Orlick had been working as a journeyman for Joe Gargery, the man who raised Pip after the deaths of his parents, and he is on bad terms with Pip, seeing him as a rival. After a quarrel with Orlick, Mrs. Joe, Pip's sister and the wife of Joe Gargery, is attacked and severely injured by a blow to the back of the head. When Pip moves to London, Orlick becomes Miss Haversham's gatekeeper. Pip is stunned by the news, since Mrs. Joe (who is now mute) has indicated that Orlick was probably the person who attacked her. Pip convinces Jaggers to fire Orlick, which infuriates the man and nearly leads to Pip's death at his hands later in the novel.