From Great Expectations
Miss Havisham
The lady of Satis House • Brokenhearted recluse
A rich, mysterious lady who still wears her wedding dress and stopped all her clocks after a broken heart.
Who is Miss Havisham?
Miss Havisham is a rich, strange lady who lives shut away in Satis House, a gloomy old mansion near Pip’s village. Long ago she was abandoned on her wedding day, and ever since she has worn her yellowed wedding dress, kept the clocks stopped and left the wedding cake to crumble on the table.
Miss Havisham is a character in Great Expectations, the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.
What is Miss Havisham like?
- bitter
- lonely
- sorry
Miss Havisham’s story
Miss Havisham was the daughter of a rich brewer. She fell in love with a smooth-talking man, Compeyson, who worked with her half-brother to trick her out of money. On her wedding day, while she was dressing, a letter came at twenty minutes to nine to say he was not coming. She stopped every clock at that moment, never took off her dress and never went out into the daylight again. She adopted Estella and raised her to break men’s hearts, as hers had been broken.
She sends for Pip to “play” at Satis House, watches Estella torment him, and later pays twenty-five guineas for him to be apprenticed to Joe. When Pip comes into his fortune, she lets him believe it comes from her, and she urges him fiercely to love Estella. Greedy relatives flatter her for her money, but Herbert’s father, Matthew Pocket, is the only one who will not.
When Estella grows cold even to her, and Pip tells her how much he has suffered, Miss Havisham finally sees the harm she has done. She cries, “What have I done!”, begs Pip to forgive her and gives money to help Herbert’s career. As Pip leaves, her dress catches fire, and he burns his hands putting out the flames. She never really recovers, and she dies not long after, leaving most of her fortune to Estella and a gift to Matthew Pocket.
“Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her.”
A moment to remember
She leads Pip to the long table where her wedding cake sits under cobwebs and tells him that is where she will be laid when she dies.
Family and friends
- Estella: adopted daughter
- Pip: boy she sends for to play
- Herbert Pocket: young relative whose career she helps
- Mr. Jaggers: her lawyer
Talk about it
Miss Havisham stopped all her clocks so that time would stand still. Why do you think she wanted that? Is it good to stay stuck on a sad day?
Questions about Miss Havisham
- Why does Miss Havisham wear a wedding dress?
- She was jilted on her wedding day, so she never took the dress off. She has worn it, faded and yellow, ever since.
- Why are the clocks stopped at Satis House?
- She stopped them at twenty minutes to nine, the moment she learned her bridegroom was not coming. It is her way of refusing to let time move on.
- Does Miss Havisham die?
- Yes. Her dress catches fire and Pip saves her from the flames, but she is badly hurt and dies some time later. Before that, she asks Pip’s forgiveness.
Read the story in
Great Expectations
Ages 6–9, 72 pages
