Death of Abel Magwitch-An Action in Great Expectations | Readify Wiki: A Better Way to Explore Books

Abel Magwitch’s death closes the story of his return to England: a condemned fugitive, once feared and shunned by Pip, dies in prison with Pip holding his hand. The outcome is shaped by the law that makes Magwitch’s return punishable by death, but the final scenes shift attention from punishment to the loyalty and tenderness that grow between the two men.

Causes and Circumstances

Magwitch’s imprisonment follows his attempted departure from England and recapture. At the Police Court, his case could not immediately proceed because an officer from the prison ship he had once escaped needed to establish his identity. The delay mattered to Pip, who had sought Mr. Jaggers’s help; Jaggers warned that once the necessary witness appeared, the case would be decided quickly and against them. Magwitch’s former partner Compeyson, who had intended to testify, was dead, but this did not remove the legal jeopardy Magwitch faced.

The sentence rested on Magwitch’s history as a repeat offender, his earlier escape from exile, and his unauthorized return to England. In the judge’s account, Magwitch had seemed to live peaceably and honestly in exile before returning to the country from which he had been banished for life. His arrest and resistance during flight, which resulted in Compeyson’s death, made the case especially severe. The law prescribed death for his return, and the judge formally sentenced him to die.

Magwitch’s health was already failing while he awaited trial. He had broken ribs and an injured lung, leaving him in pain and making speech difficult. Because he was too ill for the common prison, he was moved to the infirmary, where Pip could visit. Although Magwitch was regarded as a determined prison-breaker and might otherwise have been kept in irons, his illness altered the conditions of his confinement. From the day the prison door closed behind him, Pip saw him grow weaker rather than recover.

Pip’s Visits and Magwitch’s Final Days

Pip visited Magwitch every day, though the visits were brief and later became more restricted. He made it his first duty to speak and read to Magwitch what he believed the older man ought to hear. Magwitch listened readily, but as his strength declined he spoke very little; at times he could answer only by pressing Pip’s hand. The quiet exchange of speech and touch replaces the earlier imbalance between benefactor and beneficiary: Magwitch had once imagined that his wealth would make Pip a gentleman, while Pip now offers companionship without being able to rescue him.

Magwitch remained humble and contrite, and did not complain. When attendants alluded to his reputation, he sometimes looked toward Pip with trust, as if relying on the child Pip had been to recognize something redeeming in him. Pip, in turn, no longer treats Magwitch as merely the convict whose return has endangered his expectations. The closeness of their final days makes care, rather than money or social standing, the measure of their connection.

As the days passed, Magwitch increasingly lay looking at the ceiling, his expression briefly brightening when Pip spoke and then growing vacant again. On the tenth day, however, his eyes lit when Pip entered. He thanked Pip for not deserting him and said that Pip had been more comfortable with him under a dark cloud than when the sun had shone. Pip remembered that he had once intended to abandon Magwitch; the gratitude between them therefore carries the weight of a relationship changed by suffering and by Pip’s choice to remain.

Death and Significance

Magwitch’s last words had already been spoken when he smiled and indicated that he wanted Pip’s hand placed on his breast. Pip did so, and Magwitch laid both his own hands over it. When the allotted visiting time expired, the prison governor allowed Pip to stay. The officer stepped away, and Magwitch’s face brightened again as he looked at Pip affectionately.

Pip then told Magwitch that Estella had lived, had found powerful friends, and was now a beautiful lady whom Pip loved. Magwitch raised Pip’s hand to his lips with a final faint effort, then let it fall back onto his breast. His expression returned to stillness, and his head dropped quietly. Pip’s response was a prayer asking mercy for a sinner, joining compassion for Magwitch with acknowledgment of his past.

The death also ends Magwitch’s hope of enriching Pip. His property is forfeited to the Crown, and Pip has no recognized legal tie or prior written settlement that would give him a claim. Pip resolves not to pursue the inheritance. Magwitch does not learn that his plan failed: his ignorance leaves intact his belief that the inheritance is safe. In the final scene, therefore, the intended fortune disappears, but the human bond it helped create survives as the event’s decisive legacy.

Magwitch’s Last Days

Magwitch remained in prison between his committal for trial and the Sessions, growing weaker rather than recovering. His injuries made breathing difficult and speech faint, so Pip’s daily visits—brief and later more closely restricted—became a steady form of care. Pip spoke and read to him, while Magwitch listened; when he could barely speak, he answered with slight pressures of the hand. Though prison staff regarded him as a determined escapee, his illness meant that he was moved from the common prison to the infirmary, where Pip could be with him.

Magwitch’s resignation was not an attempt to excuse his past. He seemed at times to wonder whether different circumstances might have made him a better man, but he neither justified himself nor tried to reshape what had happened. When others referred to his notorious reputation, he sometimes turned a trusting look toward Pip, as if counting on him to remember the redeeming quality the boy had once glimpsed. He remained humble and contrite, and did not complain.

At the Sessions, Magwitch was sentenced alongside thirty-one other prisoners. The judge recounted his repeated offences, exile, escape, and return to England, concluding that the law required death. Magwitch acknowledged the sentence and bowed to it. The proceedings make his fate an instance of legal punishment, while Pip’s presence beside him gives the scene a more intimate counterpoint: the condemned man is not alone, and the narrator who once recoiled from him now stays at his side.

Death and Its Aftermath

On the tenth day, Magwitch’s eyes brightened when Pip entered. He thanked him for not deserting him and said Pip had been more comfortable with him under a dark cloud than when the sun had shone. Pip remembered that he had once meant to leave him. Their exchange marks the reversal in their relationship: the fortune that first bound them has failed, but Pip’s companionship has become more meaningful to Magwitch than the original promise of wealth.

After Magwitch had spoken his last words, he smiled and indicated that he wanted Pip’s hand on his breast. Pip placed it there, and Magwitch laid both hands over it. Though the allotted visit had ended, the governor allowed Pip to remain. When the officer stepped away, Magwitch looked at him affectionately. Pip told him that Estella had survived, had found powerful friends, and was now a lady whom he loved. Magwitch made a final effort to raise Pip’s hand to his lips, then let it sink back onto his breast. His head dropped quietly, and Pip prayed for mercy for him as a sinner.

Magwitch died without learning that his intended inheritance for Pip had been lost. Because Magwitch had no recognized family tie to Pip and had made no prior written settlement in his favour, Pip had no legal claim to the property forfeited to the Crown; he resolved not to pursue one. Magwitch’s ignorance preserved his belief that the inheritance was safe. His death thus closes the material purpose of his return while leaving its deeper consequence intact: Pip’s care for him has outlasted fear, shame, and the prospect of wealth.

Legal Judgment and the Inheritance

At the Sessions, Magwitch was sentenced with thirty-one other prisoners. The judge recounted his repeated offences, exile, escape, and return to England, presenting his earlier peaceable life abroad as overturned by his return to the country that had banished him for life. Magwitch had been denounced and had evaded the authorities for a time; when seized while fleeing, he resisted, and Compeyson died. The judge declared that the law prescribed death for Magwitch’s return and that the aggravated circumstances required him to prepare for execution. Magwitch rose briefly and bowed to the sentence, accepting it as judgment from the court while also referring to the sentence he had received from God.

The trial’s legal consequences also extinguished the fortune Magwitch had meant for Pip. Magwitch’s property was liable to forfeiture, and Pip had no recognized family connection or earlier written settlement that could establish a claim. Mr. Jaggers regarded recovery as hopeless; Pip ultimately resolved not to pursue the inheritance. Magwitch was never told that his plan had failed and continued to believe that Pip’s inheritance was secure. His death thus closes the financial purpose of his return even as Pip’s decision to stay with him gives their relationship a meaning independent of wealth.

Death and Its Aftermath

On the tenth day, Magwitch’s eyes brightened when Pip entered. He thanked him for not deserting him and said Pip had been more comfortable with him under a dark cloud than when the sun had shone. Pip remembered that he had once meant to leave him. Their exchange marks a reversal in their relationship: the fortune that first bound them has failed, but Pip’s companionship has become more meaningful to Magwitch than the original promise of wealth.

After Magwitch had spoken his last words, he smiled and indicated that he wanted Pip’s hand on his breast. Pip placed it there, and Magwitch laid both his hands over it. Though the allotted visit had ended, the governor allowed Pip to remain. When the officer stepped away, Magwitch looked at him affectionately. Pip told him that Estella had lived, had found powerful friends, and was now a lady whom he loved. Magwitch made a final effort to raise Pip’s hand to his lips, then let it sink back onto his breast. His head dropped quietly, and Pip prayed for mercy for him as a sinner.