Miss Havisham

Above is my initial reaction to Miss Havisham's character, including some key descriptive words and how I would like to portray her.


I think that Havisham's character is very unusual considering the era in which the novel is set; an older, unmarried woman in charge of her own finance would have been incredibly rare - a polar opposite to the ideals of women at the time, whose roles would be centred on the family, motherhood and respectability, with Queen Victoria as the 'role model'.



I have got a lot of my inspiration from the BBC production of Great Expectations, as I love the way Havisham is frail and barely moves even when speaking. It gives the house a very haunted feel, especially when a young Pip discovers the wedding reception room.

I think this video I found on YouTube really captures the relationship between Miss Havisham, Estella and Pip.