History Literature / GreatExpectations

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Jaggers is unpleasant to be around and is certainly a grey-morality type of guy, but reveals HiddenDepths by the end.

* LargeHam: Mr. Wopsle, the young Shakespeare enthusiast and later actor.

* DoorStopper: Depending on how big the type is, editions can run from at least 400 and at most 600 pages. All things considered, you could probably cut the subplots about Mr. Wemmick's father, Mr. Jagger's death masks, Orlick completely, Mr. Wopsle's acting career, and all visits to Herbert's family and par down about 150 pages without having much affect on the plot, but you'd be missing out on some extra magic in the world Dickens has painted.

* NoNameGiven: Pip's sister is never named. She's only referred to as "my sister" or "Mrs. Joe".

''Great Expectations'' has been subject to many a film adaptation. The one most likely to have been viewed in a high school English class is [[Film/{{Great Expectations|1946}} the 1946 film]] directed by Creator/DavidLean (generally regarded as one of the best). The 1998 movie is a modern day adaptation set in Miami and is a divisive film with the audience. The 1999 miniseries is considered to be one of the best, if not ''the'' best adaptation of the book as well as [[DarkerAndEdgier the darkest and most depressing]]. There has also been a [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent Completely Different]] ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parody. A 2012 movie adaptation features ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' veterans Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Creator/RalphFiennes, Creator/JessieCave, and Robbie Coltrane, as well as Jeremy Irvine, Creator/JasonFlemyng, Holliday Grainger from ''Series/TheBorgias,'' David Walliams from ''Series/LittleBritain'', and Creator/RalphIneson from ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and was NOT popular with critics or much of the public.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Estalla has thawed by the final chapter.

* PreInsanityReveal: Miss Havisham used to be sane, but went mad after discovering that her fiancee had swindled her out of her fortune and run off on what was supposed to be their wedding day. She shut herself off from the rest of the world, never leaving her house or even changing out of her wedding dress, and eventually conceived of a plan to adopt a girl so that she could raise her to break men's hearts the way that her fiancee broke hers.

* [[RunawayBride Runaway Groom]]: Her fiance dumped Miss Havisham at the altar, as she was dressing for the ceremony.

''Great Expectations'' has been subject to many a film adaptation. The one most likely to have been viewed in a high school English class is [[Film/{{Great Expectations|1946}} the 1946 film]] directed by Creator/DavidLean (generally regarded as one of the best). The 1998 movie is a modern day adaptation set in Miami and is a divisive film with the audience. The 1999 miniseries is considered to be one of the best, if not ''the'' best adaptation of the book as well as [[DarkerAndEdgier the darkest and most depressing]]. There has also been a [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent Completely Different]] ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parody. A 2012 movie adaptation features ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' veterans Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Creator/RalphFiennes, Creator/JessieCave, and Robbie Coltrane, as well as Jeremy Irvine, Creator/JasonFlemyng, Holliday Grainger from ''Series/TheBorgias,'' David Walliams from ''Series/LittleBritain'', and Creator/RalphIneson from ''Series/TheOffice'' and was NOT popular with critics or much of the public.

* DoorStopper: Depending on how big the type is, editions can run from at least 400 and at most 600 pages. All things considered, you could probably cut the subplots about Mr. Wemmick's father, Mr. Jagger's death masks, Orlick's infatuation with Biddy, Mr. Wopsle's acting career, and all visits to Herbert's family and par down about 100 pages without having much affect on the plot, but you'd be missing out on some extra magic in the world Dickens has painted.

* MaybeEverAfter: The (revised) ending suggests that Pip and Estella shall never part. Possibly the TropeMaker. Possibly one of the most famous examples of this trope in English-language media.

** Estella's suffering in her miserable, abusive marriage to the awful Drummle causes the former EmotionlessGirl to develop a new ability for empathy.

** By the end of the novel, we have learned that [[spoiler:Compeyson conspired with Miss Havisham's brother to leave her at the altar and abscond with her dowry. He and Magwitch were later arrested and convicted of circulating stolen money; Jaggers was Magwitch's lawyer in the trial. Magwitch and Molly had a daughter together, though Molly told Magwitch she had destroyed the child. When Jaggers represented Molly in a murder trial and got her acquitted, he resolved to spare her daughter a life of poverty and suffering that he believed would end in her early death, and agreed to the request of another of his clients to adopt her; that client was Miss Havisham, and the girl was Estella.]]

* AdaptedOut: Biddy, Orlick, Wemmick and his father, Startop, Mr. Pumblechook, and Mr. Wopsle in the 1946 film.

* TwiceToldTale: Peter Carey's ''Jack Maggs'' and Ronald Frame's ''Havisham'' (both of which also qualify as a StartOfDarkness).
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Valerie Hobson plays Estella as well as her mother Molly in the 1946 adaptation.
* VoiceoverLetter: The 1946 adaptation has Pip receiving a letter from Estella which is read out in her voice.

''Great Expectations'' has been subject to many a film adaptation. The one most likely to have been viewed in a high school English class is the 1946 Creator/DavidLean one (generally regarded as one of the best). The 1998 movie is a modern day adaptation set in Miami and is a divisive film with the audience. The 1999 miniseries is considered to be one of the best, if not ''the'' best adaptation of the book as well as [[DarkerAndEdgier the darkest and most depressing]]. There has also been a [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent Completely Different]] ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parody. A 2012 movie adaptation features ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' veterans Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Creator/RalphFiennes, Creator/JessieCave, and Robbie Coltrane, as well as Jeremy Irvine, Creator/JasonFlemyng, Holliday Grainger from ''Series/TheBorgias,'' David Walliams from ''Series/LittleBritain'', and Creator/RalphIneson from ''Series/TheOffice'' and was NOT popular with critics or much of the public.

* DoorStopper: Depending on how big the type is, editions can run from at least 400 and at most 600 pages. All things considered, you could probably cut Mr. Wemmick's, Orlick's, and Mr. Wopsle's subplots and par down about 75 pages without having much affect on the plot, but you'd be missing out on some extra magic in the world Dickens has painted.

[[caption-width-right:320:''"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, [[ButForMeItWasTueaday but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:320:''"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."'']]

* GoneHorriblyRight: Miss Havisham's attempt to make Estella devoid of all natural feeling. She succeeds, to the point where Estella has no feeling for Miss Havisham herself.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Miss Havisham's plan to make Estella into a cold, emotionless IceQueen works so well that she can't seem to love anyone...even Miss Havisham herself, who has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when she realizes this.

** Wemmick's father, [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname who is referred to as "the Aged" by everyone, even his own son.]]]

Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Jaggers shows up at Pip's doorstep and tells his stunned family that he has "[[TitleDrop great expectations]]" bestowed upon him by a MysteriousBenefactor. Pip will spend the next couple of years training to become a proper gentleman. His benefactor's identity is a secret, but Pip is convinced that it is Miss Havisham. He meets the upper class members of London society including friendly Herbert and loathsome Drummle, forgets about his old life, and courts Estella with limited success. But it is not until Pip finally discovers who his benefactor is that the plot really begins to thicken and Pip is forced to mature by confronting a variety of surprises, disappointments, and unexpected revelations.

[[caption-width-right:320:[[''"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."'']]

->''"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."''