Charles Dickens. (2003). Chapter 59. In: Charlotte Mitchell 'Great Expectations'. 2nd ed. London: Penguin Classics. p489.
Throughout Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ the character of Estella proves to be a female figure of bitterness and dark romanticism. Within the novel it is roughly around the ages of 2-3 years of age that Estella is first brought to Miss Havisham as a child to be raised within Satis House. This event occurs shortly after Miss Havisham is left at the alter. It is this event that creates Miss Havisham’s very hatred of the male gender and therefore it is her care for Estella that causes the transformation into a puppet of Miss Havisham’s revenge. Estella’s character is cold, critical and manipulative, characteristics seen in particular through her toying with the life long affections of Pip which whom she utterly rejects. Perhaps however what is most interesting of Estella is heavily to do with her original background before that of Miss Havisham’s raising. She is infact the daughter of Magwitch, the convict who threatens Pip at the beginning of the novel, coming from the very base of societies structure.
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| Harry Furniss Drawing Estella and Pip http://www.art.com/products/p172448179 4-sa-i4197678/harry-furniss-estella-and-pip-in-miss-havisham-s- garden-illustration-from-great-expectations.htm |
From reading 'Great Expectations' I felt a great deal of sympathy for Estella's character as she seems powerless in the events that control her life. From childhood she becomes a puppet of Miss Havisham's control with the simple instruction to "break their hearts". She has no understanding of love, compassion or kindness and appears to have had her heart completely stolen from her with "ice put in its place". What proves interesting Miss Havisham's own reaction to Estella's cold nature when as she grows up, retains the unloving nature towards her own adoptive mother. Havisham states “Did I never give her love!” “Did I never give her a burning love, inseparable from jealousy at all times, and from sharp pain…” (Chapter 38, page 207). Even later in life Estella continues to have no control of herself as she is married into an abusive relationship with Drummle who beats her on a regular basis. Estella’s painful marriage to Drummle leads to her own personal development in a way very much similar to Pip's childhood. Through her suffering she learns to become her own woman and control her life based on her own mentality and feelings. At the very end of the novel she states “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching. . . . I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”
By supplying the reader with this insight into the mind of Estella and her suffering our sense of sympathy for Estella grows. We realise that despite her cold nature she has no control over the events in her life and furthermore her treatment of men (in particular Pip). Infact she warns Pip on numerous occasions within the novel that she would be avoided for she will inevitably break his heart.
My Interpretation
Within my personal take on Estella's character I wanted to focus in on when she was a child and the early developments of her character. When reading the book the concept of her being like a puppet is a reoccurring feature and I feel this element is important to play upon within my character creation. Obviously to paint my model up like a puppet would be very inaccurate to the book itself as she is not actually a doll, however through makeup and styling I want to recreated that doll like element to her and play upon a childlike image that is completely emotionally detached from the world. I feel through doing this I will be able to embody that sense of control that has been removed from Estella at an early age. For this I will look into the styling of Victorian children, puppets and dolls to create my concept for the makeup, hair and styling.
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