The Satis House Brewery: An Analysis
Charles Dickens’ widely read Great Expectations focuses on the dawning of a modern order in which systems of power and capital in society surpass the citizens’ control. The author’s interest in criticizing the hollowness of metropolitan society manifests through his gothic descriptions of the Havisham’s Satis House. The brewery of the estate, in particular, withholds a lot more meaning than the mere conception of monetary funds. This essay explores the significance of the abandoned brewery in the Havisham estate and considers its function as a vehicle for the inception of truthfulness in the novel. Indeed, the disintegrating, fragile structure of the brewery, conjointly with the gloom and filth spread through …show more content…
According to Eagleton, Dickens presents the characters in Great Expectations as two-dimensional figures with no real depth to their gestures. However, the novel’s matriarchal character connects to the space around her in a manner that transcends the superficial. The brewery within the Havisham estate serves as a constant reminder of the love she believed she had, but lost in the most brutal manner possible. Even though Miss Havisham recluses herself within the confines of her more habitable space, the abandoned family workplace haunts her each and every day. This becomes more apparent each of the times Pip experiences the ghostly illusions as he walks through the brewery. The first time Pip walks through the brewery, he chillingly visualizes Miss Havisham hanging from the beam of the ceiling: “I saw a figure hanging there by the neck. A figure all in yellow white, with but one shoe to the feet; and it hung so, that I could see that the faded trimmings of the dress were like earthy paper, and that the face was Miss Havisham 's” (Dickens, Chapter VIII). Many years after, this occurs a second time, and “again the same dim suggestion that I could not possibly grasp crossed me. (…) Instantly the ghost passed once more and was gone” (Dickens, Chapter XXIX). These visions provide a strange sense of foreboding and creepiness, which is made particularly intriguing due to the fact that these two instances occur when Estella and Pip are near one another. One could interpret this as the misery inherent in the relationship between Pip and his unrequited love. Regardless of the discrepancies between their upbringings and demeanor, the fact remains that their affections have a lingering haunting between
Charles Dickens’ widely read Great Expectations focuses on the dawning of a modern order in which systems of power and capital in society surpass the citizens’ control. The author’s interest in criticizing the hollowness of metropolitan society manifests through his gothic descriptions of the Havisham’s Satis House. The brewery of the estate, in particular, withholds a lot more meaning than the mere conception of monetary funds. This essay explores the significance of the abandoned brewery in the Havisham estate and considers its function as a vehicle for the inception of truthfulness in the novel. Indeed, the disintegrating, fragile structure of the brewery, conjointly with the gloom and filth spread through …show more content…
According to Eagleton, Dickens presents the characters in Great Expectations as two-dimensional figures with no real depth to their gestures. However, the novel’s matriarchal character connects to the space around her in a manner that transcends the superficial. The brewery within the Havisham estate serves as a constant reminder of the love she believed she had, but lost in the most brutal manner possible. Even though Miss Havisham recluses herself within the confines of her more habitable space, the abandoned family workplace haunts her each and every day. This becomes more apparent each of the times Pip experiences the ghostly illusions as he walks through the brewery. The first time Pip walks through the brewery, he chillingly visualizes Miss Havisham hanging from the beam of the ceiling: “I saw a figure hanging there by the neck. A figure all in yellow white, with but one shoe to the feet; and it hung so, that I could see that the faded trimmings of the dress were like earthy paper, and that the face was Miss Havisham 's” (Dickens, Chapter VIII). Many years after, this occurs a second time, and “again the same dim suggestion that I could not possibly grasp crossed me. (…) Instantly the ghost passed once more and was gone” (Dickens, Chapter XXIX). These visions provide a strange sense of foreboding and creepiness, which is made particularly intriguing due to the fact that these two instances occur when Estella and Pip are near one another. One could interpret this as the misery inherent in the relationship between Pip and his unrequited love. Regardless of the discrepancies between their upbringings and demeanor, the fact remains that their affections have a lingering haunting between