Love, Isolation and Redemption in Great Expectations The main themes of the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens to be discussed in order of importance are "Love" in the context of human relationships, "Isolation" and finally "Redemption". The loneliness that isolation brings can be redeemed by the loving association of our fellow men, in two ways. "He had fallen ill, as all minds that reverse the order established by their creator do and must and want" (author's surname and page #). In isolation, the greatest sin we commit against others and ourselves is to avoid human company, as Miss Haversham did. After his betrayal in love, he hardened his heart towards his peers. By hardening her heart and suppressing her naturally loving nature, she committed a crime against herself. Miss Haversham's love for Compeyson was of a compassionate kind, and blinded her to his true nature. Herbert observed: "too haughty and too in love to take advice from anyone" (author's surname and page #). Upon Compeysons' desertion, her anger and grief became extreme and she threw herself and Satis House into perpetual mourning and created a monument to her broken heart; she has excluded the world and herself from the world. His only concession was the adoption of Estella. Miss Haversham had ulterior motives in adopting Estella, which was not an act of love on her part, but a calculated ploy to turn the little girl into a haughty and heartless instrument of vengeance against men. Estella was encouraged to act out her contempt for Pip and break his heart. Paradoxically, Miss Haversham's greatest sin was against herself. By hardening his heart, he loses his generous and affectionate nature and becomes a withered emotion... middle of paper... He endures hardships and emerges triumphantly as a mature and caring person. The themes of Love, Isolation and Redemption are the framework on which the other themes hang. The loneliness of isolation is the beginning. Love is the backbone of the novel, the thing that binds others together; redemption is its conclusion. There must be love otherwise the characters would not be able to interact, if there was only isolation each character's story would be a separate work. All good novels have a moral to tell and involve love and redemption. NOTE: PHRASES IN CAPITALS CAN BE INSERTED IN AN INTRODUCTION. THE ENTIRE SHEET CONTAINS EXCELLENT IDEAS, BUT THEY ARE DRAWING. IN THE INTRODUCTION TRY TO SAY THE MAIN POINTS. THEN WRITE A PARAGRAPH FOR EACH POINT. THEN FINALLY WRITE A CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH.