Explain the fairy tale theme in Great

Expectations.

The fairy-tale theme in this novel is most apparent in its depiction of a rags-to-riches situation with

the character of Pip. Pip is born in humble, rural, working-class surroundings but then catapulted to

life as a well-to-do gentleman in London on account of an unknown benefactor. This sudden social

rise of a lowly, formerly-despised figure is common to many fairy tales. Also consider Miss

Havisham, who appears witch-like, and Estella, the beautiful maiden; again, such characters are

staples of fairy-tales.

Of course, Dickens also gives the whole fairy-tale theme an ironic twist, when Pip's wealth melts

away; his fall is just as sudden as his rise. Also, unlike the usual fairytale hero, he does not get the

beautiful girl, Estella - at least not in the original ending of the novel. Even the revised ending which

Dickens came up with to placate readers who were dissatisfied with this less-than-romantic outcome,

remains ambiguous.

Pip' fall from grace is seen to be mostly deserved, however. He does not develop his character

sufficiently as he ought; he becomes materialistic and condescending towards his old friends, Joe and

Biddy. He has to be punished for this. The working out of a moral is also generally to be found in

fairytales: the good characters triumph, the wicked are punished. Pip is not good enough, so he has to

be humbled once more. There is no conventional happy-ever-after ending for him, although he does

learn his lesson, and is grateful for the chance he is given to start over. This sense of thankfulness,

once the great crisis in his life is past, is evident when he returns to his old home:

“...my heart was softened by my return, and such a change had come to pass, that I felt like one who

was toiling home after distant travel, and whose wanderings had lasted many years.” (chapter 58)