Summary
Coming of Age and Hard Truths
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The mystery of Pip's anonymous benefactor deepens when Mr. Jaggers informs him that someone else will be receiving similar support—Pip must help establish this person in business without knowing who's funding the venture. The arrangement is odd enough to make Pip curious, but not odd enough to shake his assumptions. He uses this opportunity to secretly help Herbert, arranging with Miss Skiffins (Wemmick's fiancée's brother) to buy Herbert a partnership in a merchant firm. The generosity is real—Pip genuinely wants to help his friend succeed—but it's also enabled by money Pip controls without earning. The transaction demonstrates both Pip's capacity for loyalty to Herbert and his continued dependence on mysterious patronage. Helping Herbert gives Pip his first genuine sense of purpose, doing something concrete and positive rather than simply waiting for his future to materialize. Herbert's gratitude and excitement about the partnership, his unawareness that Pip is behind it, makes the gift more satisfying. The secrecy is important—Pip doesn't want thanks or recognition, just the satisfaction of helping the person who's been his truest friend. This act of generosity stands out as Pip's most admirable choice during his London years, a moment where he uses his expectations for something beyond his own consumption and romantic obsession.
Coming Up in Chapter 37
Pip takes Wemmick's hint and visits the Castle at Walworth, hoping to get different advice about helping Herbert. What he discovers about Wemmick's home life will surprise him and offer a new perspective on balancing personal loyalty with practical wisdom.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Herbert and I went on from bad to worse, in the way of increasing our debts, looking into our affairs, leaving Margins, and the like exemplary transactions; and Time went on, whether or no, as he has a way of doing; and I came of age,—in fulfilment of Herbert’s prediction, that I should do so before I knew where I was. Herbert himself had come of age eight months before me. As he had nothing else than his majority to come into, the event did not make a profound sensation in Barnard’s Inn. But we had looked forward to my one-and-twentieth birthday, with a crowd of speculations and anticipations, for we had both considered that my guardian could hardly help saying something definite on that occasion. I had taken care to have it well understood in Little Britain when my birthday was. On the day before it, I received an official note from Wemmick, informing me that Mr. Jaggers would be glad if I would call upon him at five in the afternoon of the auspicious day. This convinced us that something great was to happen, and threw me into an unusual flutter when I repaired to my guardian’s office, a model of punctuality. In the outer office Wemmick offered me his congratulations, and incidentally rubbed the side of his nose with a folded piece of tissue-paper that I liked the look of. But he said nothing respecting it, and motioned me with a nod into my guardian’s room. It was November, and my guardian was standing before his fire leaning his back against the chimney-piece, with his hands under his coattails. “Well, Pip,” said he, “I must call you Mr. Pip to-day. Congratulations, Mr. Pip.” We shook hands,—he was always a remarkably short shaker,—and I thanked him. “Take a chair, Mr. Pip,” said my guardian. As I sat down, and he preserved his attitude and bent his brows at his boots, I felt at a disadvantage, which reminded me of that old time when I had been put upon a tombstone. The two ghastly casts on the shelf were not far from him, and their expression was as if they were making a stupid apoplectic attempt to attend to the conversation. “Now my young friend,” my guardian began, as if I were a witness in the box, “I am going to have a word or two with you.” “If you please, sir.” “What do you suppose,” said Mr. Jaggers, bending forward to look at the ground, and then throwing his head back to look at the ceiling,—“what do you suppose you are living at the rate of?” “At the rate of, sir?” “At,” repeated Mr. Jaggers, still looking at the ceiling, “the—rate—of?” And then looked all round the room, and paused with his pocket-handkerchief in his hand, half-way to his nose. I had looked into my affairs so often, that I had thoroughly destroyed any slight notion I might ever have had of their bearings. Reluctantly, I confessed myself...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Mixed Messages
People give different advice and make different decisions depending on which role they're operating in at the moment.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when someone is operating in their official capacity versus when they can access their more flexible, human side.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when people give you different responses to the same request depending on the setting - your manager during a team meeting versus during lunch, your teacher during class versus after hours.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
coming of age
In Dickens' time, turning 21 meant legally becoming an adult with full rights to inheritance, contracts, and property. It was often when wealthy young men received their inheritance or learned about family money.
Modern Usage:
Today we still mark 18 or 21 as legal adulthood, though the financial expectations are different - more about student loans than inheritances.
guardian
A legal representative who manages a minor's affairs and money until they come of age. Jaggers controls Pip's allowance and knows the identity of his mysterious benefactor, but won't reveal it.
Modern Usage:
Like a trustee or financial guardian who manages someone's money until they're old enough, or a legal guardian appointed by the courts.
quarterly allowance
Money paid out every three months rather than all at once. Jaggers gives Pip £125 every quarter to prevent him from blowing through his inheritance too quickly.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how trust funds work today - money doled out in installments to prevent beneficiaries from spending everything at once.
Barnard's Inn
One of London's Inns of Court, originally for law students but by Dickens' time used as cheap lodging for young gentlemen. Herbert and Pip live there while pretending to be more prosperous than they are.
Modern Usage:
Like expensive downtown apartments that young professionals share to maintain an image while actually living paycheck to paycheck.
professional persona
The way someone acts at work versus their true personality. Wemmick is cold and calculating at the office but warm and caring at home, showing how people adapt to workplace expectations.
Modern Usage:
We all code-switch between our work personality and our real self - being more formal with bosses, more relaxed with family.
speculation
Making risky investments hoping for big returns. Pip and Herbert are constantly scheming about get-rich-quick plans instead of living within their means.
Modern Usage:
Like day trading, cryptocurrency gambling, or any get-rich-quick scheme that promises easy money but usually leads to debt.
Characters in This Chapter
Pip
protagonist
Finally turns 21 but gets harsh financial reality instead of answers about his benefactor. He's living beyond his means and starting to realize that adulthood means making hard choices about money and friendship.
Modern Equivalent:
The college graduate with student loans who thought a good job meant unlimited spending money
Mr. Jaggers
stern authority figure
Delivers Pip's financial wake-up call without sympathy. He follows his client's instructions exactly but won't reveal who's paying the bills or why, maintaining strict professional boundaries.
Modern Equivalent:
The no-nonsense financial advisor who tells you the truth about your spending habits
Wemmick
dual-natured advisor
Shows his cold office personality when giving brutal advice about lending money to friends, but hints that his home personality might offer different guidance. He represents the split between professional and personal values.
Modern Equivalent:
The HR person who's all business at work but becomes your friend outside the office
Herbert
loyal friend
Pip's roommate and partner in financial irresponsibility. His business is failing and he needs help, putting Pip in the difficult position of wanting to help a friend despite his own money problems.
Modern Equivalent:
The best friend whose startup is failing and needs a loan you can't afford to give
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I came of age,—in fulfilment of Herbert's prediction, that I should do so before I knew where I was."
Context: Pip reflects on how quickly time passed before his 21st birthday
Shows how Pip has been drifting through life waiting for things to happen to him rather than taking control. The passive voice reveals his lack of agency in his own story.
In Today's Words:
I turned 21 before I knew it, just like Herbert said I would - time flies when you're not paying attention.
"Of course you'll go wrong somehow, but that's no fault of mine."
Context: Jaggers washes his hands of responsibility for Pip's future financial decisions
Jaggers protects himself legally while acknowledging that Pip will probably mess up. It shows the cold reality that having money doesn't guarantee wisdom, and advisors can only do so much.
In Today's Words:
You're probably going to screw this up, but don't blame me when you do.
"I should merely be throwing the money away if I lent it to Herbert. When you go to borrow money, you go to someone who has got it."
Context: Office-Wemmick gives harsh advice about lending money to Herbert
Brutal but practical wisdom about money and friendship. Wemmick separates emotion from financial reality, showing that good intentions don't change economic facts.
In Today's Words:
Lending money to Herbert would be like throwing cash in the trash. If you need a loan, you go to someone who actually has money to spare.
Thematic Threads
Money
In This Chapter
Pip learns he's been overspending and must budget strictly, while also grappling with whether to lend money to Herbert
Development
Evolution from money as fantasy (great expectations) to money as harsh reality requiring discipline
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when your paycheck seems big until you actually try to make it last the whole month.
Friendship
In This Chapter
Pip wants to help Herbert financially but gets warned that mixing money and friendship destroys both
Development
Introduced here as a central tension between loyalty and practical wisdom
In Your Life:
You face this every time a friend asks to borrow money or wants you to cosign a loan.
Identity
In This Chapter
Wemmick shows he has completely different personalities at work versus at home
Development
Building on earlier themes about how social roles shape who we become
In Your Life:
You might notice you're a different person at work than you are with family or friends.
Control
In This Chapter
Pip realizes he has no control over his benefactor's plans and Jaggers won't reveal anything
Development
Continuation of Pip's struggle with being dependent on mysterious forces
In Your Life:
You experience this when you're waiting for someone else to make decisions that affect your life.
Expectations
In This Chapter
Pip expected big revelations on his 21st birthday but gets budget restrictions instead
Development
The gap between what Pip imagined and reality continues to widen
In Your Life:
You know this feeling when milestone birthdays or achievements don't bring the clarity you expected.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Wemmick give Pip completely different advice about lending money depending on whether they're talking at the office or at his home?
analysis • surface - 2
What does Jaggers' refusal to discuss the benefactor's identity reveal about how power works in professional relationships?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about someone you know who acts differently at work than at home. What forces shape these different versions of the same person?
application • medium - 4
When you need help or advice from someone who wears multiple hats in your life, how do you decide which version of them to approach?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter suggest about the difference between being fake and being strategic in how we present ourselves?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Context Switchers
Think of three important people in your life who operate differently in different settings - maybe a boss who's also a friend, a family member who's also a coworker, or someone who acts differently at church versus at the bar. For each person, write down what advice or help you might get from their 'professional self' versus their 'personal self.'
Consider:
- •Consider what pressures or responsibilities might cause each version to give different advice
- •Think about timing - when is each person most likely to be in their helpful mode?
- •Notice which version of yourself you present in different situations
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you got conflicting advice from the same person in different contexts. Looking back, what was really happening? How might you approach similar situations differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 37: The Castle and the Gift
The coming pages reveal to separate your work persona from your authentic self, and teach us the power of helping others without expecting recognition. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.