Great Expectations: who's who, timeline and places

Everyone in Great Expectations, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.

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PipPip is a boy whose visit to his family graves is interrupted by a threatening stranger.First seen in chapter 1
JoeJoe is Pip’s sister’s husband, who works as a blacksmith.First seen in chapter 1
Mrs. Joe GargeryMrs. Joe Gargery is Pip’s violent sister, who punishes him when he returns home.First seen in chapter 2
PumblechookPumblechook is a Christmas dinner guest who drinks tar-water instead of the missing brandy.First seen in chapter 4
Mr. WopsleMr. Wopsle accompanies Pip, Joe, and the soldiers in their search across the marshes.First seen in chapter 5
Miss HavishamMiss Havisham wants a boy to visit her house, and Pip is chosen to go.First seen in chapter 7
BiddyBiddy helps Pip with his difficult progress in reading, writing, and arithmetic.First seen in chapter 7
EstellaEstella admits Pip to Miss Havisham’s house and mocks his manners, hands, and boots.First seen in chapter 8
OrlickOrlick demands the same time off as Pip and fights Joe after a quarrel.First seen in chapter 15
JaggersJaggers announces that an unnamed benefactor will pay for Pip to become a gentleman.First seen in chapter 18
WemmickWemmick works at Jaggers’s office and tells Pip to wait for his guardian.First seen in chapter 20
Bentley DrummleBentley Drummle is one of the companions Pip meets at Mr. Pocket’s household.First seen in chapter 23

Chapter 1
A shackled stranger seizes Pip in the churchyard and demands food and a file.
Chapter 5
Soldiers capture two fighting convicts, and Pip’s convict claims responsibility for taking food from Joe’s home.
Chapter 8
Pip visits Miss Havisham and feels ashamed of his upbringing after Estella mocks him.
Chapter 13
Miss Havisham provides an apprenticeship payment, and Pip formally becomes Joe’s apprentice.
Chapter 15
Pip returns from visiting Miss Havisham to find his sister unconscious after an attack.
Chapter 18
Jaggers announces that an unnamed benefactor will fund Pip’s education and move to London.
Chapter 22
Pip befriends Herbert, who teaches him manners and explains Miss Havisham’s broken engagement.
Chapter 27
Joe visits Pip in London, where Pip’s embarrassment makes their breakfast painfully awkward.
Chapter 35
Pip attends his sister’s funeral and promises visits to Joe that Biddy doubts he will make.
Chapter 37
With Wemmick’s help, Pip secretly finances a business opportunity for Herbert.
Chapter 38
Estella tells Miss Havisham that her upbringing has made the affection she demands impossible.
Chapter 39
Pip discovers that the convict he helped, rather than Miss Havisham, supplies his fortune.
Chapter 42
Magwitch describes Compeyson’s crimes, and Herbert identifies Compeyson as Miss Havisham’s false lover.
Chapter 44
Estella tells Pip she will marry Bentley Drummle, and Wemmick warns Pip not to return home.
Chapter 46
Herbert proposes regular rowing trips to prepare for taking Provis downstream without attracting attention.
Chapter 49
Miss Havisham begs forgiveness, agrees to help Herbert, and suffers serious burns when Pip rescues her from fire.
Chapter 50
After hearing Herbert recount Provis’s story, Pip declares that Provis is Estella’s father.
Chapter 53
Orlick traps Pip and admits attacking his sister before Herbert and his companions arrive to rescue him.
Chapter 54
The river escape fails when an officer intercepts the boat, leaving Magwitch seriously injured and arrested.
Chapter 56
Before Magwitch dies in prison, Pip tells him that his daughter lives and that he loves her.
Chapter 57
Joe nurses Pip through serious illness and leaves after secretly paying his debt.
Chapter 58
Pip discovers that Joe and Biddy have married, asks forgiveness, and leaves England to work with Herbert.
Chapter 59
Pip returns after eleven years and meets Estella at her ruined old home, where they leave hand in hand.
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