Discussion Topic
Mrs. Joe Gargery's Role, Fate, and Last Words in Great Expectations
Summary:
In Great Expectations, Mrs. Joe Gargery is Pip's abusive older sister who raises him after their parents' death. Her bitter demeanor stems from personal losses and a life of hardship, which she takes out on Pip and her husband, Joe. Her conflicts with Orlick lead to an attack that leaves her incapacitated. She eventually dies, uttering the words "Joe," "Pardon," and "Pip," reflecting on forgiveness and reconciliation. Her death allows Joe to find happiness with Biddy.
Who is Mrs. Joe Gargery in Great Expectations?
Pip's sister, who raised him "by hand," is immediately introduced in Chapter 2 as a termagant, explosive, shrewish woman who abuses poor Pip verbally and physically. Dickens tries to make every chapter dramatic, and in order to have drama there must be conflict. Creating such a contentious, chronically dissatisfied character as Mrs. Joe assured Dickens that he could invent plenty of conflict up until the time she is nearly killed by a mysterious intruder. Some sort of conflict develops every time Mrs. Joe appears in the book. She has conflicts with Pip, Orlick, and her husband. It turns out that her quarrels with Orlick motivated that ill-tempered, vindictive man to try to murder her. (Orlick himself may have been created because such a man was bound to create scenes of conflict to enliven some of the chapters.) Dickens evidently planned to have Mrs. Joe die off somewhere in the novel...
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so that the kindly, long-suffering blacksmith would be able to marry Biddy and finally have some well-deserved peace, love, and contentment in his life. There is a sharp contrast between Mrs. Joe and Biddy, which makes the modest, patient Biddy seem all the more charming. She is, in fact, one of the most likable characters in the book. It might be said that Pip's sister brings her own death upon herself with her bad temper. She makes Orlick hate her so much that he tries to kill her. She is permanently incapacitated by the assault and eventually dies as a result of the injuries received. Her condition as an invalid explains the need for Biddy to come and live in the Gargery household, and this is what ultimately leads to Joe and Biddy falling in love and getting married.
What are Mrs. Joe Gargery's last words in Great Expectations?
This is a good question because Mrs. Joe's death is reported and a funeral occurs before we ever hear the discussion of what the words were that she spoke in dying. Biddy reports them to Pip:
She had been in one of her bad states... for four days, when she came out of it in the evening, just at tea-time and said quite plainly, 'Joe.'... I ran and fetched in Mr. Gargery from the forge... And so she presently said again, 'Joe' again, and once 'Pardon' and once 'Pip'.
These words are of extreme importance as it demonstrates Joe has been hurt by Pip and needs to forgive him. Likewise, the act of pardoning is ironic because of the central theme of the convict being involved in this storyline.
What happens to Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations?
Mrs. Joe dies after Pip has departed for London. Pip receives this news by letter at the end of chapter 34, but the letter contains no further details about the circumstances of his sister's death. Later, after the funeral, Pip asks Biddy for further information; she tells him that the particulars are "slight." Mrs Joe had been in a "bad state," feeling ill for four days, and then in the evening, she emerged from that state and called out for Joe. Joe came in, and Biddy put his wife's arms around his neck, and Mrs. Joe then laid her head on his shoulder. Her final words were "Joe," "Pardon," and "Pip." After this, she died, seemingly contented, about an hour later.
Prior to this, of course, Mrs. Joe had been attacked in her home by Orlick, the result of which was that she was brain-damaged for the rest of her life and unable to take care of herself.