Michele's Humanities Blog

While the people of the Victorian era may very well have preferred Dicken’s rewritten ending, hinting at a possible “Happily Ever After”, I feel that the movie ending, or his original ending was spot on.

As we were watching the movie, a small part of me wanted there to be a moment where they each found fulfillment and love in one another. Once we got further into the story however, the realist in me saw that it just was not feasible for the two of them to end up together. There is no way that Pip and Estella could ever make each other happy in the long run. Each of them was ruined in their own way, and no matter how much they may actually care for one another they would make each other miserable. Neither of them really has the capacity to love, since they have never known love, to begin with.

I’ll be honest at this point there really is not much that would surprise me about anything in the Victorian era. I will say that the design for the prison that Jeremy Bentham came up with was completely ingenious. He had the right idea, and I think ultimately our modern day prisons were probably somewhat based on his original ideas. The masks that the prisoners were forced to wear to keep them from talking to one another were pretty barbaric. But that really does not differ too much from today’s system where prisoners are forced into solitary confinement sometimes for the smallest of infractions. Being forced to work whenever they were not confined really is not much different than the chain gangs that luckily have been deemed to be inhumane, and I do not think are still in use in the United States, or I at least hope they are no longer in use.

Both Estella and Pip are characters that you just have to love. They are both so twisted and broken through no real fault of their own, that you can not help but feel for them both. They are each a product of the respective upbringings. What can I say about Miss Havisham? She too was done dirty, I really do not think that she can truly be held responsible for all that she did throughout her life. She can not help but want to see someone pay for the miseries that she has endured. If it were not for men, and how terribly unfair life was for women at the time, she would have been a much different person. Ahhh, and now for Joe, and Mrs. Joe…Mrs. Joe was a terribly miserable woman. Perhaps she felt she had been dealt a horrible hand in life, when she was forced to take in her younger brother who had been orphaned. Plus the cruel hand of fate had made it so that she and Joe never had any children of their own. Poor Joe, he is as good a man as they come, but he is so simple that all he wants is to love and be loved. I think he would probably do anything for someone that he loves, and in the process allow them to take full advantage of him. If we are all totally honest with ourselves, I am sure we can find people in our everyday lives that fit each of these characters.

Dickens’ father’s financial downfall paved the way for his future writing of Great Expectations. I think he drew inspiration for the character of Pip from his own childhood, maybe he was how he viewed himself. Being forced to work in a factory at such a tender young age would be enough to scar anyone. I think the character of Pip’s sister Mrs. Joe the blacksmith’s wife was most likely a reflection of how he felt about his mother, and the fact that after the rest of the family was released from prison she forced him to continue to work in the factory in order to support the family. The prisoner was most likely modeled after his own father, who once being released from prison made sure that Dickens had the opportunity to attend school in order to better himself. Just as the prisoner made sure that Pip had every opportunity to better himself as well.

One of the biggest advances during the Victorian era would have to be the Steam Engine, and along with it the expansion of the railroad. This progress made it possible for people to move more freely. It also made it possible to transport goods to remote areas more easily. Without the invention of the steam engine, we would not have the extensive transportation network that we have today. If we were to really take a look the majority of products and goods that we buy today are transported from one place to another, either by plane, train, or trucked across country at least. The steam engine made this all possible.

This test was definitely a different experience. Having to take it a week early was a little bit daunting, and going back into the texts to reread portions made me feel as if I was cheating. I have never had to take a test like it, at least not one that was completely made up of essay questions, but of course I probably should not have expected anything less from an English professor. In a way it was difficult to gauge how well I did, as it actually seemed quite objective. I do appreciate that it was pretty straight forward. Going forward I will attempt to more fully grasp the connections between the stories that we read in class, and how they tie into the social aspects of Victorian era society.

One of the things that we have discussed so far that I find absolutely fascinating is the Victorian styles that women wore, and how drastically they contrast with what women wear today, or what the fashion industry tries to pass off as fashion at least. Sometimes I think we would be better off if fashion would go back to a more refined time. When women dressed as women, and men dressed as men. Then I remember that we live in the South and that no amount of air conditioning would make the summer heat bearable while wearing a corset and bustle and numerous layers of skirts. I do find it hilarious that a Victorian woman could not even show the slightest hint of a bare ankle, without having their morals questioned, and her reputation ruined. While today you can see women walking around in next to nothing, and while some may find it distasteful, who are we to judge. I do however feel that we are still very Victorian in that if a woman is raped, the first thing we want to know is ”what was she wearing?”, because we all know that a man can not help himself if a woman is dressed provocatively, and we must always blame the victim (go figure).

Sherlock Holmes has a truly unhealthy fascination with Irene Adler. She fascinates him, taunts him, and challenges his mind at every turn. She is also everything that he could ever want in a woman. She is a beautiful woman, her mind is just as sharp as any man’s including his own and possibly even more devious. He enjoys the chase. If he were to ever actually win her attentions, however, the thrill would be lost. In the Robert Downey Jr. movie version, Holmes is actually romantically interested in Irene, and possibly even feels bad for what Irene’s life has become. I believe he might even be willing to give his life for hers, at least in a moment of weakness, before he came to his senses. In all actuality, if Irene were to ever give up the chase and let herself be caught, Holmes would quickly lose all interest in her.

One of my favorite television shows that features a detective of sorts would have to be “The Good Doctor”, and that detective would be Doctor Shaun Murphy. He and Sherlock Holmes actually share a lot of character traits, and possibly even a few flaws. Both Sherlock and Murphy have extremely intelligent, highly organized minds. Both of them see the tiniest of clues that normal people do not and will not see no matter how hard they try. Both are seriously misunderstood by everyone around them, but while Sherlock is a self-professed ladies man (at least in the Robert Downey Jr. movie version), Shaun Murphy is autistic and has absolutely no idea how to interact with people on a personal level. Neither man has the slightest idea why other people do not come to the same conclusions as easily as they do, but that makes them each more loveable still. In order for a mystery to be truly entertaining, there still has to be some similarities between Sherlock Holmes and any modern-day detective.

In “The Red-headed League” I was not sure what to think for most of the story. I was of course skeptical from the beginning about the position advertised and the pay that was provided. It made no sense why anyone would think that this could actually be a lucrative job. I mean after all if it seems too good to be true it usually is. Of course I did not completely figure out all of the aspects of the situation before they were revealed. The way Sherlock Holmes’ mind works, or more precisely Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mind, is an amazing thing. What it must be like to catch even the most minute of details, when everyone around you only sees the big clues, must be both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. I was somewhat surprised to see Holmes actually engage physically with the criminals that he was after, but at the same time why should he be all brains and no brawn.