The element of nostalgia in the novel
Great Expectations is a novel that is based on elements of nostalgia. The arch typical nostalgic character is the doomed Miss Havisham, who lives in the past and cannot get over the jilting of her suitor – she leaves her crumbling house just as it was all those years ago. Pip longs for his dead parents since he is treated badly by his sister although he finds comfort in the kindly character of Joe Gargery, his sister’s husband. There is also an autobiographical sense of nostalgia coming from Dickens’ himself, especially with the Kent surroundings forming such an important part ...