Character Map: Estella
● Estella’s name means star. A star is glittering and inviting, yet cold and remote
● She has been crafted by Miss Havisham to be cruel and mocking
● Miss Havisham taught her to break men’s hearts
“Very pretty and seemed very proud”
“Don’t loiter, boy”
“She laughed contemptuously”
“What do you play, boy?” asked Estella of myself with the greatest disdain’
● Estella is cruel and merciless
● She makes Pip feel self-conscious
● “Boy” is demeaning
● Even though they are the same age, she looks down on Pip
● Lacks empathy
“He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!”
“Why, he is a common labouring-boy!”
“I think she is very pretty”
“That girl’s hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree, and has been
brought up by Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex” (Herbert
about Estella)
But, I felt that the kiss was given to the coarse common boy as a piece of
money might have been, and that it was worth nothing.”
● Estella teases Pip and lets him love her
● She gives him hope but makes him realise that she is just a common boy
● This leads Pip to harbour ambitions that eventually lead him in the wrong
direction, away from his family and Joe
“I saw that Estella...laughed mischievously”
● Turning point: Pip is now ashamed of Joe
● He is becoming obsessed with wealth and being a gentleman
● Charles Dickens is communicating the message that people shouldn’t be
judged by what they have, but who they are
● Money can only buy happiness to an extent
● Estella’s name means star. A star is glittering and inviting, yet cold and remote
● She has been crafted by Miss Havisham to be cruel and mocking
● Miss Havisham taught her to break men’s hearts
“Very pretty and seemed very proud”
“Don’t loiter, boy”
“She laughed contemptuously”
“What do you play, boy?” asked Estella of myself with the greatest disdain’
● Estella is cruel and merciless
● She makes Pip feel self-conscious
● “Boy” is demeaning
● Even though they are the same age, she looks down on Pip
● Lacks empathy
“He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!”
“Why, he is a common labouring-boy!”
“I think she is very pretty”
“That girl’s hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree, and has been
brought up by Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex” (Herbert
about Estella)
But, I felt that the kiss was given to the coarse common boy as a piece of
money might have been, and that it was worth nothing.”
● Estella teases Pip and lets him love her
● She gives him hope but makes him realise that she is just a common boy
● This leads Pip to harbour ambitions that eventually lead him in the wrong
direction, away from his family and Joe
“I saw that Estella...laughed mischievously”
● Turning point: Pip is now ashamed of Joe
● He is becoming obsessed with wealth and being a gentleman
● Charles Dickens is communicating the message that people shouldn’t be
judged by what they have, but who they are
● Money can only buy happiness to an extent
