In Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens, Mr. Jaggers is modeled after a notoriously unscrupulous lawyer for whom Dickens
worked that was also rude and abrupt. In Chapter XI of the novel, Mr. Jaggers is
described by Pip,
He was a burly man of an exceedingly dark
complexion, with an exceedingly large head. He took my chin in his large hand and
turned up my face to have a look at me by the light of the candle....His eyes were set
very deep in his head, and were disagreeably sharp and
suspicious.....
"Boy of the neighborhood? Hey?" said
he.
"....How do you come
here?"
"Miss havisham sent for me, sir," I
explained.
"Well! Behave yourself. I have a pretty large
experience of boys, and you're a bad set of fellows. Now mind!" said he, biting the
side of his great forefinger, as he frowned at me, "you behave
yourself!"
Later, when
Jaggers comes to tell Pip that he is to have "great expectations," he is quite abrupt in
his announcements. When he asks Pip if he has any objections to the stipulations of
his good fortune such as keeping the name of Pip and Pip replies that he does not, Mr.
Jaggers snaps, "I should think not!" and rudely tells Pip before
Joe,
Well,
Mr. Pip, I think the sooner you leave her, the better...You can take a hackney
coach...in London, and come straight to
me.
Then, in Chapter XXXVI
when Pip is called to Mr. Jaggers's office, Pip asks Jaggers to convey his gratitude to
his benefactor, but Jaggers says, "I am not paid to carry your words to
anyone."
That he is unscrupulous is apparent in his
conversation with Pip in Chapter XL when Pip confronts him about Magwitch's being his
benefactor. When Pip declares that he is not so unreasonable as to hold Mr. Jaggers
responsible for his misconception that Miss Haisham has been his benefactor, Jaggers
retorts,
Not a
particle of evidence, Pip....Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence.
There's no better rule.
As
Pip continues to inquire about Magwitch, Jaggers tells him to "be careful" and not to
"commit anyone." And, when Pip mentions Magwitch's name, Jaggers insists each time,
"This is the man in New South Wales" because if he admits that Magwitch is in London,
then he must report this fact to authorities. Also, when Pip says he wants to verify
what he has been told, Jaggers says without looking at
Pip,
"But did
you say 'told' or 'informed'? Told would seem to imply verbal communication. You can't
have verbal conversation with a man in New South Wales, you
know."
No comments:
Post a Comment