Great Expectations
Estella
The girl at Satis House
A proud, beautiful young woman raised by Miss Havisham, who tells Pip honestly that she has no heart to give.
Estella is Miss Havisham's adopted daughter. She meets Pip as a child and mocks his coarse hands and thick boots, and Pip never gets over her. She grows into a graceful, elegant lady, trained to attract and discard men.
She is cold, but she is honest. She warns Pip repeatedly not to love her, and tells him that she has no heart, no softness and no sympathy. Pip cannot bring himself to believe it. She did not choose this upbringing, and the story hides a secret about her birth that explains more than anyone at Satis House admits. She was taught to do what she does, which is part of what makes her sympathetic.
“You must know, Pip, that I have no heart.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Estella is sent abroad to be educated and comes back more beautiful and more distant. She lets Bentley Drummle court her, though Pip tells her that she despises him. Pip makes a passionate declaration of love, and she answers that she will marry Drummle and tells him not to waste his love.
Pip eventually learns her parents: Molly, Jaggers's housekeeper, and Magwitch. Years later, Pip finds her among the ruins of Satis House, dressed in mourning. She says suffering has been stronger than all other teaching and has bent and broken her into a better shape. They agree to be friends and walk out of the ruined garden hand in hand.
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