Critical Insights: Great Expectations

This volume of critical approaches brings together a lively and diverse selection of essays on Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations. Of primary concern in a number of the essays reprinted in this volume is the moral character of the protagonist, Pip. Some essays argue that Pip achieves a sort of moral autonomy as the novel progresses, while others view Pip as a victim—of both his own demons and the plotting of others. Another essay examines the Christian imagery and rituals present in the novel. In the volume’s concluding essay, the topic of Dickens’ treatment of gender and class is discussed.