From Great Expectations
Joe Gargery
The village blacksmith • Gentle and true
Pip’s big, gentle brother-in-law, a blacksmith who loves Pip with all his heart and never stops being his friend.
Who is Joe Gargery?
Joe Gargery is the village blacksmith, married to Pip’s older sister. He is huge and strong, slow to speak and the gentlest person in the book. He treats Pip as a friend and an equal from the start, and he loves him just the same whether Pip is a poor apprentice or a fine gentleman.
Joe Gargery is a character in Great Expectations, the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.
What is Joe Gargery like?
- gentle
- honest
- forgiving
Joe Gargery’s story
Joe works at the forge next to his house on the edge of the marshes. His wife, Pip’s sister, is quick to scold and quicker to grab the cane, and Joe protects Pip from her as best he can, slipping him extra gravy and calling him “old chap.” Joe had a hard childhood himself and cannot read, but he is proud of every letter Pip learns. “Ever the best of friends,” he tells Pip.
When Pip becomes his apprentice and then suddenly comes into great expectations, Joe lets him go without a word of complaint and refuses any payment. He visits Pip in London in his stiff Sunday clothes, keeps dropping his hat, and feels how cold Pip has become. He leaves with quiet dignity, saying that life is made of many partings and that he belongs at the forge.
After Pip’s sister is badly hurt in an attack and later dies, Biddy helps keep Joe’s house. When Pip falls ill with a fever in London, Joe comes at once, nurses him like a child and quietly pays his debts. Joe marries Biddy, and when Pip comes home years later, he finds them with a little boy they have named Pip.
“Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a whitesmith, and one’s a goldsmith, and one’s a coppersmith.”
A moment to remember
When Mr. Jaggers offers him money to make up for losing his apprentice, Joe pushes it away. No money, he says, could pay for losing Pip.
Family and friends
- Pip: brother-in-law and dearest friend
- Biddy: friend he later marries
- Mr. Jaggers: lawyer who brings Pip’s news
Talk about it
Joe showed his love by what he did more than by fancy words. What are some ways people show love without saying it?
Questions about Joe Gargery
- Is Joe Pip’s father?
- No. Joe is Pip’s brother-in-law, the husband of Pip’s older sister. But he looks after Pip and loves him like a father and a best friend at once.
- Why does Joe refuse Mr. Jaggers’s money?
- Joe feels that money could never make up for losing Pip, and he is offended by the idea of being paid for him. He only wants Pip to be happy.
- Who does Joe marry?
- After Pip’s sister dies, Joe marries Biddy. They have a son and name him Pip.
Read the story in
Great Expectations
Ages 6–9, 72 pages
