Re: Mrs. Joe in Great Expect
Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Fri, 17 Oct 1997 10:25:42 -0100
My dear Mr Bergman,
The early nineteenth century was a more formal age than the late
twentieth. It was not unusual for husbands to address their wives as Mrs
Smith, or whatever. Except to very intimate friends, they would normally
allude to them as Mrs Smith.
Joe Gargery encourages warmth and intimacy with his equals and inferiors.
His self-effacing manner encourages his social superiors, and those who see
themselves as such, to use his Christian name, so almost everyone calls him
Joe. Mrs Joe is of an altogether different character. She demands
recognition of her status. "Mrs Joe," then, is a compromise. Her friends
and relations would find it odd to call her Mrs Gargery, when they never
call Joe Mr Gargery. "Mrs Joe" gives her status, but relates her to her
husband through the name almost everyone uses for him.
Pip addresses her as Mrs Joe because he was too tiny to have learned to
address her as anything else before her marriage to Joe, and because that's
how Joe himself alludes to her.
Faithfully yours,
Charles Dickens
________________________________________________________________________________
>My students have frequently asked (and I'm not sure I've ever had the "riht"
>answer) why Mrs. Joe is called Mrs. Joe rather than by her first name.
>
>Can you help me?
>
>
Thank you!
>
>
Dave Bergman
>
>
======================
Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author