Re-Reading Great Expectations

I am having such a good time with it that I never want it to end. Not only is it mysterious, and interesting … but also hilarious. I love the “voice” of Pip.

There’s one long section when Mr. Pocket (the “pale young gentleman” Pip beat up for no reason at the Havisham’s) and he are having dinner in London, and Mr. Pocket tells Pip the story of why M. Havisham is such a lunatic. But through the whole story, he ALSO is kindly correcting Pip’s table manners. He doesn’t do so in a judging or condescending way, he has no desire to make Pip feel bad. No. He is just trying to be helpful. BUT – it’s all part of the same narrative. Like: “And so then, on the morning of her wedding day, just as the clock struck quarter past nine — It is certainly not necessary to tip the glass all the way back so that you get every last drop down your throat.” Pip then apologizes. Mr. Pocket says, “Not at all…” and goes on with his story. But it’s just HOW Dickens does this … it’s hilarious. I was howling. And you get this mental image of Pip’s awful table manners and fidgety posture … it’s hysterical. But it’s not just the situation – it’s how Dickens tells it. He doesn’t ever have Pip tell us what he’s doing. He never has Pip say: “And so then I ate my peas with my knife, not realizing it was a faux pas.” All of this is going on without Pip telling us of it – because he’s the narrator. That’s why it’s so funny. At one point, apparently, Pip is trying to stuff his entire dinner napkin into his empty tumbler. That’s the one that really killed me. Like: Pip – what on earth is the purpose of that??? On and on goes Mr. Pocket’s narrative about M. Havisham, and then, with no interruption, he says: “I honestly do not believe that dinner napkins were meant to be stuffed into tumblers.” Pip apologizes, embarrassed. Mr. Pocket says, “Oh, not at all” and goes on with his story.

It’s RIDICULOUS, and kind of slapstick, and I am loving every stinking minute of it.