Estella in Great Expectations

Just like Pip, Estella is an orphan and is subject to abuse by her adoptive mother, Miss Havisham. In Estella's case it is rather than physical abuse. She is brought up to despise men but to use her beauty to attract them and then break their hearts. Pip is possibly the first of her victims. Although only a child herself, she ridicules his background and lack of education. When she grows older, however, she seems to have developed a soft spot for Pip. She repeatedly warns him that she cannot love him in return but he will not listen.

Estella's upbringing means she becomes cold and cruel. Dickens makes it clear that Estella behaves as she does only because of her upbringing, so the reader is sympathetic towards her.

Estella enters into a disastrous and abusive marriage with Bentley Drummle. When he is killed she becomes a widow, free to associate with Pip once more.

	How is Estella like this?	Evidence	Analysis
Attractive	Estella is spoiled and Miss Havisham lavishes her with possessions – particularly jewellery. She uses this to literally attract men to her.	"Moths and all sorts of ugly creatures," replied Estella with a glance towards him, "hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?"	Just as a candle flame will destroy a moth, so Estella uses her attractiveness to destroy men's hearts. The glance she gives Pip as she says this suggests that he too is one of these 'creatures'.
Spiteful	When they are children Estella mocks Pip for his common background, his speech, manners and appearance. She almost certainly marries Bentley Drummle out of pure spite.	"He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!" said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. "And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!"	Despite having only just met Pip, Estella thinks nothing of insulting someone who is a guest in her home. She repeatedly calls Pip 'boy' in order to demonstrate her superiority though she is only a girl herself. She also makes nasty comments about his hands and boots.
Honest	Estella tells the truth even when it is hurtful to others. She makes her motivations plain to Pip on a number of occasions but he will not listen to the truth.	"Do you want me then," said Estella, turning suddenly with a fixed and serious, if not angry, look, "to deceive and entrap you?"	Estella uses the words 'entrap' and 'deceive' as a clear warning to Pip. In a sense he wants to be captured by her but he cannot see that it will do him no good.
A victim	Estella has been psychologically abused by Miss Havisham's upbringing and ends the book with little but her looks, her fine clothes and her jewellery. There is a hint that she and Pip will be a couple but there's nothing certain about it.	"I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing."	Estella has had everything that money can buy but she has had all of feelings bred out of her and cannot understand how to love another; not Pip, not Miss Havisham, not even herself.

Attractive
How is Estella like this?	Estella is spoiled and Miss Havisham lavishes her with possessions – particularly jewellery. She uses this to literally attract men to her.
Evidence	"Moths and all sorts of ugly creatures," replied Estella with a glance towards him, "hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?"
Analysis	Just as a candle flame will destroy a moth, so Estella uses her attractiveness to destroy men's hearts. The glance she gives Pip as she says this suggests that he too is one of these 'creatures'.

Spiteful
How is Estella like this?	When they are children Estella mocks Pip for his common background, his speech, manners and appearance. She almost certainly marries Bentley Drummle out of pure spite.
Evidence	"He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy!" said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. "And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots!"
Analysis	Despite having only just met Pip, Estella thinks nothing of insulting someone who is a guest in her home. She repeatedly calls Pip 'boy' in order to demonstrate her superiority though she is only a girl herself. She also makes nasty comments about his hands and boots.

Honest
How is Estella like this?	Estella tells the truth even when it is hurtful to others. She makes her motivations plain to Pip on a number of occasions but he will not listen to the truth.
Evidence	"Do you want me then," said Estella, turning suddenly with a fixed and serious, if not angry, look, "to deceive and entrap you?"
Analysis	Estella uses the words 'entrap' and 'deceive' as a clear warning to Pip. In a sense he wants to be captured by her but he cannot see that it will do him no good.

A victim
How is Estella like this?	Estella has been psychologically abused by Miss Havisham's upbringing and ends the book with little but her looks, her fine clothes and her jewellery. There is a hint that she and Pip will be a couple but there's nothing certain about it.
Evidence	"I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing."
Analysis	Estella has had everything that money can buy but she has had all of feelings bred out of her and cannot understand how to love another; not Pip, not Miss Havisham, not even herself.

Analysing the evidence

"So," said Estella, "I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me."

Question

How has Estella come to be the person she is?

Characters - OCREstella in Great Expectations