Writer's mastery in the development of character in Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations are two very popular novels of English literature. Pride and Prejudice was written in the 18th century, while Dickens’ Great Expectations is a Victorian novel. Naturally, the two novels feature some unmatched elements, representing their contemporary time and issues dealt by the respective authors.

Great Expectations is a coming-of-age novel which portrays how its central characters Pip and Estella grow up together and become matured through several struggles of life and how being stricken by the harsh reality they realize their mistakes and find happiness in the end. Thematically different, Pride and Prejudice deals with morality, marriage and manners, and shows how women at that time were dependent on marriage, and husband, for their future.

Despite these differences, both these novels feature smart characterization. There are some similarities as well as some differences in the manner with which the characterization is done in these two novels. In a broader sense, Dickens’ characterization is based on social class division which typically includes orphan, poor and outcast of the society. Austen, on the other hand, carries out the characterization on the basis of gender discrimination with female or woman characters shown helpless and dependent on man in a social convention.

Dickens uses physical description to create his characters and attempts to provoke sentiment among the readers through his characters, while Austen employs conversation through which her characters are developed and she instead of provoking sentiment appeals to the senses of the readers.

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In Great Expectations, the story revolves around two rounded central characters: Pip and Estella. Pip is an orphan boy, hailing from the backward part of the society. He, from an early age, intends to grow up to become a gentleman, especially to impress Estella, and he sinks into a huge debt in his adult life and fails miserably in this endeavor. Towards the end of the novel, he realizes his mistakes and resort to working hard to pay off his debt with the help of his brother-in-law Joe, and thus, making Great Expectations a perfect coming-of-age novel.

Pip’s love-interest Estella, who is a little subdued character compared to Pip, also come-of-age towards the end when she realizes that Pip really loves her and nobody would be a better match for her than Pip. But she comes to this realization after being struck down by the society several times. She was the subject of abuse by her deceased husband, following an untimely and shocking death of Miss Havisham who had adopted Estella at her childhood. 

Joe and Miss Havisham are two other important characters in the novel. Joe is a kind-hearted man who forgives Pip despite being insulted by him early in the novel and stands beside Pip when he needs him the most. Joe is a flat character who remains a soft, kind, suave and hard-working person throughout the novel.

Miss Havisham is an interesting character who adds diversity to the novel, but faces a tragic end to her life. She is abandoned by her would-be husband on the wedding night, leading her to form a kind of hatred for all men, and throughout her life she looks for opportunities to take revenge against men. Out of this psychology, she encourages Estella to turn down Pip’s proposal, which Estella does without realizing any part of what Miss Havisham is up to. In the end, she meets an untimely and painful death.

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Pride and Prejudice tries to show the condition of women in the 19th century England. Jane Austen uses physical descriptions emphasizing mannerisms, short, descriptive representations, except that she relies on conversation rather than physical description as her main device of characterization.

For example, Austen uses Mrs. Bennet's complaints to show us her weak, self-pitying egoism. "I have no pleasure in talking to undutiful children. Not that I have much pleasure, indeed, in talking to anybody. People who suffer as much as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied!"

Other characters in Pride and Prejudice can also be described through their dialogues and mannerism. For example, Mr. Darcy’s arrogance was reflected when he did not show any interest in dancing at the ball party.

At one point, Bingley encourages Darcy to dance with Elizabeth, who is not dancing either, and she overhears Darcy describe her as "tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me." She is understandably outraged, and decides on her ill opinion of him.