Do Pip's Actions Have Meaning?
In Pip's life, he faced with a multitude of important interactions with certain characters; the most prevalent being those with Estella. Pip often tries to prove his love to her, but time and time again, he is turned down with not the slightest bit of equivocation in Estella's discourse. Pip attempts different strategies, but is ultimately defeated. However the final intercourse between he and Estella suggests otherwise and shines light on the concept of free will.
Free WillAt the end of their conversation, Estella says " we will continue friends apart" (Dickens 380), which could mean that as a married couple they will no longer be friends, but partners. Further evidence of this claim is found when Estella tells Pip he taught her "understand what [his] heart used to be" (Dickens 380), thereby instigating that Pip's actions were not in vain, and that she finally understands how to love him. This may prove how Pip is in control of is fate, but the former line can prove the opposite as well.
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FateEstella's last words in the novel also imply that she and Pip will never cross paths again, and will only be connected through each others thoughts. Further supporting this is when she says "I should take leave of you, in taking leave of this spot. I'm very glad to do so" (Dickens 380). Estella says that by letting go of Satis house, her former home, she will be letting go of Pip as well. If the reader deduces Estella's last words as such, the ending of the story is much more morbid than if free will triumphs over fate.
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Does Pip's Life have Meaning? If So, What is the Meaning of His Life?
YesIn the first moments that pip meets Estella, he falls deeply in love with her. He makes many attempts to woo her, but fails dismally. However after realizing she was made cold-hearted by her adopted mother, Miss Havisham, he makes it his life's mission to cure her curse. He diligently works to show her the beauty of love, and is not successful until the very end of the novel. Wherein Estella tells Pip that she has been "bent and broken" and that she "hopes into a better shape" (Dickens 380). Estella admits to Pip, and herself that she was corrupted; she tells him that she is willing to learn to love. By showing Estella how to love, Pip has gifted her humanity at the expense of a portion of his own; he proves he lives with meaning.
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NoIn the beginning of Chapter 29, Pip compares himself to a knight who must rescue the princess from her cursed slumber. This is caused by Pip’s delusion that he is meant for Estella. Though Pip is not a knight in shining amour, Estella is very relatable to Sleeping Beauty for she is trapped in a metaphorical slumber of darkness, hatred, and cold-heartedness. Pip feels that he is the champion chosen to save her from her coma. As Pip’s intentions are to “destroy the vermin” and “do all the shining deeds of the young knight of romance” (Dickens 181), Dickens implies he is living in a world of fantasy and is slightly delusional. Therefore, Pip does not live a life of meaning and is more selfish than noble.
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