Miss
Havisham instructs him to return in six days. Pip returns home to
Joe and Mrs. Joe, embarrassed and confused.

Notes
This chapter is of extreme importance in the development of Pips
character. Pip is overwhelmed by the gloom of Satis House, but
Estella shines like a beacon. She is young and beautiful, and Pip is
inexplicably drawn to her. So when she reacts to him so negatively,
full of insults and disdain, Pip is crushed. To Estella, he is beneath
respect. She makes fun of everything about him, even his boots,
and takes delight in attacking his pride. Pip is left feeling
embarrassed and helpless, ashamed of his own existence. It is such
a strong, helpless feeling Pip can only kick the wall in frustration.
This vented anger is over the injustice of being treated like a dog
simply because he is common. It is because of Estellas cruel snubs
that young Pip becomes ashamed of his own common-ness. The
desire to be uncommon is born and follows him most of his life.
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Pip contemplates the injustice of life, since he has no choice in his
upbringing. First Mrs. Joe and now Estella seem to blame him for his
lowly position. The injustice overwhelms him at first, then simply
makes him angry. The chapter ends with his determination to make
of himself something strong enough to combat the injustice.

CHAPTER 9

Summary
Pip returns home to face the curious questions of Mrs. Joe and Mr.
Pumblechook. Pip is reluctant to share his day with them, and
invents a fantastic story about gold and silver, about majestic dogs
fighting over fine food on silver plates, and a game with flags. His
listeners are rapt with attention and fascination. Later, Pip
confesses to Joe that all that he said was a lie. He tells Joe what
really happened and asks why he must be so common. Joe is
saddened by the story and by his young friends experience. He
asks Pip not to lie again.

Notes
Pips fantastic tale is in part to thwart the intrusive inquiries of his
sister and Mr. Pumblechook, since he finds both of them
bothersome and noisy. But it is also in part derived from his own
feeling of shame -- a feeling Estella provoked in him that he cannot
shake. It is obvious how deeply the disappointing feeling of
unimportance has taken root in Pips young heart. He seems
determined to overcome his social common-ness. He voices his grief
to Joe, who simply consoles him by explaining that his goodness
makes him uncommon. In response to Pips lie (to Mrs. Joe and
Pumblechook) Joe tells him it is more important to be uncommon in
honest ways than in crooked ones.

CHAPTER 10

Summary
His desire to be uncommon takes Pip again to Biddy, who promises
to teach him whatever she knows. One Saturday evening while Joe
and Pip are at the Three Jolly Bargemen bar, they meet a strange
man who offers Joe a drink and inquires about Pip. Pip notices that
the man stirs his drink with the file he had taken a long time again
and given to the convict. The boy has often dreamed that the stolen
file will come back to haunt him, and now fears it has. The stranger
gives Pip a shilling wrapped in paper. When they return home, Pip
and Joe discover the papers are actually one-pound notes. They run
to look for the man, thinking it to be a mistake, but never find him

Notes
An evening out with Joe loses all its delight when Pip sees the
strange man carrying Joes stolen file. The fear that the convict will
return and he will be exposed as an accomplice causes Pip to sleep
restlessly, if at all. Pip sees the appearance of the stranger as an
omen of his own bad luck; he does not realize the significance of
the man, or the impact he will have on Pips life for the better.