The Convict’s Gift and Flight

Great Expectations

This thread follows Abel Magwitch from his first desperate encounter with Pip through his attempt to escape England, capture, trial, and death.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Frightened Child and Fugitive

A Frightened Child and Fugitive The demand Abel Magwitch seizes Pip in the churchyard and threatens him into bringing food and a file. His terror and hunger make the child’s obedience seem unavoidable. The first bond Pip secretly helps him, and Magwitch remembers the act for years. A brief encounter becomes the foundation of the fortune that will transform Pip’s life.

A Return Against the Law A Return Against the Law from "Great Expectations". A Return Against the Law The visitor Magwitch reaches Pip’s rooms after years in New South Wales.

A Return Against the Law from "Great Expectations". A Return Against the Law The visitor Magwitch reaches Pip’s rooms after years in New South Wales.

A Return Against the Law The visitor Magwitch reaches Pip’s rooms after years in New South Wales. He reveals that he made his money to raise Pip into a gentleman. A dangerous reunion His return violates the terms of his transportation and risks death. Pip’s gratitude, fear, and repulsion now collide with the man’s affectionate pride.

The Hidden Life The Hidden Life from "Great Expectations". The Hidden Life Concealment Pip gives Magwitch the name Provis and arranges discreet lodging near the river.

The Hidden Life from "Great Expectations". The Hidden Life Concealment Pip gives Magwitch the name Provis and arranges discreet lodging near the river.

The Hidden Life Concealment Pip gives Magwitch the name Provis and arranges discreet lodging near the river. Herbert helps keep the returned convict out of view while they plan a route abroad. A fragile routine Magwitch dreams of spending freely on Pip, while Pip resists accepting more of his money. Their uneasy domestic closeness gradually softens Pip’s first revulsion.

The Escape Intercepted The Escape Intercepted from "Great Expectations". The Escape Intercepted A planned departure Pip, Herbert, and Startop row Magwitch down the River Thames, hoping to transfer him to a foreign steamer.

The Escape Intercepted from "Great Expectations". The Escape Intercepted A planned departure Pip, Herbert, and Startop row Magwitch down the River Thames, hoping to transfer him to a foreign steamer.

The Escape Intercepted A planned departure Pip, Herbert, and Startop row Magwitch down the River Thames, hoping to transfer him to a foreign steamer. A pursuing galley reveals that the escape has been anticipated. The old enemy Compeyson is aboard the galley. Magwitch recognizes him, and the two men fall into the water in a fatal struggle; Magwitch is recovered and arrested.

The Last Visits The Last Visits from "Great Expectations". The Last Visits A failing body Magwitch is tried and sentenced to death while already gravely ill.

The Last Visits from "Great Expectations". The Last Visits A failing body Magwitch is tried and sentenced to death while already gravely ill.

The Last Visits A failing body Magwitch is tried and sentenced to death while already gravely ill. Pip visits him, reads to him, and seeks clemency, though he cannot change the case against him. A final revelation Pip tells Magwitch that his lost child survived, became a lady, and is loved by Pip. Magwitch dies with Pip holding his hand, reconciled to the knowledge that his daughter lived.

Christmas Eve, when Pip is a small child

a stormy night when Pip is twenty-three

the days immediately after the revelation

the morning after the overnight river journey

the final weeks before the Sessions sentence