ble middle classes that Dickens represented. (House 164-166)The speculation mania of 1825-1826 and 1837 on the whole endorsed the morality behind this view of society, because they were followed by economic collapse, meaning loss and ruin for people like Mr. Nickleby. The railway boom of 1845-1846 meant ruin, too, for many, but it meant success for others, and by establishing the joint-stock company in a number of enormous undertakings pointed the way to the later developments of investing. By an act of 1844 all joint-stock companies had to be registered. And the principle of limited liability was first recognized in the legislation of 1855-1856. The years between 1850-1860 were marked by a great increase in the number of small investors, and the later part of the period saw the growth of the system of finance companies These changes are reflected in Dickens work, in the earlier novels finance is very individualistic; from Dombey onwards, through the interest in moneys personal power still continues, and is indeed a main theme of Great Expectations, money as a system is very important. (House 164-166) An example of this can be seen with Pip being given the great expectations and told not to ever try to find out who it is from. He assumes it is Miss Havisham, but he only later finds out that it is Magwich. When he discovers that it is Magwich he is embarrassed that he fell in love with Magwichs daughter and that her mother is a murderer. Pip is worried that all this new knowledge will affect his standing as a gentleman within society.Gender and class becomes intertwined as Pip pursues Estella, whom he sees as a prize awarded to him by Miss Havisham since he had helped her when he was a young man. Pip knows that Estella does not love him but he figures that she will eventually marry him anyway since he thinks that she has no choice in the matter. When Pip is summoned by Miss Havisham to tell him that Estella has arrived from France. Pip ...
