Unhappily Ever After: In Favor of Dickens's Originial Ending Anonymous College

Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations is a story of growth and change throughout the life of young Philip "Pip" Pirrip. Although the novel is based in realism, there are numerous instances where Pip's reality collides with fantasy—he is in love with a beautiful girl and has a mysterious benefactor, to name a few. After coming into contact with these fairytale elements, Pip clings to the idea that he could live a fantastic life. As the story unfolds, however, Pip realizes that his fairytale is a lie, and he must face the reality he attempted to leave behind. Great Expectations can be considered an anti-fairytale, with the exception of one unique fact. Dickens provided readers with two endings to choose from: The published "happy" ending, and the original "unhappy" ending. Most readers have their preference, and choosing one ending over the other changes the effect and the power of the novel as a whole. Because Great Expectations is an anti-fairytale, what is considered the unhappy ending must be the natural and correct close to Pip's story.

Great Expectations contains multiple facets of a classic fairytale. Readers meet evil stepmothers, a beautiful princess, wicked villains, and a poor orphan dreaming of a better life....