Religious Imagery Revisited / Miss Havisham

Nicholson, M. (1999). The Scene of Male Envy. In: Nicholson, M 'Male Envy: The Logic of Malice in Literature and Culture'. United States of America: Lexington Books. p30.

From my previous exploration of the character of Miss Havisham I still maintain this ideology of the connection between abandoned bride and nun like religious celibacy. There is significant literary and critical analysis that supports my concept of the bride like nun to be carried through into my final design idea, critics such as Nicholson have gone in depth into how this concept has been almost rejected from main stream representations of Miss Havisham, typically adopting an aged/haggard representation of a maddened spinster. In reality the Victorian period was a time heavy in religious and spiritual domination and therefore the imagery explored within Dickens's interpretation of Miss Havisham is a crucial element to maintain within her final recreation. As Nicholson states within her work 'Male Envy' ...

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sFRWylXaAtAC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=young+miss+havisham&
source=bl&ots=ah-Dz_Jb21&sig=wIMkBNcXd-Jwxg-HuncocMLJ9IE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=550IVZamLYPhaIPjgugG&ved=0CEE
Q6AEwBzgU#v=onepage&q=young%20miss%20havisham&f=false

Analysis taken from a previous post: 

http://s224.photobucket.com/user/champy12345/
media/New8x10/wearingnunswhite
habit1900s8x10.jpg.html

"Within Dickens's descriptions there is a significant amount of bridal imagery that connotes a biblical connection. Features such as the "prayer book", "veil" and repetition of the colour "white" emphasise not only the connection to marriage but also a sense of purity, as Miss Havisham was never married that cultural standards of the time would render her still a virgin. This concept is enhanced further by the desire of her husband to reappear, she remains preserved as the virginal bride all these years in case of that one scenario. White carries a number of connotations that connect heavily with biblical imagery, it is a pure colour that suggests innocence and is therefore associated frequently with angels and divine spirits. It could be argued that this is why Dickens reinforces that she is "(unfit) for this earth" to enhance the angelic concept that surrounds a pure woman dedicated to a broken hearted miniature society, bringing us back again to Nicholson's concept of the nun trapped in a "sex hostile realm of lost identity", Miss Havisham is the bride to her own misery."
"Continuing on from this is the development of her character from abandoned bride to spinster madwoman and how through Pip's acknowledgement of her changing costume the concept of her decay is created. Originally Pip notices her dressed in "bridal flowers" and "white" however from then on realises how the gown had "lost its lustre" becoming "faded and yellow". The imagery created through this depiction enhances a sense that Miss Havisham has somewhat lost her purity as a result of her hatred for men and determination for the punishment of love through her puppet Estella. Like the dress her purity has become muddied with jealousy, the "confused heap" of her prayer books and belongings much embodies her mind, reflecting a sense of confusion and madness that heavily effects her mind. As a result her eyes have "no brightness left" expressing how her darker purpose has consumed her internally, all hope has been lost and now she resembles "the witch of the place" set on punishing others for her own misfortune. In many respects Miss Havisham is like a fallen angel, her purer purpose becoming corrupted by the sins of others resulting in her own envy and decay. In many respects she is unfit for this earth in both emotional and physical form as the release of death would be her only escape from the unrelenting misery of her mind."