CHAPTER 33 Practice Quiz — Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: CHAPTER 33
Where is Estella going when Pip meets her at the coaching inn?
Estella is going to Richmond in Surrey, where she will live with a society lady who will introduce her into fashionable circles.
What does Estella give Pip at the beginning of Chapter 33?
Estella gives Pip her purse and instructs him to pay all her traveling charges out of it, as Miss Havisham has directed.
What does Estella tell Pip about the Pocket relatives?
She reveals they constantly spy on Pip, misrepresent him, and write anonymous letters to Miss Havisham to undermine him, but their schemes are completely futile.
What happens when Pip kisses Estella's cheek in Chapter 33?
Estella allows the kiss but her face remains "like a statue's," and she immediately glides away, reverting to her detached, businesslike tone.
What building do Pip and Estella pass on their carriage ride through London?
They pass Newgate Prison. Pip pretends not to recognize it at first, ashamed of his connection to the criminal world.
What is Pip's emotional state when he returns home from Richmond?
Pip returns with a deep heartache that only worsens. He envies even little Jane Pocket's simple romantic happiness with her young escort.
Who does Pip consider confiding in about his feelings for Estella?
Pip considers asking Mr. Pocket for advice, but after glancing at Mrs. Pocket reading her book of dignities, he decides against it.
How does Estella's manner toward Pip differ in Chapter 33 compared to previous encounters?
Her manner is "more winning than she had cared to let it be" before. Pip attributes this change to Miss Havisham's influence.
What does Estella reveal about her childhood at Satis House?
She describes being raised "suppressed and defenceless" while the Pocket relatives intrigued against her behind masks of sympathy, sharpening her wits and breeding deep bitterness.
How does Estella describe her relationship with Mr. Jaggers?
She says she has seen Jaggers at uncertain intervals since before she could speak plainly, but knows him no better now than she did as a young child.
What is significant about Estella using Pip's name for the first time?
When Estella says "It is a part of Miss Havisham's plans for me, Pip," the narrator notes she did so "purposely, and knew that I should treasure it up" — a calculated act of intimacy.
What is Mrs. Pocket doing when Pip arrives home at the end of the chapter?
Mrs. Pocket is reading her book of dignities and has just prescribed "Bed" as a remedy for the baby, who had been given a needle-case to play with.
What theme does Estella's statement "We are not free to follow our own devices" illustrate?
It illustrates the theme of manipulation and lack of free will. Both Pip and Estella are controlled by Miss Havisham's plans, functioning as her puppets.
How does the passage through Newgate connect to the theme of social class?
Pip's shame at recognizing Newgate Prison reflects his anxiety about his hidden connections to the criminal underworld, which threaten the gentlemanly identity his expectations have given him.
How does Pip's paradox of happiness relate to the novel's broader themes?
Pip admits he could have been "happy there for life" with Estella yet "was not at all happy there at the time," illustrating how his great expectations yield emotional misery rather than fulfillment.
What does the Richmond house represent thematically?
The ancient house where "hoops and powder and patches" once held court, with its inhabitants now in "the great procession of the dead," symbolizes the vanity and transience of social aspiration.
What literary device is at work in the elaborate tea scene at the inn?
Comic irony: the waiter produces fifty elaborate accessories but almost no actual tea, satirizing the gap between pretension and substance — a metaphor for Pip's own expectations.
What does the "sudden glare of gas" foreshadow in Chapter 33?
The sudden gaslight triggers Pip's "inexplicable feeling" from the previous chapter, foreshadowing the hidden connection between Estella and the criminal world that will later be revealed.
How does Dickens use personification in describing the Richmond house?
The house's bell is described as having "an old voice" that once announced visitors in finery, giving the setting a ghostly, living quality that parallels Satis House.
What narrative technique allows the older Pip to comment on his younger self?
Retrospective first-person narration. The mature Pip inserts wry asides, such as "I was not at all happy there at the time, observe, and I knew it well."
What does "chary" mean as Pip uses it in Chapter 33?
Cautious or wary. Pip says he "should have been chary of discussing my guardian too freely," meaning he would have been careful about revealing too much about Jaggers.
What does "beholden" mean in Estella's statement "I am beholden to you"?
Indebted or grateful. Estella acknowledges she owes Pip a debt because his presence causes the scheming Pocket relatives to fail, which gives her satisfaction.
Who says "We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions" and what does it signify?
Estella says this to Pip when explaining their travel arrangements. It signifies that both are puppets of Miss Havisham, with no genuine autonomy in their relationship.
What is the meaning of Pip's aside: "Why repeat it a thousand times? So it always was."?
The older Pip reflects on the futile cycle of hoping for Estella's love despite knowing it would never be returned, acknowledging the pattern of going "on against trust and against hope."