Great Expectations

Never had I seen such passionate eagerness as was joined to her

utterance of these words. I could feel the muscles of the thin arm round

my neck swell with the vehemence that possessed her.

"Hear me, Pip! I adopted her, to be loved. I bred her and educated her,

to be loved. I developed her into what she is, that she might be loved.

Love her!"

She said the word often enough, and there could be no doubt that she

meant to say it; but if the often repeated word had been hate instead of

love--despair--revenge--dire death--it could not have sounded from her

lips more like a curse.

"I'll tell you," said she, in the same hurried passionate whisper, "what

real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation,

utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the

whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter--as I

did!"

When she came to that, and to a wild cry that followed that, I caught

her round the waist. For she rose up in the chair, in her shroud of a

dress, and struck at the air as if she would as soon have struck herself

against the wall and fallen dead.

All this passed in a few seconds. As I drew her down into her chair, I

was conscious of a scent that I knew, and turning, saw my guardian in

the room.

He always carried (I have not yet mentioned it, I think) a

pocket-handkerchief of rich silk and of imposing proportions, which was

of great value to him in his profession. I have seen him so terrify a

client or a witness by ceremoniously unfolding this pocket-handkerchief

as if he were immediately going to blow his nose, and then pausing,

as if he knew he should not have time to do it before such client

or witness committed himself, that the self-committal has followed

directly, quite as a matter of course. When I saw him in the room he had

this expressive pocket-handkerchief in both hands, and was looking at

us. On meeting my eye, he said plainly, by a momentary and silent pause

in that attitude, "Indeed? Singular!" and then put the handkerchief to

its right use with wonderful effect.

Miss Havisham had seen him as soon as I, and was (like everybody

else) afraid of him. She made a strong attempt to compose herself, and

stammered that he was as punctual as ever.

"As punctual as ever," he repeated, coming up to us. "(How do you do,

Pip? Shall I give you a ride, Miss Havisham? Once round?) And so you are

here, Pip?"