Great Expectations
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a wealthy spinster who lives in a world completely frozen in time. She lives vicariously through her adopted daughter, Estella, and raises her to enact revenge upon men for the wrong that was done to her, yet to call her evil would be reducing the complexity of this fantastically conflicted character, arguably one of Dickens' most interesting.
Miss Havisham was left without a mother at a very young age and, as a result, was greatly spoiled by her father, a wealthy brewer who left her most of his money and estate when he died. As a young adult, she was courted by a man named Compeyson, who was only interested in her money. Despite warnings from her cousin, Matthew Pocket, she agreed to marry Compeyson. At twenty minutes till nine on the wedding day, however, Miss Havisham received a letter that revealed her fiance's true intentions, and was left heartbroken at the altar.
Miss Havisham remained suspended in that moment for many, many years. She stopped all of the clocks in her mansion, Satis House, and locked herself away, avoiding daylight and company, and remaining in her wedding dress at all times. Later, she instructed her lawyer, Mr. Jaggers to adopt a daughter for her, and thus began raising Estella.
Estella is raised to break men's hearts, and Pip becomes one of many boys selected by Miss Havisham for use in Estella's education. His fate as the eventual victim of her cruel game causes her to repent her actions late in her life.
Miss Havisham's character may have been based on real people known by either Dickens or a novelist friend of his named James Payn. In either case, such a complex, sad type of person can easily be believed to have existed, whether Dickens knew her or not.
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