Startop

Startop is a young gentleman in Matthew Pocket’s household whose delicacy of appearance, devotion to his mother, and unshowy good nature set him apart from the more imposing but disagreeable Bentley Drummle. He becomes Pip’s companion on the river and, when Magwitch’s escape is attempted, proves a skilled and honourable friend willing to help at substantial risk. His importance lies less in a personal transformation than in the steadiness with which he turns friendship into practical aid.

Identity and Introduction

Matthew Pocket introduces Startop to Pip as one of the young men occupying a private room in the household. Startop is younger in years and appearance than Drummle, and when Pip first sees him he is reading while holding his head as though the effort of learning might make it burst. The image suggests earnestness and application, in contrast with Drummle’s heavy, idle manner.

Herbert explains that Startop had been spoiled by a weak mother and kept at home when he ought to have been at school. He is nevertheless devotedly attached to her and admires her beyond measure. His delicate features resemble hers, a likeness Herbert points out to Pip. Startop’s sheltered upbringing is thus presented alongside genuine affection, rather than as a source of vanity or resentment.

Friendship and Social Life

Pip takes to Startop more readily than to Drummle. During the young men’s early boating excursions, Startop and Pip often row home abreast, talking from boat to boat. Drummle follows behind them, tending to creep close to the bank even when the tide might carry him forward. The contrast makes Startop part of an easy, sociable pair, while Drummle remains isolated at the edge of their company.

Startop’s connection with Herbert and Pip also extends beyond the river. Herbert lends him money, and Pip later sees Drummle accept a loan from Startop. At a gathering hosted by Jaggers, Drummle sneers that the young men are too free with their money. Pip answers by pointing out that Drummle himself had recently borrowed from Startop. Drummle’s response makes clear that he had been glad to take the money while despising the person who lent it.

Startop then tries to manage the quarrel with more grace than Pip has shown. He urges Drummle to be more agreeable and, when Drummle responds coarsely, attempts to turn the exchange aside with a small joke. The others laugh, which only increases Drummle’s resentment. Drummle abruptly pulls a large glass from the table and is about to throw it at Startop when Jaggers catches it. Startop’s levity and composure do not dissolve the hostility, but they prevent the confrontation from becoming an assault.

When the gathering breaks up, Startop calls Drummle “old boy” cheerfully, as though the incident need not govern what follows. Drummle refuses even to walk on the same side of the street as him. Herbert and Pip see Startop leading and Drummle lagging in the shadow of the houses, an echo of their earlier arrangement on the river. Startop’s friendliness survives an insult, though it cannot make Drummle reciprocate it.

The Escape Plan

When Pip and Herbert need help carrying Magwitch out of England, Herbert proposes Startop instead of a Thames waterman. He describes him as a good fellow, a skilled hand, fond of them, enthusiastic, and honourable. Pip has already thought of him as a possible recruit. Herbert visits Startop at his lodgings, and Startop agrees readily to join the plan.

The preparations depend on practical coordination. Pip obtains the necessary passports while Herbert consults Startop; when they meet again, both report their tasks complete. They decide that Herbert and Startop will pull the boat while Pip steers, with Magwitch sitting quietly as their passenger. They also arrange how Herbert will communicate with Magwitch and where the party will meet, taking care to limit further contact until the embarkation. Startop’s skill on the water makes him more than a willing companion: he has a defined, necessary role in the attempt.

Capture and Aftermath

Startop accompanies Herbert in following Pip when Herbert grows alarmed by the discrepancy between Pip’s letters. They travel first to the Blue Boar and then toward Miss Havisham’s, before Trabb’s boy guides them out to the marshes. Herbert eventually leaves the others at the quarry and circles the sluice-house alone, uncertain whether Pip is inside. When Pip cries out, Herbert rushes in, followed by Startop and Trabb’s boy. Their arrival rescues Pip from the danger in the building and brings Startop back into the escape plot at its most urgent point.

Later, Startop and Herbert row with Pip and Magwitch down the river, waiting for a foreign steamer that might take the fugitive abroad. When a galley draws alongside, the two friends are still with Pip as the attempt collapses: the second convict is exposed, the boats are thrown into confusion, and Magwitch is taken from the water in irons. Startop is recovered aboard the galley after the boat sinks. The escape fails, but he has shared its dangers rather than withdrawing when the plan becomes perilous.

After the capture, Pip asks permission to accompany Magwitch to London, while Herbert and Startop are refused permission to go with them. Pip and Magwitch part from the two young men at the public-house after the tide turns, and Pip describes the separation as doleful. Startop’s participation ends there: he has helped bring the plan as far as it can go, but the consequences of Magwitch’s capture and imprisonment are left to Pip.

Character and Narrative Role

Startop is characterized through repeated acts of fellowship rather than through a private plot of his own. His tenderness toward his mother, ease with Pip and Herbert, generosity as a lender, and willingness to take part in a dangerous river journey all reinforce the distinction between social appearance and moral conduct. The boat and the attempted escape give his friendship a concrete form: conversation and companionship become shared labour, and shared labour exposes him to the same risks as the people he means to help.

His contrast with Drummle is especially sharp. Both belong to the circle of young gentlemen around Matthew Pocket, yet Startop’s delicacy and tact are paired with practical competence and loyalty, while Drummle’s wealth and social standing accompany contempt and aggression. Startop does not defeat Drummle or change his character; instead, his conduct gives Pip a clear counterexample to the assumption that status or outward polish establishes a person’s worth. In the final escape attempt, that same reliability makes him an essential ally, even though he cannot prevent its failure.