The Portrayals of Miss Havisham

Florence Reed  (1934)

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Florence Reed was an American actress from Philadelphia known for her roles in films such as The Black Panther's Club (1921), Her Own Way (1915) and Her Game (1919). Reed was one of the first actress to take on the role of Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations channeling the drawn haggard lady at the age of  51. The detail in the makeup, making the character look withdrawn and older than her time was very effective in making the character more believable. In addition to this pinning the hair up out of the face in a bun structure helps reinforce the ageing of the character, making her appear older and frailer, the combination of these two components helped make Reed's portrayal of Miss Havisham a success. 

Martita Hunt (1946)

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Martita Hunt was a British actress (although originally from Argentina) who was famous for her diverse range of roles as Queens, shrews and evil characters. The actress reprised her role as Miss Havisham in 1946, under the direction of David Lean, after her earlier portrayal in the 1939 stage adaption by Alec Guinness. 
The actress' 1946 portrayal was less focused on ageing and making the character look withered and withdrawn but instead was more focussed on how being jilted at the aisle had defined her as a woman, the veil and wedding dress she never took off making her appear almost as a fairy godmother, guiding and protecting Estelle.

Margaret Leighton (1974)

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Margaret Leighton was a British theatre actress who made her debut at the tender age of 16 as Dorothy in TV movie Laugh With Me (1938). She took on her role as Miss Havisham at the age of 52, just a year before she passed away. The actress channeled the crazy character by sporting an eerily pale skin tone (an obvious side effect of the character not leaving the house for over 15 years) and wearing the wedding dress the character never managed to take off after being deserted by her future husband. Both these factors combined with the light hair and dark eyes made Leighton's portrayal ghost like, a very effective interpretation as it seems since Miss Havisham was rejected, she has never been able to regain her character, staying indoors slowly loosing her mind, her personality a ghost of the woman she once was.

Joan Hickson  (1981)

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Joan Hickson began her long and successful career on stage, performing in the theatre throughout World War II. The actress then gradually began to receive screen roles in works such as The Outsider (1948) and The Promoter (1952), eventually leading her to her role in the TV series adaptation of Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' as Miss Havisham. The actress played the role at the age of 75, making her portrayal of the character more focused on how after being inside for so many years, mourning over the marriage she never got to have, she was haggard, withdrawn and frail. Her skin dry and colourless, sinking and sagging due to her distress. Another completely different but successful portrayal of Miss Havisham.

Jean Simmons (1989)

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Jean Simmons portrayal of Miss Havisham in 1989 came after her debut at 15 years old as Margaret Lockwood's sister in Give us the Moon  (1944). After many different roles, the actress portrayed Dickens' character at the age of 60. Her portrayal focused on the richer aspects of Miss Havisham's character, from her posture to the props such as the small umbrella she held. The natural ageing of the actresses skin helped to emphasise the struggle the character has been through and how she has suffered due to the lack of light and her distress at being rejected by the man she was supposed to marry.

Anne Bancroft (1998)

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This adaptation of Dickens' Great Expectations'  is most probably one of the most eccentric to date. Not only because they have modernised the world surrounding the characters but also the characters themselves. This is clearly evident in Anne Bancroft's role within the film. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the role of Miss Havisham is adapted to a character named Ms Dinsmoor, a character that doesn't appear to bare much similarity to any of the previous portrayals of Havisham. This version ignores the usual customs such as her still wearing her wedding dress or the wedding cake in the corner covered in cobwebs but instead has created and produced something brightly dressed and loud. However Bancroft's character is still manipulative, bitter and venomous just as Miss Havisham has always been, only the extreme eye makeup and bright clothing provides a new, refreshing take on the novel which in turn provides a new outlook on the character altogether.

Charlotte Rampling (1999)

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Charlotte Rampling is an English actress born in 1946, who still has an amazingly successful career today at the age of 69. In 1999, at the age of 53, the actress landed the role of Miss Havisham in a TV movie adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, directed by Julian Jarrold. Her portrayal of Miss Havisham was monarch like and in some ways sophisticated. The wealth of the character is obvious in her wedding dress and her appearance, this portrayal is more dignified than some of the previous representations of Miss Havisham, her distress of being rejected by her fiancee is less visually evident in her appearance than it has been i other portrayals.



Gillian Anderson (2011)

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Gillian Anderson is a successful actress of todays film and TV industry, starting out in 1986 at the age of 18, starring in Three at Once as 'Woman 1', she then carried on to eventually land a leading role in The Fall recently in 2014. During this period she took on the role of Miss Havisham in a TV series of Charles Dickens Great Expectations produced by Rebecca Eaton. Her portrayal of the character channels a woman who has spent so much of her time inside, contemplating her losses in life that it has led her to become lost and insane. Her character moves between manic, lost and manipulative, but Anderson's portrayal is convincing and effective in all states. 
On top of this, Anderson's makeup and costume for the role is also very effective, her snow-white skin and dark eyes show how she has been a recluse in doors for so many years. Her off-white wedding dress represents her troubled past and the dead bouquet she carries around is effective in showing viewers how she hasn't let her go her past rejection.

Helena Bonham Carter (2012)

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Helena Bonham Carter is renowned for her extreme and adventurous roles within the film industry, from her character as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films to Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Her ability to channel a character is astonishing, in an interview she explained how when she was assigned the role of Miss Havisham in the 2012 reproduction of Great Expectations she did research on what the physical side effects of staying indoors for over 15 years would do to a body and the state of mind and then channelled this into her character. The pale skin helped to reinforce this idea and the veil over her face made her appear widow like, mourning her non-existent marriage.