Great Expectations Characters
Every major character in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
PipProtagonist · 58 chaptersAn orphan blacksmith’s apprentice who narrates his rise, moral struggles, and eventual repentance as he becomes a gentleman.
Joe GargeryMajor character · 35 chaptersPip’s kindly, humble brother-in-law and the village blacksmith whose steady goodness anchors Pip’s conscience.
Miss HavishamMajor character · 34 chaptersA wealthy, reclusive heiress who freezes herself and Satis House in the moment of a broken engagement and shapes Pip and Estella’s lives.
Herbert PocketMajor character · 33 chaptersPip’s warm, industrious friend who tutors him in gentlemanly ways and helps plan and carry out Magwitch’s escape.
EstellaMajor character · 32 chaptersBeautiful, proud ward of Miss Havisham who is trained to be emotionally cold and shapes Pip’s desires and shame.
Mr. JaggersMajor character · 25 chaptersFormidable London lawyer who manages Pip’s expectations and enforces secrecy with cold control and professional authority.
Mrs. Joe GargeryMinor character · 22 chaptersPip’s harsh, domineering older sister and Joe Gargery’s wife, who enforces order with a cane called the Tickler.
BiddyMajor character · 20 chaptersPip’s practical, compassionate childhood friend and first tutor who embodies loyalty, humility, and moral steadiness.
WemmickMajor character · 18 chaptersJaggers’s efficient clerk who is officious at work and warm, whimsical at home in Walworth.
Abel MagwitchMajor character · 17 chaptersAn escaped convict who becomes Pip’s secret benefactor, driven by gratitude and a fierce, rough devotion.
Matthew PocketMajor character · 17 chaptersA conscientious, absent‑minded tutor and Herbert’s father who provides Pip steady moral and educational guidance in London.
Mr. WopsleMinor character · 17 chaptersThe village church clerk with theatrical ambitions whose grandiose declamation supplies comic relief.
Uncle PumblechookMinor character · 17 chaptersA pompous, self-important corn chandler who flatters rank, takes credit, and revels in others' misfortunes to boost his standing.
Clara BarleyMajor character · 11 chaptersHerbert Pocket’s gentle, practical fiancée who cares for her ailing father at Mill Pond Bank and anchors Herbert’s domestic hopes.
CompeysonAntagonist · 11 chaptersA polished, professional swindler whose gentlemanly manners hide ruthless calculation and who sets key betrayals and legal injustices in motion.
Bentley DrummleAntagonist · 10 chaptersA heavy, sulky, boorish young gentleman who embodies arrogant idleness and rivals Pip for social and romantic dominance.
StartopMinor character · 10 chaptersA polite, good‑natured fellow student and rowing companion to Pip and Herbert, reliably practical in crisis.
Dolge OrlickAntagonist · 8 chaptersA resentful journeyman at Joe Gargery’s forge whose smouldering grudges erupt in violence and threats toward Pip and the household.- MMr. PumblechookMinor character · 6 chaptersA pompous, self-important seed merchant who fawns over social success and takes credit for others’ advancement.
- MMrs. PocketMinor character · 6 chaptersA pretentious, ornamental lady of the Pocket household more occupied with rank and appearance than practical matters.
- PProvisMajor character · 6 chaptersA rough, determined former convict who secretly finances Pip and insists on an oath about his past.
MollyMinor character · 5 chaptersMr. Jaggers’s formidable, quiet housekeeper with a scarred wrist and a mysterious past that unsettles those who see her.- FFlopsonMinor character · 3 chaptersA practical nurse/servant at the Pocket household who helps manage the children and keeps the house running.
- GGeorgianaMinor character · 3 chaptersA cousin in the Pocket household who flatters Pip and exemplifies the fawning, mercenary relatives around him.
- MMillersMinor character · 3 chaptersA household nurse in the Pocket household who helps manage the children and sustains the servants' control of the house.
- MMr. HubbleMinor character · 3 chaptersA small-town neighbor and dinner guest who joins in the household’s moralizing and public shaming of Pip.
- MMr. TrabbMinor character · 3 chaptersA Barnard's Inn-area tailor and town tradesman who outfits Pip and helps stage village spectacles.
- MMr. WemmickMajor character · 3 chaptersA pragmatic, dual-natured clerk to Jaggers who keeps a private, affectionate life at his 'Castle' in Walworth.
- SSarah PocketMinor character · 3 chaptersA fawning, socially conscious relation at Satis House who gawks at Pip and participates in Miss Havisham’s performative household.
All chapter summaries ›Characters ›
Read Great Expectations illustrated
Every scene in these notes comes from the Book2Life reader, where the full public-domain text is illustrated as you read, with character portraits and narration. Free in your browser and on iPhone.
