The name “Estella” in Great ExpectationsThe name of the characters in a Dickens novel, Great Expectations, is very important. In Estella's case, the name indicates her personality, her relationship with the other characters and even the way she moves in the novel. In Spanish, the word for star is “estrella.” Since Spanish is a “Romance” language, estrella undoubtedly comes from the Latin word meaning star. The stars are cold but beautiful to see. The same goes for Estella: she has a cold character but is very pretty. Estella was given to Miss Havisham at night, when the stars appear. The first time Estella appears is in chapter 8, during Pip's first visit to Miss Havisham's house. Pip's first impression of Estella is also characterized by ambiguity: he finds her pretty but she is proud. Miss Havisham forces Estella to play cards with Pip. The first time the card game appears, the battle of the sexes occurs because, after her frustrated marriage, Miss Havisham educates Estella to despise men and in the card game Miss Havisham wants to see the victory of a woman over a man. Estella wins but the most important thing here is that Estella doesn't want to play with Pip because she thinks it's common. This demonstrates the pride and superiority with which Estella is presented in her relationship with Pip, and is also important because, from this moment, Pip wants to be educated to be on the same level as Estella – he hopes he can reach out and touch a stella.Stella (without the first 'e') is the name of Sydney's beloved. He probably gave this name to his beloved because in real life she was married and therefore could not reach her. The stars are far away and cannot be reached. In the novel, Estella is presented as an impossible dream for Pip. In the same way that Pip has expectations on a material level, Estella would be Pip's love expectation. In Christianity, the star is linked to the Virgin Mary. The stars also serve to orient us, to guide us at night. In the novel Estella appears as a light, she is Pip's orientation and he always has her in mind. If we look at the sky we can see different types of stars.