Great expectations

Charles Dickens has left the revised ending of Great Expectations open to interpretation by the individual reader. In contrast to the original ending the reader is able to respond to the novel and decide for themselves the fate of Pip and Estella. Both characters have endured and struggled against cruelty and shame. They have also bestowed on others the same heartlessness. These dejections provided lessons which could be learnt from. The novels ending has brought …

…ere both their lives began to change. Prior to Satis House they both had different lives in different worlds. The ambiguity of this ending implies that Dickens himself was not convinced how suitable a happy ending was. His exceptional use of diction enabled him to write an ending that would satisfy most. "I saw no shadow of another parting from her" could signify the beginning of a marriage or perhaps an acceptance for the past.