Re: The hero

Charles Dickens (cdickens@RMPLC.CO.UK)
Tue, 24 Feb 1998 13:59:21 -0100 

My dear Miss Michelle,

  Your age has made such notions as sadism fashionable, but I have to tell
you that, though I feel such notions can be revealing, and reveal things
indeed about some of my creatures, I was always more interested in the moral
motivation of characters in my books, than in the tangled depths of their
souls.  Miss Havisham is a lady injured by a man.  It is because of that
that she vows to wreak injury on all the men she can.  She changes because
the consequences of this behaviour are brought home to her, because
instinctive humanity reasserts itself against the will to vengeance, even
more monstrous and misdirected than usual.
  As for Estella, she responds to her education.  The injunction to use her
power ruthlessly cannot have been entirely unattractive to her.  Her heart
manifests itself in her repeated warnings to Pip, alas ignored.  Her heart
is given more sway when she discovers the consequences of another using his
power ruthlessly - Bentley Drummle.  She is not heartless.  It is just that
she doesn't give her heart a chance until nearly the end of the book.

Faithfully yours,


Charles Dickens

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>>From cdickens@rmplc.co.uk Mon Nov 17 08:18:41 1997
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>>Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 16:16:46 -0100
>>To: "Muslimah Mauthoor" <muslimahm@hotmail.com>
>>From: cdickens@rmplc.co.uk (Charles Dickens)
>>Subject: Re: The hero
>>Cc: Boz List <boz@maelstrom.stjohns.edu>
>>
>>My dear Miss Michelle,
>>
>>  Don't, I implore you, be too hard on your teacher.  Better than
>anyone, I
>>know what it is to lack a teacher, to lack any kind of schooling when
>most
>>needed.  Be glad at what you have.  My advice to you is not to despise
>your
>>teacher's views, but to argue against them, powerfully, cogently, but
>>politely. That should make your life and his pleasanter.  It might be
>more
>>productive.  And it is the civilised way of going about things.
>>  Listen to the Inimitable.  He is not merely funny, but wise too.
>>
>>Faithfully yours,
>>
>>
>>Charles Dickens
>>__________________________________________________________________________
______
>>>Dear Sir,
>>>Thank you very much for replying to me. I agree totally with you and
>was
>>>just expressing my teacher's views. He and I don't see things from the
>>>same angle, you see. For example, he thinks Hamlet is insane while I
>>>think the real loony around here is my teacher himself.
>>>I'm studying English for my A-Levels and of all the texts I've got to
>>>read, HAMLET and GREAT EXPECTATIONS are my favourite. You're one of my
>>>favourite authors too. I love your humorous style in GREAT
>EXPECTATIONS.
>>>I'm sorry I didn't sign my name the last time I wrote,
>>>
>>>Goodbye and thank you again,
>>>Michelle.
>>>
>>>______________________________________________________
>>>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>
>>======================
>>Charles Dickens
>>charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
>>Author
>>
>>
>Dear Mr. Dickens,
>I hope you are doing fine. I wanted to ask you something: is Miss
>Havisham a study in sadism? I mean, it's quite unexpected the way she
>suddenly changes in the end. And is it possible that Estella could be so
>heartless. I find the latter hard to understand ( And not because
>Valentine's Day was only just a few days ago. ha! ha!).
>
>I'd be very grateful if you could help me here.
>
>Yours faithfully,
>Michelle.
>
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>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>

======================
Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author