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Farewell." (Bronte 596)
In other obvious ways, the novel divides itself from the values of recognition, suggesting that individuality is a multiple and variable potential, a power of estrangement or alteration as much as it is a power of identity. Here, fate seems to play an important part if we consider, for instance, the multiple scenes of non-recognition in the novel: Lucy goes to Belgium where she meets Graham again; he helps her at night, though she does not recognize him, and he does not recognize her; nor do they recognize each other on the many occasions when he is at the school. Recognition only takes place after he and his mother have taken her in after her collapse, and she recognizes their furniture and ornaments. Again, Paulina returns, and she and Lucy fail to recognize each other for a longtime, as do Paulina and Graham. She also comes across the same priest twice.
The coincidences of plot are abundant in Villette. The fact that Lucy was acquainted with a de Bassompierre in childhood, and that she just...
However, the world of early nineteenth-century Europe was smaller than today, with fewer people in the educated classes. Since there was no electronic communication, word of mouth was more important then. It is not outside the realm of possibility that Lucy would meet these two people in the manner that she did, but it is still remarkably convenient for the plot. Bronte never veers into the fantastic; merely the believably improbable. Bronte even wryly inserts into the mind of Lucy, upon the reunion with Polly, the idea that "it seems a miracle when that chance befalls" (Bronte Chapter 24). This device, especially with the excellent character development for which Bronte is famous, was more common and more credible in novels of her day than what many readers prefer today.
Bronte, Charlotte. Villette. London: Penguin, 1985.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Penguin Classics, 2002.
The coincidences of plot are abundant in Villette. The fact that Lucy was acquainted with a de Bassompierre in childhood, and that she just happens to meet another relative of that family (Ginevra) on her sea-crossing may appear hard to believe when considered as a whole. However, the world of early nineteenth-century Europe was smaller than today, with fewer people in the educated classes. Since there was no electronic communication, word of mouth was more important then. It is not outside the realm of possibility that Lucy would meet these two people in the manner that she did, but it is still remarkably convenient for the plot. Bronte never veers into the fantastic; merely the believably improbable. Bronte even wryly inserts into the mind of Lucy, upon the reunion with Polly, the idea that "it seems a miracle when that chance befalls" (Bronte Chapter 24). This device, especially with the excellent character development for which Bronte is famous, was more common and more credible in novels of her day than what many readers prefer today.
Bronte, Charlotte. Villette. London: Penguin, 1985.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Penguin Classics, 2002.
Howard Bloom, a literary critic notes, "That is, Dickens portrays Havisham and the convict as social products who self-defeatingly embrace the ideology of the class that has unjustly destroyed their innocence and happiness" (Bloom 258). Estella is another example. She is a member of the upper class, a ward of Miss Havisham, but she is really the child of a convict and a cold, calculating woman who only manipulates
The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again. It gave me a terrible turn when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too. I looked all round for the horrible young man, and could
Great Expectations Appearance vs. Reality in Great Expectations In Great Expectations Pip is frequently affected, effected and influenced by appearances. The very nature of his life is dictated by his view of the appearance of others and his own self and outward appearances. The work itself demonstrates a major theme associated with not judging by appearance as it simultaneously demonstrates how much those very appearances actually mean to the individual characters and
Great Expectations" & "The Sun also Rises," one may concur that both narrators are on opposites ends of the spectrum when comparing their reliability. In Great Expectations the main, character Pip is the narrator. Pip is considered a reliable source in the novel, on the other hand in " the Sun Also Rises" the narrator Jake Barnes is not viewed as a reliable source, there are scenes in the
Great Expectations Dickens judges his characters not on social position or upbringing but on their treatment of one another Character, class and social status in Great Expectations The world in which Charles Dickens wrote was one in which class and social status was a determining factor in establishing the quality of an individual's life. Social status was an element of nineteenth century society, like the legal system, that Dickens continually exposed
people of different social classes are viewed in each novel, how they treat one another, what assumptions they make about their worth, how they view themselves, and how Dickens's view changed between one novel and the other Both stories, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, are one of escape for their characters. For Oliver, it is escape form his starvation and bondage. For Pip is it escape from his poverty and