Discuss the significance of the title of the novel Great Expectations.

The title of
's second-to-last work in which he writes with what critics term "extravagant
didacticism" and stylistic decorations that "exceed all bounds" indicates
the grand expectations he had for the novel. Perhaps, however, Dickens' efforts underscore the
meaning of the lines of Sir Phillip Sidney in his Astrophil and Stella
sonnets as he refers to

. . . that friendly
foe,

. . .

since while many reviews
were negative, readers were so eager for this novel that it had five printings.

Indeed, the novel is a "friendly foe" for many of the characters as well as
for the author. That Mr. Jaggers is the first to utter this phrase at the Three Jolly Bargemen
certainly points to its paradoxical meaning, for Jaggers, who knows the secret of his
benefactor, is fully aware that Pip's expectations will exceed what is realistic:

"Very well,....And the communication I have got to make is that
he has Great Expectations....He will come into handsome property....immediately removed from his
present sphere of life and from this place and be brought up as a gentleman--in a word, as a
young fellow of great expectations." 

And, it is
these grand hopes, these "great expectations" that links so many of the characters in
Dickens's grand effort of narrative:

• Magwitch hopes to vicariously
  redeem his tragic life
• Pip expects that in becoming a gentleman, he will
  become superior to others and worthy of Miss Havisham's respect and Estella's love. 


• Herbert Matthews aspires to secure a respectable position and to marry


• The orphaned Biddy hopes to find a meaningful position in life.


• Mr. Wopsle parodies the expectations of Pip in his ridiculous hopes of becoming a
  serious actor.
• So, too, does PumblechookPip's excessive expectations in his
  claim to having brought about Pip's success.
• Mr. Wemmick's exaggerated home
  displays a lightly comical image of great expectations.
• In a sinister form
  of expectations, Orlick hopes to destroy Pip who has always been his rival.


• Miss Havisham, who has had great expectations of a happy life, seeks to regain some
  peace of conscience with Pip's forgiveness.
• Estella's great expectations to
  break men's hearts become tragic as she marries a cruel husband and becomes aware of her
  limitations in receiving love.
• Finally, the readers have "great
  expectations" as they hope to see Pip succeed and attain his only love,
  Estella. 

The novel clearly has an relevant title as
paradoxically there is in its narrative the unfulfillment of many of the expectations of
characters while at the same time, as critic Angus Calder notices, Pip attains the
other "great expectations" of many readers as 

Pip does not merely see what has been there all the time; in the cases of Miss Havisham
and Magwitch, he actively helps them to become better people near the end of their
lives.

And so, the "friendly foe" of Sir
Phillip Sidney, "Great Expectations" is, indeed, an appropriate title for the grand
work of Charles Dickens.