The Gothic

The Gothic is depicted in Great Expectations through a number of different elements, first of all is the idea of imprisonment. Imprisonment is a large part of the 'gothic' theme in novels, and Charles Dickens' novel is no exception from this. In Great Expectations imprisonment is represented through the character of Miss Havisham - although no one is physically restraining her or stopping her from leaving the room in her house she is completely overcome with the grief of being rejected so many years ago she faces a personal battle of embarrassment and despair that is restricting her from being able to move on from what has happened in her past.
In addition to this, power, also a theme within 'The Gothic' is clearly evident in Dickens' story. The idea of power in the gothic is usually portrayed by those who are vulnerable and put themselves and their lives at risk. This is evident in Miss Havisham and how she has become engrossed in the search to gain power and manipulate the entire male population. She trained Estella from a young age when she would have been vulnerable so she was unable to love another, especially a man, as her own personal revenge.

The Uncanny is a key theme of what makes up 'The Gothic', it is the idea that there is something new but it takes us back to our own psychological or physical past. This becomes apparent with Miss Havisham and how when she looks at Pip and Estella together it reminds her of herself and the fiancé that left her. Another element of 'the uncanny' is the idea that something appears almost human but they're not, for example a doll or a waxwork. This can be linked to Pips description of Miss Havisham when he first meets her, he tells the reader how "Once, I had been taken to see some ghastly wax-work at the Fair, representing I know not what impossible personage lying in state. Once, I had been taken to one of our old marsh churches to see a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress, that had been dug out of a vault under the church pavement. Now wax-work and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me. I should have cried out, if I could." Pip describes Miss Havisham as having some relation to the appearance of that waxwork he once saw, the idea of 'the uncanny'. This take on this part of The Gothic has been given a unique twist by Charles Dickens as Miss Havisham is in fact human but her behaviour and appearance is so unbelievable of that of any human being that she appears almost like an idea, unrealistic and distant.

Finally there are elements of the 'grotesque', this implies that there are features and behaviours of a character that are transformed from normal to extremes and in some cases scarily comical. This is depicted in Great Expectations through Miss Havisham. Everything she does seems over-exagerated and over the top, from becoming a recluse and not leaving her house to taking revenge on all men through the use of manipulating Estella. All of her behaviours and attributes are in some way grotesque.