From: Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Date: Wed Jan 13 1999 - 06:28:24 PST
My dear Miss Leff, "Great Expectations," as I saw it, was more of an antidote to fairy tales than a fairy tale. It is not a story about a little prince, denied his heritage, who meets a strange and mysterious woman promising him the recovery of his heritage, which he does after ordeals recover, to live happily ever after. Pip wants to be a gentleman, but has no right to be. He meets a strange and mysterious woman, who seems to promise great things, but doesn't deliver them. Instead they are delivered by someone of whom Pip, initially at any rate, is ashamed. Nor does his rise in rank bring happiness. Pip has to unlearn fairy tale values in order to see greater: the value of love - of Joe's love for him, and of Magwitch's, and of Pip's devoloping love for both. Faithfully yours, Charles Dickens _______________________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: ILBS@aol.com <ILBS@aol.com> To: cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK <cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK> Date: 13 January 1999 06:19 Subject: Fairy Tale >Mr. Dickens, >I have recently reread Great Expectations for the second time. During the time I was rereading it, I read a critical review of it where the critic compared Great Expectations to a Fairy Tale. I was wondering how and why it would be considered a Fairy Tale. > >Sincerely, >Freya Leff >ILBS@aol.com >