XVI

Past

Upon meditating over the ideals found in the novel Great Expectations, we realize Miss Havisham exhibits a metaphor for our own lives. Left at the altar on her wedding night, she is unable to let go of the past. Instead, she lives the rest of her days hiding in her dark house, still wearing her wedding dress. Though, initially, her character seems quite exaggerated, we live in an identical way. Mrs. Havisham physically portrays our mental ability to cling to tragic events, which plague our lives. Usually, our current actions and ideals result from events of the past. Unable to move on, it dictates our every thought, emotion, action, and word.

Therefore, to fully understand a human being, we must look, not at their outward actions, but to their past and what they find their identity in. Then, and only then, can we claim to understand them, for we know what dictates everything about them.