Dickens continues to use the tool of repetition to remind his readers of a character’s personality. Some examples to watch for are Joe repeatedly wiping his hand across his nose when he is in trouble with Mrs. Joe; Joe calling Mrs. Joe a “fine figure of a woman”; Pumblechook repeating his command to “be grateful to them which brought you up by hand”; Miss Havisham’s finger movements and her corpse-like, waxwork, and skeleton appearance; and Pip’s recurring reference to coarse hands, thick boots, and Jacks and knaves.
Guilt, gratitude, fantasy, and secrecy are themes in these chapters. Pip feels guilty when Joe describes what an ugly baby he (Pip) was, and then feels deeply grateful that Joe took him in anyway. Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook impart their good news about Miss Havisham by first reminding Pip how grateful he needs to be, and Pumblechook constantly admonishes Pip to be forever grateful to them that brought him up by hand. Secrecy is seen with Joe not wanting Mrs. Joe to know about his lessons, and Pip’s willingness to lie just to keep his sister and Pumblechook from knowing the details about Miss Havisham. He feels guilty doing this, but he wants to protect Miss Havisham from the judgements his sister and Pumblechook may pass. Satis House is a fantasy world with Miss Havisham as the witch and Estella as the beautiful princess. Pip is a dreamer living in an abusive situation, so he responds strongly to a fantasy escape. He wants to keep it all to himself and does not want its glow tarnished by reality and the light of day, something his sister would bring to it. The enchantment with Satis House and its pull on Pip will intensify as the story progresses.
