The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum tells the tale of a young girl Dorothy as she wanders through the land of Oz. In the original movie adaptation, Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the East causing the Wicked Witch of the West to avenge her sister by making Dorothy pay. The Wicked Witch of the West has become a common archetype for the definition of a “wicked witch” with her long nose, green skin, and black hat. Both the novel and movie portray the witch as an evil relentless character disliked readers and viewers alike. However, Holzman and Schwartz's Wicked, establishes a different portrayal of the witch as a poor girl whose struggle with relationships and friends led to a life of anger causing her to become the figure described in Baum's …show more content…
She explains that “until you [Pip] spoke to her [Estella] the other day, and until I saw in you a looking-glass that showed me what I once felt myself, I did not know what I had done. What have I done” (Dickens 399). Her admittance of her mistake and her unwillingness to move on suggests this idea of a figurative suicide as she no longer lived a life in the present, but rather in a house of memories. The only action Havisham took after the wedding was a vow to “save her from misery like mine” (Dickens 403). Oddly enough, Havisham succeeded and this leads to one of the great ironies of this story that produces an undesirable effect on Pip and his life. Estella was only adopted to break other men’s hearts and successfully breaks Pip’s. However, Pip’s heartbreak ironically removes Havisham from her desire to break his heart. In Chapter 49, Havisham finally comes to regret her decision as she constantly shouts “What have I done” (Dickens 403) and breaks free from her past shown by the symbolism of the burnt dress and ruined cake. The question is whether Havisham truly freed herself as Pip notices that “Though every vestige of her dress was burnt, [...] she still had something of her old ghastly bride appearance” (Dickens 403) as if suggesting she could never escape her past even with the dismissal of her …show more content…
Ironically Pip maintains mutual friendly relationships with most everybody but ironically has nothing in common, even with Herbert. Both were too in love to see what was happening and were blindsided by the truth. Havisham’s actions from her experience are contrasted with how Pip reacts to his emotions with Estella. As opposed to Havisham’s reluctance to change, Pip matures and accepts the truth when he reaches his breaking point in his last encounter with Havisham and Estella. Pip expresses his emotions as a last cry of desperation and says “you are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read, since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then.” (Dickens 364). Here Pip shows how much he has progressed as a man and this comment highlights Great Expectations as a true bildungsroman. He realizes and accepts that he was truly enamored with Estella and could never forget her. However, this instant is different as Pip understands that in his ignorant youth he was blinded by love. As an adult, he sees this and accepts that he was the common boy who was tricked into loving a soulless individual. Estella even admits this and says to Havisham “I am what you have made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame, take all the success, take all the failure; in short, take me” (Dickens 304).