Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Title of the seminar: ‘Growing Pains’: Some Literary
Treatments of Growing Up and Adult Responsibility
WS 2004/2005

Magwitch as victim of society

by

Katarzyna Pałuba

Introduction 3

Conclusion 8

Bibliography 9

Introduction

The life of Abel Magwitch was determined by his social position, lack of education and good manners. Dickens did not call him directly a ‘victim of society’, but Magwitch surely was one. The consequences of it were among other things his hard and unjust sentence when he had been tried together with Compeyson as well as his wish to take revenge on society by creating a ‘gentleman’.

I am going to present the most important events in Magwitch’s life, but in a different order than they are presented in the book, namely in chronological order from his childhood to his death. This seems to me to be the best way to follow the story of Magwitch’s life, explain the reasons why in my opinion he was a victim of society and show the consequences of this fact.

Before I go on, I would like to make one important remark. Magwitch speaks a simple language of uneducated people. When I quote him, I do not mark ‘mistakes’ he makes in his statements.

Just at the beginning it has to be mentioned how meaningful the first name of Magwitch is. Although Dickens never uses the term ‘victim of society’ when he is writing about Magwitch, he chooses a biblical name for him which indicates that Magwitch cannot be really blame for his faults, as he is only a victim of society just as “Abel (in the Old Testament) was the brother and guiltless victim of the aggressive Cain” (Martin 52-53).

The young Abel Magwitch is an orphan and has nobody to care for him. He himself says: “I first became aware of myself, down in Essex, a thieving turnips for my living” (Dickens 346). He traps, gets a simple education like reading and writing from strangers and works sometimes, but to survive he has often to beg and steal food.

So he “quickly became known as a ‘hardened’ criminal with little chance of changing his reputation” (Glancy 136). People who have got in touch with the young Magwitch are sure that he “may be said to live in jails, this boy” (Dickens 346). Instead of helping him they tell him about the Devil, not seeing that the boy simply needs something to eat and someone to care for him. The society leaves him in the lurch just when he needs help most.

An important part in Magwitch’s life plays his relationship with a young woman with whom he has a daughter, Estella. This woman kills another one because of jealousy and threatens Abel to kill their daughter for the same reason. After a trial, in which she has been acquitted, she disappears, and Magwitch believes that Estella is really dead. I mention it, because this fact will be later of importance in Magwitch’s relation to Pip. I am going to talk about it in the course of my essay.

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