In Great Expectations, while Miss Havisham has perpetuated her hatred for men and desire to avenge herself upon them by turning Estella into a heartless woman, the old gentlewoman is not without redemption. And, it is this change of heart in Miss Havisham which makes her all the more tragic. For, while she has lived her youth in being deluded by Compeyson, the villain whom she believed a gentleman that loved her, she also has lived her adult life in another delusion: she has believed that all men are heartless and should be punished by instruments such as Estella. However, she rues her mistake after Pip visits Estella as a young gentleman.
When Miss Havisham overhears what is said between Estella and Pip, she places her hand on her heart as she listens,
'It would have been cruel in Miss Havisham to torture me through all these years with a van hope and an idle pursuit, she she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. Bit I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella.'
Moved by the genuiness of Pip's emotion, Miss Havisham regrets having been so cruel to Pip. So, when Pip responds to Miss Havisham's note, he returns to her home where she arranges for Pip to obtain money from Mr. Jaggers for the safety of Provis. However, before Pip can leave, Miss Havisham instructs him that she has signed a paper and asks him,
If you can ever write under my name, 'I forgive her,' though ever so long after my broken heart is dust--pray do it!'
No static character, Miss Havisham has been moved by Pip's love for Estella; her cold, dying heart has again been charged, and she is thus redeemed from her sins of heartlessness:
'Yes, yes, I know it. But, Pip--my dear!' There was an earnest womanly compassion for me in her new affection.
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