Dickens often cast the children in his stories as orphans, perhaps due to the abandonment he felt as a child. That trend continues in this book with Pip who is an orphan, and Estella, Clara, and Herbert who have living parents that are either unknown or useless to them. The foreshadowing of evil continues when Pip detects that Compeyson is following him.
Other elements that repeat in these chapters are the "emotional" face casts in Jaggers' office; Jaggers' handwashing, letter-writing, candle-snuffing, and safe-locking routines; the spider metaphor with Drummle (nicknamed "the spider") winning Estella; and the twin Wemmick's and his post-office mouth. New elements are the pieces of Molly's story falling into place and Pip's realization that she is Estella's mother. Jaggers' comment about the power struggle between Drummle and Estella, and his prophetic mention of Drummle beating or cringing, foreshadows the outcome of that struggle.
