Estella

Estella is a feminine given name, a variant of Stella and Estelle.

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Fictional

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Estella (Great Expectations)

Estella Havisham (best known in literature simply as Estella) is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations.

Like the protagonist, Pip, Estella is introduced as an orphan, but where Pip was raised by his sister and her husband to become a blacksmith, Estella was adopted and raised by the wealthy and eccentric Miss Havisham to become a lady.

Character history

Estella and Pip's pre-adult life

Pip and Estella meet when he is brought to Miss Havisham's ill-kept mansion, Satis House, ostensibly to satisfy the elder Miss Havisham's "sick fancy" to be entertained by watching Pip and Estella play together. It is later revealed that her desire is to have his heart broken by Estella.

Estella's relationship with Pip

Estella states throughout the text, that she does not love Pip. However, this is contradicted by the fact that she shows numerous times in the novel that she holds Pip in a much higher regard compared to other men, and doesn't want to break his heart like she does with the others that she seduces. One of the possible meanings of this is that Estella, even though she doesn't acknowledge the fact, loves Pip. The manner in which Estella was brought up saw that she would undergo strong emotional suppression and is unable to identify her own feelings, let alone express them. In a way, Estella is a character to be pitied, and even through her actions, we can see that she is still a victim of Miss Havisham's cruel vengeance.