How important is the theme of revenge in Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens?
Throughout Great Expectations revenge is portrayed in the novel in several different instances, from the ongoing battle between Orlick and Pip to Miss Havisham trying to gain revenge on the male race for being left at the altar on her wedding day. The first example of revenge is with Orlick and Pip. From the beginning Orlick held a grudge against Pip because Joe always favored Pip in the forge. Second is that Orlick believes that Pip had interfered with his chances with Biddy, even though Pip was told by Biddy herself that Orlick scares her. Lastly is that Orlick occupied the job at Miss Havisham's before Pip and has also been trying to gain revenge on him for that ever since. Orlick came up with a plan to gain revenge on Pip when he found the convicts shackles out in the marsh. He went up to the Gargery's house and when the door opened he beat the person on the head with the shackles, the only problem was that it wasn't Pip who walked through the door but instead Pip's sister Mrs. Gargery. By the time Orlick knew who it was she was already severely injured and could not talk.
Probably the most heated conflict in Great Expectations is that between Magwhich and Compeyson. At the beginning of the novel we see Magwhich as a hard core criminal, but we later learn that he is kind and caring as well as the father of Estella. On the other hand what is written about Compeyson is to the contrary. We learn that Compeyson and Magwhich were in on an illegal business and the Compeyson came up with the idea and made Magwhich do all the dirty work. When the time of the trial came Compeyson was dressed in fine clothes and looked like a gentleman where as Magwhich looked like a convict because he had spent all of his money hiring his lawyer Mr. Jaggers. During the trial Compeyson lies and tells the court that the whole plan was Magwhich's idea and that Magwhich made him do all the dirty work but the reader knows that it is the exact opposite. When the ruling comes out Magwhich receives double the sentence of Compeyson's because the jury bought his story. During the story we learn that Compeyson and Magwhich both escaped from the hulks and swam to the marsh where the story begins. Magwhich lies and tells Pip that if he does not do what he tells him his little man will do bad things to him, and of course Pip believes him. When he walks back with the food and the file and he meets Compeyson he assumes it is the man Magwhich described. When Magwhich is told of the other man he runs and finds Compeyson and tries to kill him but was stopped by the soldiers.
One of the more obvious forms of revenge is with Miss Havisham. She was a normal woman and planned to marry Compeyson. But when Compeyson did not show up on their wedding day and instead left a note she stopped all the clocks in Satis House because she believed that her life ended there, and from that point on she never changed out of her wedding dress. After she was left at the altar she raised her mistress Estella to be a weapon against the male race. She raised her to break men's hearts just as Compeyson had broken hers. Pip is a good example of Miss Havisham trying to gain revenge on the male race. Miss Havisham and Estella both insult him and call him common and use him as a form of comical entertainment. Miss Havisham also helps influence Pip to fall in love with Estella just so Estella can break his heart. Although revenge was not always portrayed as obviously as the battle between Magwhich and Compeyson or Miss Havisham and the male race, it was still a big enough influence to change the lives of those in Great Expectations.
