Throughout the ages, wealth has been the major corrupting force for all of mankind. In the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens examines the affect of wealth on people during the early 1800s. Dickens reveals money to be a corrupting force and a source of unhappiness, which can be exemplified through an old crone of a lady, Miss Havisham, an abusive man named Drummle, and most of all, a young boy by the name of Pip.

Miss Havisham is left corrupted and cruel, after being betrayed by her fiancé driven only by the lure of money. As a young lady who inherited her father’s fortune, Miss Havisham is sweet and loving and falls in love with a man named Compeyson. This is a false love, however, for Compeyson abandons Miss Havisham on their wedding day for her money. Miss Havisham becomes bitter and cold at world. Mrs. Havisham spends her days in her wedding dress to mourn her heartache. She now sees love the way she describes it to Pip, “It is blind devotion, unquestioning humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter-as I did!” (Dickens 184). Miss Havisham conveys her opinion on love to Pip, that it is foolish and will only end in pain and suffering. Miss Havisham’s wealth attracts a man that breaks her heart, and fills her life with sorrow and unhappiness. Miss Havisham will never love again or be content. She instead trains Estella to be just as cold and cruel, to break the hearts of men. By creating Miss Havisham, Dickens demonstrates the dangers wealth possesses by its destruction of her love and the source of her sorrow.

After being born into a prestigious family, Drummle becomes a spoiled man who is harsh and abusive, corrupted by the privileges and wealth of his family. He is the perfect example of a spoiled brat. Dickens depicts Drummle as a spider by having Jaggers ask, “Who’s the spider?” (Dickens 164). Drummle is portrayed as a dark and untrustworthy fellow, similar to a spider. He is filled with pride and looks down upon others, especially Pip. During their dinner, he sneers at Pip and Herbert about their spending habits and mentions that he will refuse to lend even sixpence to any of them. Drummle will later marry Estella, only to treat her with cruelty and abuse (Dickens 356). He will also die, by mistreating a horse, which is indirectly caused by his dominating personality. Even though Drummle is rich and noble, he is still a jerk and self-absorbed. By creating Drummle, Dickens shows the reader the worst wealth can bring out in people.

Charles Dickens reinforces the danger of wealth, by granting Pip his wishes at becoming a gentleman, but only for him to become miserable and have his life corrupted. Pip begins his life simply, living with his Aunt and Uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gargery. He is happy and content, until he gets a taste of how the wealthy live. Pip is sent to play at Mrs. Havisham’s house, and experiences the lives of the rich. Pip becomes ashamed of his humble life. He thinks to himself, “It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home. […] Within a single year, all this was changed. Now it was all coarse and common, and I would not have had Miss Havisham and Estella see it on my account” (Dickens 86). Pip now believes his current life is too common and shameful. He wants to be a gentleman so he can impress Estella and is not satisfied being a blacksmith’s apprentice, but he is still guilty about leaving Joe and guilty about being ashamed at all. When Pip receives his fortune from a mysterious benefactor, he is not as happy as he thinks he would have been. He relays his living conditions, “Herbert and I went on from bad to worse, in the way of increasing our debts” (Dickens 217). Pip is living expensively, but he is not happy. He abandons his family and is no closer to being with Estella. He is accumulating debt that he will eventually be unable to pay off. Pip’s acquirement of wealth and status does nothing but corrupt Pip, he ignores the people that care about him and puts himself in danger of being arrested for debt.

Throughout Great Expectations, Charles Dickens displays the corrupting power of wealth through the characters Miss Havisham, Drummle, and Pip, all of who end up unhappy or unsatisfied with their lives. Miss Havisham gets her heart broken, by the greed of her fiancé, Drummle grows up to be an abusive husband and eventually dies, and young Pip, almost loses his friends and family in his pursuit of high society. Money and wealth just cannot buy happiness and love, which all these characters learn. Wealth is a powerful icon, but it can corrupt the minds and hearts of all of mankind.