artop, two other educational clients, who later figure quite prominently in Pip’s life. What really makes the Matthew Pocket household a travesty is Belinda Pocket, his wife. Belinda has her head in the clouds and is more concerned with “family” rather than her family. To this end the Matthew Pockets need two nursemaids to care for their home and children. There is no serenity or sense of familial love here—only mass confusion at its best.There are a number of other various familial relationships which permeate the pages of Great Expectations. Some of these are merely alluded to, and others play significant albeit brief roles in the novel. Such familial relationships include the Herbert Pocket—Clara Barley—Mr. Barley grouping where Clara cares for her father while Herbert cares for her. Another relationship which can be described as fraternal exists between Pip and Herbert Pocket who is the closest example of a brother that Pip has in the story. The ill-fated matchup between Estella and Bentley Drummle puts Pip’s designs on hold for a while. Mr. Wopsle and his great aunt and her granddaughter, Biddy, is a family that plays an integral part in Pip’s upbringing as well as giving the reader an example in the character of Mr. Wopsle of Dickens, himself, who had a passion for the stage but who would have fared much better than Wopsle. Also, there are villagers such as Joe’s Uncle Pumblechook and Mr. and Mrs. Hubble who can compound whatever guilt Pip feels upon embarking on his expectations. A listing of all familial relationships apparent in the novel will follow.One final family which needs to be mentioned here is the Joe Gargery second marriage to Biddy and its product, young Pip. Throughout the novel Joe and Biddy represent all that is good and natural and honest. Both are reminders to Pip of his roots, and both remain his conscience in the novel. When Pip visits at the end of the sto...
