Summary
The Heart Wants What It Wants
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Years pass in this manner, with Pip working in the forge and nursing his private discontent. He's now nearly twenty-one, and his apprenticeship is approaching its end, though his prospects remain exactly what they've always been: he'll become a blacksmith like Joe. Nothing has changed except Pip's increasing sense of entrapment and his guilt about that feeling. His dissatisfaction with his lot has become his defining characteristic, yet he's done nothing to change it, stuck between wanting more and having no legitimate path to achieve it. Into this stagnant situation comes Mr. Jaggers, a lawyer from London who announces that Pip has "great expectations." An anonymous benefactor has provided a large sum of money that will allow Pip to be educated as a gentleman. The conditions are clear: he must keep the name Pip, he must not inquire about his benefactor's identity, and he must understand that the benefactor will reveal themselves when they choose to do so. Pip immediately assumes—as everyone does—that Miss Havisham is his patron, though Jaggers never confirms this. The news transforms everything instantly: the prison door he thought locked forever swings open, offering him escape from the forge, from the marshes, from his "common" status, and presumably, a path to becoming worthy of Estella. Yet this transformation rests entirely on mystery and assumption.
Coming Up in Chapter 18
Four years into his apprenticeship, Pip finds himself at the Three Jolly Bargemen on a Saturday night, listening to Mr. Wopsle read the newspaper aloud. This seemingly ordinary evening is about to change everything - his apprenticeship will come to an unexpected and premature end.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Now fell into a regular routine of apprenticeship life, which was varied beyond the limits of the village and the marshes, by no more remarkable circumstance than the arrival of my birthday and my paying another visit to Miss Havisham. I found Miss Sarah Pocket still on duty at the gate; I found Miss Havisham just as I had left her, and she spoke of Estella in the very same way, if not in the very same words. The interview lasted but a few minutes, and she gave me a guinea when I was going, and told me to come again on my next birthday. I may mention at once that this became an annual custom. I tried to decline taking the guinea on the first occasion, but with no better effect than causing her to ask me very angrily, if I expected more? Then, and after that, I took it. So unchanging was the dull old house, the yellow light in the darkened room, the faded spectre in the chair by the dressing-table glass, that I felt as if the stopping of the clocks had stopped Time in that mysterious place, and, while I and everything else outside it grew older, it stood still. Daylight never entered the house as to my thoughts and remembrances of it, any more than as to the actual fact. It bewildered me, and under its influence I continued at heart to hate my trade and to be ashamed of home. Imperceptibly I became conscious of a change in Biddy, however. Her shoes came up at the heel, her hair grew bright and neat, her hands were always clean. She was not beautiful,—she was common, and could not be like Estella,—but she was pleasant and wholesome and sweet-tempered. She had not been with us more than a year (I remember her being newly out of mourning at the time it struck me), when I observed to myself one evening that she had curiously thoughtful and attentive eyes; eyes that were very pretty and very good. It came of my lifting up my own eyes from a task I was poring at—writing some passages from a book, to improve myself in two ways at once by a sort of stratagem—and seeing Biddy observant of what I was about. I laid down my pen, and Biddy stopped in her needlework without laying it down. “Biddy,” said I, “how do you manage it? Either I am very stupid, or you are very clever.” “What is it that I manage? I don’t know,” returned Biddy, smiling. She managed our whole domestic life, and wonderfully too; but I did not mean that, though that made what I did mean more surprising. “How do you manage, Biddy,” said I, “to learn everything that I learn, and always to keep up with me?” I was beginning to be rather vain of my knowledge, for I spent my birthday guineas on it, and set aside the greater part of my pocket-money for...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Wanting What Hurts Us
We assign higher value to what's difficult to obtain while devaluing what's readily available, even when the available option is objectively better for us.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when we're pursuing something because it's difficult rather than because it's good for us.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you're working harder for someone's approval who's consistently dismissive while taking for granted people who already support you.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Apprenticeship
A formal system where young people learned trades by working under a master craftsman for several years. They received room, board, and training instead of wages. This was the main path to skilled work for working-class youth.
Modern Usage:
Today we see this in trade schools, internships, and programs where you work while learning a skill.
Guinea
An English gold coin worth one pound and one shilling, considered prestigious currency. Miss Havisham giving Pip a guinea annually shows both generosity and condescension - it's significant money but also emphasizes the class gap between them.
Modern Usage:
Like someone wealthy casually giving you a hundred-dollar bill - generous but also a reminder of who has power.
Gentleman
In Victorian England, this meant more than politeness - it was a social class of men who didn't work with their hands and had inherited wealth or education. Gentlemen had social status, respect, and access to high society that working people could never achieve.
Modern Usage:
Similar to wanting to be 'upper class' today - having money, status, and respect without having to do manual labor.
Social mobility
The ability to move between social classes, which was extremely limited in Dickens' time. Most people stayed in the class they were born into. Pip's desire to rise above his station was both understandable and nearly impossible.
Modern Usage:
We still struggle with this - studies show most people end up in similar economic situations as their parents despite the American Dream narrative.
Unrequited love
Love that isn't returned or reciprocated. Pip loves Estella knowing she doesn't care about him, which creates a painful cycle of hope and rejection that drives many of his decisions.
Modern Usage:
Anyone who's ever stayed hung up on someone who clearly wasn't interested knows this feeling.
Self-sabotage
Destroying your own happiness or chances for success, often unconsciously. Pip recognizes Biddy would make him happy but can't let go of his destructive obsession with Estella.
Modern Usage:
Like staying with someone who treats you badly while pushing away people who actually care about you.
Characters in This Chapter
Pip
Protagonist
Pip is trapped in a cycle of shame about his working-class life and obsession with becoming a gentleman for Estella. He recognizes that Biddy is better for him but can't make himself want what would actually make him happy.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who chases status and someone who doesn't appreciate them while ignoring the good people right in front of them
Miss Havisham
Mysterious benefactor figure
She remains completely unchanged, frozen in her mansion like time stopped. Her annual guinea to Pip keeps him connected to his fantasies about rising in social class, feeding his discontent with his current life.
Modern Equivalent:
The wealthy person who gives you just enough attention to keep you hoping while never actually helping you advance
Biddy
Voice of wisdom and genuine love interest
Biddy has quietly improved herself and effortlessly keeps up with Pip's education. She gently challenges his destructive dreams and represents the healthy relationship he could have if he weren't obsessed with status.
Modern Equivalent:
The supportive friend who has their life together and gives good advice that you ignore because you're chasing drama
Estella
Unattainable object of desire
Though not physically present in this chapter, Estella dominates Pip's thoughts and motivations. His desire to become worthy of her drives his shame about his current life and his impossible dreams.
Modern Equivalent:
The person you're obsessed with who makes you feel bad about yourself but you can't get over them
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I felt as if the stopping of the clocks had stopped Time in that mysterious place, and, while I and everything else outside it grew older, it stood still."
Context: Pip describes the unchanging atmosphere of Miss Havisham's house during his annual visits
This shows how Miss Havisham's refusal to move forward with her life creates an unnatural, haunting environment. The stopped time represents emotional stagnation and the danger of living in the past instead of growing and changing.
In Today's Words:
That place felt frozen in time - like nothing ever changed while the rest of the world moved on.
"Under its influence I continued at heart to hate my trade and to be ashamed of home."
Context: Pip explains how Miss Havisham's house affects his feelings about his working-class life
This reveals how exposure to wealth and status can poison your appreciation for what you have. Pip's visits make him reject his honest work and loving home, showing how comparison breeds misery.
In Today's Words:
Being around all that wealth made me hate my job and feel embarrassed about where I came from.
"If you can't get to be oncommon through going straight, you'll never get to do it through going crooked."
Context: Biddy warns Pip about his motivations for wanting to become a gentleman
Biddy's wisdom cuts to the heart of Pip's problem - he wants to change himself for the wrong reasons. Real self-improvement comes from honest effort, not from trying to impress someone or spite them.
In Today's Words:
If you can't succeed by being genuine, you definitely won't succeed by being fake or doing it for the wrong reasons.
Thematic Threads
Self-Sabotage
In This Chapter
Pip recognizes Biddy is better for him than Estella but can't make himself love her
Development
Introduced here - shows how shame creates destructive romantic choices
In Your Life:
You might find yourself drawn to people or situations that validate your insecurities rather than heal them.
Class Shame
In This Chapter
Miss Havisham's house continues to make Pip ashamed of his working-class life and trade
Development
Deepening from earlier exposure - now affecting his romantic choices
In Your Life:
You might feel embarrassed about your background when around people you perceive as 'better' than you.
Hidden Wisdom
In This Chapter
Biddy quietly keeps pace with all of Pip's learning and offers gentle but profound insights about his motivations
Development
Expanding from her earlier supportive role - revealing her intelligence
In Your Life:
You might overlook the wisdom of people who don't make a show of their knowledge or credentials.
Obsession
In This Chapter
Pip's fixation on Estella makes him miserable but he can't let it go
Development
Intensifying from his first encounter with her - now driving major life decisions
In Your Life:
You might stay stuck pursuing something that consistently makes you unhappy because letting go feels like failure.
Emotional Intelligence
In This Chapter
Biddy asks probing questions about whether Pip wants to spite Estella or win her, exposing his confused motivations
Development
Introduced here - showing Biddy's ability to see through surface desires
In Your Life:
You might benefit from friends who ask uncomfortable questions about your real motivations.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Pip continue visiting Miss Havisham even though her house makes him miserable and ashamed of his life?
analysis • surface - 2
What does Biddy mean when she says she 'catches' learning 'like a cough'? Why might Pip find this both impressive and frustrating?
analysis • medium - 3
Pip recognizes that Biddy is kinder and better for him than Estella, yet he can't make himself love her. Where do you see this pattern of wanting what hurts us in modern life?
application • medium - 4
If you were Pip's friend, how would you help him see the trap he's creating for himself without being preachy or judgmental?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about why we sometimes reject what would heal us and chase what damages us?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
The Availability Audit
Make two lists: people or opportunities you're chasing that seem just out of reach, and people or opportunities that are readily available to you. For each item on the 'chasing' list, write why it feels valuable. For each item on the 'available' list, write one genuine positive quality you might be overlooking.
Consider:
- •Notice if difficulty or scarcity makes something seem more valuable than it actually is
- •Consider whether you're taking available support or opportunities for granted
- •Ask yourself what you might be missing by focusing only on what's hard to get
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you realized you were chasing something that wasn't good for you while overlooking something that was. What helped you recognize the pattern, and what did you do about it?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 18: Great Expectations Arrive
What lies ahead teaches us sudden opportunities can create distance from the people who love us most, and shows us legal precision matters when life-changing offers appear too good to be true. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.