Character Analysis, Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham is an unusual, strange lady who lives in a rotting old mansion. She is certainly one of the most interesting and memorable characters in the novel for multiple reasons. For starters, she defines her life by her break up with Compeyson, which happened to be on their wedding day. She even set all the clocks in her home to twenty to nine, the time when she learned the man she loved was gone, and wears her wedding dress and only one shoe, because when she found out about his leaving she had only put one on. Miss Havisham adopted Estella, a beautiful yet snobby girl, so she can use her as revenge to break men’s hearts like Compeyson broke hers. When Pip falls in love with Estella, Miss Havisham is nothing but rude, and caught up in her quest to seek revenge. Miss Havisham is so set on her plan to break hearts; her cruel actions are invisible to her. Towards the end of the book, Miss Havisham comes to her senses and realizes that she is breaking Pip’s hurt the same way that her fiancé broke hers, causing additional pain rather than revenge. She begs him for forgiveness, which demonstrates how she changed as a character beginning to end.