CHAPTER 7 I Visit Miss Havisham and Meet Estella

Summary
That night Pip stays with Mr. Pumblechook. The next morning he is taken to
Miss Havisham’s grand mansion, The Satis House. The house, with its rusty
doors and windows, is a gloomy sight. The courtyard is barred from inside. A
useless brewery stands off to the side of the decaying monument that is the old
lady’s home.

The sour young lady who greets them at the gate admits only Pip, whom she
leads to the parlor. It is a dark room lighted with candles. There, Miss
Havisham is dressed in rich outfits that must have once been bridal best clothes.
Now they are old and faded, and hang loosely on her body. To Pip, the old lady
seems like “a frightening wax work” and “a skeleton in the ashes.” She tells Pip
she is old and heart-broken, that she never goes outside, and that she has called
him here to play with her adopted daughter Estella (the girl who answered the
door).

She calls for Estella and commands the two to play cards. Estella, who is both
beautiful and proud, plays with Pip scornfully, noting his poor appearance. She
defeats him at cards and continually insults him by pointing out his “common-
ness.” When they are finished, Estella gives him bread, meat, and beer, and
Miss Havisham instructs him to return in six days. Miss Havisham is morbidly
delighted to see that Pip is nonetheless taken with the girl. Pip cries when he
leaves Satis House.

QUESTIONS WITH MODEL ANSWERS

1. “Boy! Let your behaviour be a credit unto them who brought you up by
hand. “Comment”

Mr . Pumblechook said these words to Pip when departing from him at the gate of
Miss Havisham's house . By these words he meant to remind Pip to be grateful and
thankful to his sister who brought him up by hand .
2. Describe Miss Havisham’s house?

It was built of old brick and was very dark , old and gloomy. Some of the Windows
had many iron bars to them . Some other windows were walled up.The door to the
courtyard was barred as well. There was a large Brewery beside the house.

3.What did " Satis " mean ?

"Satis" is a Latin or Greek word meaning enough. It meant that whoever had that
house could want nothing else

4 . Describe Estella . How did she treat Pip

She was a very young pretty and proud girl .She was of about Pip's age, but she seemed
much older .She was self - possessed , She was scornful and called Pip boy. She treated
Pip as if he were a dog. She put some bread and meat and a little mug of beer on the
ground in front of him without saying a word. He felt humiliated. She Called him a
common labouring boy with tough hands and thick boots. She was delighted when he
cried .

5. Give a description of Miss Havisham and her surroundings.

The room that Pip entered was a very large one , and it was lighted with candles , there
was not a glimpse of day light in the room , It was a dressing room , as much as the
furniture could tell .When Pip first went into the room, he noticed the strangest lady he
had ever seen sitting in an arm chair and her head leaning on her hand. She was dressed
in rich material , all of white . Her shoes were white and she had a long white veil on her
hair and she had bridal flowers on her hair , but her hair was white .Some bright jewels
sparkled on her hand and on her neck , and some other jewels lay sparkling on the
table .It was quite evident that she had not finished dressing. Pip noticed that everything
that was white, had been white a long time ago and had faded and become yellow. He
also notice that her watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine .

6 . " Look at me you are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since
you were born” Comment

These words were said by Miss Havisham to Pip when he went to visit her at Satis
House for the first time. He entered the house by a side door, and Pip noticed how dark
the passages were. All afraid Pip knocked at the door, and a voice from within told him
to enter. He found himself in a large room, well lighted with wax candle but without a
glimmer of day light. The strangest lady he has ever seen was sitting at a dressing table,
dressed in white satin and lace and with a veil on her head. When Pip came closer he
observed that the white has faded to yellow with age and that although the dress must
first have been worn by the lady when she was young, she also was now shrunken with
age. Miss Havisham asked Pip if he was afraid of a woman who has not seen the sun
since he was born. Pip, although he very much afraid, assured Miss Havisham that he
was. She told him that her heart was broken and then she commanded him to play.

7. "Well, you can break his heart." Comment.

These words were said by Miss Havisham (or Pip thought that he had heard her say so)
to Estella. It was said when Miss Havisham asked Estella to play cards with Pip, and
she (Estella) commented that he was a common labouring boy this was Miss Havisham's
answer to her.

8. What happened after Pip had left the room?

After Pip had left the room Estella took him to the courtyard and left him there to go
and get him some food and returned with some bread and meat and a little mug of beer.
She put these down as if Pip was a dog. Tears of humiliation sprang out to Pip's eyes,
but he forced them back, when he saw that the girl was pleased she had wounded him.
When Estella had gone, Pip went behind the brewery gate and cried his heart out.
However, once he overcame his injured feeling he ate his food and drank the beer.
Before he left Estella asked him why he was not crying, Pip answered saying that he did
not want to, but Estella already knew that he had been crying.

9. "I wished Joe had been more gently brought up and then I should have been so
too." Comment.

While Pip was alone in the courtyard waiting for Estella, he looked at his coarse hands
and his thick boots. He was ashamed of himself and wished that he and Joe had been
more gently brought up.

10. "It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed but the child is
small, and its world is small “ Comment.
These words were said by Pip after being humiliated by his sister's unjust up bringing
has made him timid and sensitive Although the injustice he is confronted with is small,
but yet Pip says to a small child it is very big.

11. In what way does Dickens convey the idea of death and decay in this chapter?
List all the evidence you can find to support your idea.

Dickens conveys the idea of death and decay in this chapter by giving a very grim
picture of Satis House and Miss Havisham. The windows are either walled up or barred
like a prison.The house is dark and Miss Havisham's room is only lighted by a candle.
Miss Havisham herself is a very strange lady, dressed in clothes which ought to be
white, but yellow with age. The way Miss Havisham has shut herself from daylight
suggests isolation from the outer world. The clocks have all stopped at twenty minutes to
nine. The brewery and the garden are completely neglected.

12. The idea of class is introduced in this chapter. What effect does an awareness of
the difference between himself and Estella have upon Pip?

In this chapter Pip becomes quite aware of the difference between himself as a common
working boy and Estella. When Estella laughs at his rough hands, the way he dresses
and at his thick boots, Pip feels ashamed of himself and wishes he has been brought up
rather more gently.When the visit ends and he goes home Pip is very unhappy about the
idea that he is a common boy.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. Where did Pip spend the night ? Was he happy at breakfast the next morning ? Why ?
2. Who unlocked the door for Pip and Pumblechook ? Were they both admitted in ?
3. What did Miss Havisham ask Pip to do ? What was his response ? Why ?
4. What was he asked to do then ? What did Miss Havisham encourage Estella to do ?
5. What did Pip notice in Miss Havisham's room ?
6. Why was Estella delighted at the end of the visit ? What does this show about her
character ?
7. What did Pip feel at the end of the visit ? Why ?