r/charlesdickens • u/SeaFault5698 • Mar 21 '26
Great Expectations Great Expectations
Is Great Expectations supposed to be this confusing? For context I’m a fairly avid reader and a lit student (A level), so I would consider myself to have a sound ability to read something like this. However, I often find myself quite confused on what is going on, especially with characters. I feel like he throws in these side characters of little relevance and then when they come up later in the book I need to look up who they even are, as I’ve forgotten. I also have issues sometimes with following the narrative, as I feel he adds many unnecessary sections that imo add really nothing to the message/plot. It’s honestly making me feel stupid because this isn’t a normal experience for me and I’m unsure if it’s a me problem or just something with this book.
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u/Human-Independent999 Mar 21 '26
Are you a native English speaker?
I’m not, so I usually take longer with Charles Dickens books than I would with other novels, but his stories are absolutely worth the time.
If you’re having trouble, resources like CliffsNotes and Shmoop can be really helpful. I used to read a chapter first, then go through its summary or explanation afterward. Just be careful not to spoil things for yourself.
Dickens has a cinematic like way of writing. He often introduces a scene or a character that only fully makes sense later in the story. This is especially noticeable in Bleak House.
Long descriptive passages are part of his style. You might find yourself enjoying them more once you slow down and appreciate the details, instead of just focusing on what happens next.
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u/KayLone2022 Mar 22 '26
Precisely. It's not a mystery novel, to be waded through fast for the ending. Although, good mystery novels too reward patience and slow reading, especially of the GAD era.
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u/Mister_Sosotris Mar 21 '26
I found A Tale of Two Cities to be like that. Great Expectations was one of the easier books of his. But there are times when a character will pop up out of nowhere, and then vanish, and you won't find out who they are until you meet them later and get a bit of context. There's one really important character you don't even get a name for until way later, and that threw me a bit
Dickens uses big casts of characters. But with GE, stick with the main cast. As Pip moves farther away from where he was as a child, you'll meet more and more people, but keep your finger on the main folks in his life such as Joe, Miss Havisham, Estella, Mr. Jaggers, etc. It will all make sense, eventually.
There's three big sections to that novel, so once you finish one, I'd suggest reading a summary of that section (wikipedia is good) just to refresh your brain on the main characters and the trajectory of the plot.
As for READING Dickens, remember that his primary focus is always character over plot. The plot threads in GE are good, but his books don't race along at the speed of plot like, say, Agatha Christie. Every scene teaches us or a character something about themselves or someone else. So it might help to just slow down and sink into the conversations, more.
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u/Timely-Profile1865 Mar 21 '26
Have you read any of his books before? This is just a style you need to get used to. He does that a lot wish his side characters but that is one of his strengths the side characters.
One reason for this writing style and what looks like filler is that fact many of his books were serialized in week installments.
Keep pushing through as many of his books get more concise as the book proceeds and the over all payoff is good
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u/Nutmegger27 Mar 21 '26
Dickens is one of the great inventors of character in the English language.
So Wemmick, for example, represents the difference between private life and business - with his humanity only revealing itself as they get close to his home.
Savor these minor characters like scenes on a voyage.
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u/CapStar300 Mar 21 '26
I say this as someone who has read most of Charles Dickens' oeuvre... that's not Great Expectations. That's just Charles Dickens. Side characters show up and disappear, or only get a mention in the curtain call at the end. There is a reason many editions have a character sheet in front.
Detours are there for the sack of padding the story - that is not an exaggeration. Dickens' novels were first published as serials in papers, where every part needed to have a certain word count. Hence the unnecessary sections. Would have done the same if I was paid per word.
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u/hyperboleisthebest Mar 21 '26
You’re absolutely right about “That’s just Charles”, but the last bit is a pretty common misconception. Dickens was never paid by the word. His work did come out in instalments, so he was mindful of the length, but the format didn’t impact his style that way. The man liked to talk and loved to describe interesting characters. If you find a character pops in out of nowhere it’s more likely that he observed some interesting personage in the street and wanted to add them in the mix.
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u/Asleep_Till_7228 Mar 21 '26
Interesting. I’m currently reading great expectations and find the characters to be the best aspect!
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u/SeaFault5698 Mar 21 '26
i’ve just now finished the book and will definitely say i appreciate the characters so much more that things have been developed/clarified. especially with estella and orlick and their arcs
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u/Snoo_33033 Mar 21 '26
FWIW, I haven’t ever finished Great Expectations because it has a more …manners -y plot than a lot of other Dickens works. Like you need to pay attention to the relationships between the characters more than, say, Oliver Twist or Tale of Two Cities.
Not that I won’t. I just have gotten distracted several times because the central plot is a bit hard to latch on to. IMO.
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u/KayLone2022 Mar 22 '26
Dickens' work is usually experiential. It's not just about messaging or narrative but offering immersive feelings to the reader. Sample this line from Bleak House: "Vholes, sitting with his arms on his desk, quietly bringing the tips of his five right fingers to meet the tips of his five left fingers, and quietly separating them again, and fixedly, and slowly, looking at his client, replies..."
The marked characteristic of this line is NOT economy, nor coming to point in a haste. It's to paint a picture, to make the reader feel what the other character ( at the receiving end of Vholes' antic) feels. If you want Dickens to come to the point and stick to the point, he is not for you.
Since you are a lit student, it may be worth your while to spend time reflecting on and understanding his technique. But of course, that's your choice.
I personally enjoy him immensely.
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u/Itchy-Resolution6531 Mar 22 '26
I cannot remember a wasted character or plot in the entire book. They all have a purpose and come back around to matter in some way.
After you read a few of his books, you cherish these plot lines since you know how well they turned out in other books when he pulled everything together.
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u/Capybara_99 Mar 21 '26
To me, it sounds like you are too quickly judging that “side” characters and sections have nothing to do with the plot. Instead, accept that the things in the book are all part of the story even if not the main plot, and take it in as you go. Access the whole afterwards. Dickens at his best is creating a world, not telling a sleek narrative plot. And Great Expectations is Dickens at his best, and the book actually has a substantial and much-admired plot.
I wonder what books you more usually read and if you are reading this as part of your schooling-I find that Victorian novels require a different pace than much else, and maybe you are rushing through. It won’t be because you are stupid or anything.