Write about the ways in which Charles Dickens presented the female :: Free Essay Writer

Write about the ways in which Charles Dickens presented the female characters in Great Expectations Charles Dickens was born on the 7th February 1812. He is known as one of the greatest writer of his time, creating classics that are still appreciated to this day. Surprisingly he had very little education and taught himself. At a young age Dickens was interested in becoming a reporter and writing and as well as writing fiction, he edited a weekly journal for twenty years. Dickens died on 9th June 1870, at the age of 58. The novel Great Expectations was first published in 1861. The novel was first published in a weekly magazine in several different parts and when finally finished it was published as a book. As it was serialised there were many cliff hangers leaving the reader wanting to read on. It is about Pip who is orphaned at birth, he lives with his strict sister and her husband, a blacksmith. His fate takes a new course when he is summoned to meet Miss Havisham, a rich lady driven to the edge of sanity after being jilted at the altar. Pip slowly becomes infatuated with Miss Havisham's adopted daughter Estella and his hopes of winning her are boosted when he learns that someone has left him a generous amount of money. The story takes some great twists; the three main female characters are Mrs Joe Gargery, Miss Havisham, and Estella, all which are portrayed differently in the novel. The Victorian period was extremely different; the hierarchical system was much more important, and at the time the novel was written there were many controversial political issues. At the time the novel was published rarely did women have an education or work. Charles Dickens depicted men and women as existing within different social spaces. With the exception of Estella, who travels from Satis House to London, all of Dickens's female characters are contained within the home. Women were stereotyped as housewives, and did not have much control over their own lives as women were seen to be owned by their husbands. In Great Expectations we can see how the women who fit Dickens' ideas were rewarded with happy lives, usually in the form of marriage, like Biddy. On the other hand, the women who did not conform to these ideas were punished in one way or another. Even though not all of Dickens' attitudes reflected what was typical of the period, many did. Great Expectations is a reflection of those attitudes that were most likely encouraged by the women in his life. The female characters physical appearance plays a big part, as it