This section of the novel comes in Chapter 35. After
returning to his old house to spend the night once more, Pip chats with Biddy. During
this conversation, in which he displays the customary arrogance that unfortunately we
have come to associate with the new Pip, he declares to Biddy that he "will be often
down here now. I am not going to leave poor Joe alone." Interestingly, in response to
this statement, Biddy remains silent, showing her wisdom, foresight and understanding of
Pip, as she obviously doubts the truth of his words. Of course, at the end of this
chapter, as Pip returns to go back to London and his great expectations, he is forced to
see how wise Biddy actually is:
Once more, the mists were rising as I walked
away. If they disclosed to me, as I suspect they did, that I should not come back, and
that Biddy was quite right, all I can say is--they were quite right
too.
We can see this episode
then as yet another instance when Pip is struggling with the relationship between his
humble upbringing and the fine London life that he leads now. His inability to connect
the two in his life in any meaningful way suggests the negative impact that his
expectations have had on him.
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