Blog #2

In Great Expectations, the author Charles Dickens likes to give his characters names that reflect their personality, or their role in society. One of the most recognizable example's in his book is the character, Estella. The word "stella" comes from Latin meaning,"stars." Being adopted by the wealthy Miss Havisham when she was very young, Estella is considered to have a star's lifestyle. Even though she was born to a woman of low-class, Estella is very condescending towards people of a lower class, such as Pip, by pretending to be in love with him, even though she doesn't care for Pip. The etymology of Estella, meaning "stars" relates to her personality because she is of upper class, and she knows that she has a lot more power than most people. One of the major connections between Estella and her name is that Pip is in love with her even though he doesn't have much of a chance at receiving that love from Estella. This is almost identical in terms of people who are obsessed with a certain star, whether it be an athlete or a rock star, they love someone even if they know that they can't have a relationship with them.
In Chapter 11, when Pip beats up the pale young gentleman, who turns out to be Herbert Pocket, Estella lets Pip kiss her on the cheek. "I kissed her cheek as she turned it to me. I think I would have gone through a great deal to kiss her cheek... and it was worth nothing"(Dickens. 93). This moment is absolutely heartbreaking to Pip because he gets a chance to kiss someone who he sees as a star in his life, and he quickly realizes that the kiss is just a joke. This is one instance when Estella shows off her snobbish personality towards people of lower class, because she knows that Pip looks up to her. Some famous people have personalities where they do mean things like that to people of lower class because they find pleasure in it. Estella seems to enjoy it because it gives her a sense of power because she knows that she can use Pip. Estella acts like she is a star, and she uses her upper class reputation to break the hearts of people who are lower than her and take advantage of them.