Miss Havisham is a crazed and vengeful women who was jilted at the alter and now lives in a rotten, dark house, and lives in the misery of her broken heart. Miss Havisham is introduced in the book after her request for Pip, a young boy living in a forge with his sister and brother in law, Joe, a blacksmith, to come to her house and play. She has always had an air of mystery to Pip's family who never see her, so her appearance to both the family and reader is fascinating. The first time Pip meets her she is described in great depth and detail and from these descriptions she seems to be an alarming and eccentric women. When Pip first encounters Miss Havisham he describes in great detail her overall appearance, 'She was dressed in rich materials - satins, and lace, and silks all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long veil dependant from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.' He goes on to say, 'She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on - the other was on the table near her hand - her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some of the lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets'. When thinking about her portrayals on screen I think this element of her character has been over exaggerated and misinterpreted, as in the films I have researched, especially the 1946 Great Expectations film, she is characterised as far older. I do think they have accurately captured the aged objects in the room, especially her 'withered bridal dress'. I think the BBC TV series of her character, is an accurate portrayl. In terms of her personality on screen I think that they captured her vengeful and cruel character, but also the sad side to her especially her encounter with Estella later on in the film where she is angry at Miss Havisham for teaching her to not love. Gillian Anderson, who played Miss Havisham, suffered some criticism surrounding the child like voice she gave Miss Havisham, I however imagine her to have a weak voice, as written in the book she was 'not physically strong'.
In terms of fleshing Miss Havisham out, I think she would have pale skin as she never goes outside, but unlike other portrayals where it is dry looking, I think it should be smooth and shiny as she is described as looking like a 'waxwork.' I think that her lips should be pale and dry and Pip says he has 'never' seen her eat or drink. I think dark looking eyes should also be incorporated in terms of fleshing Miss Havisham out and Pip describes her as having 'dark eyes that moved and looked at me'. I think that the age and amount of wrinkles given depends on the stage of the film that is being portrayed. I think this also is relevant for the hair as she is described as having 'grey hair' and 'white hair'. In the films her hair is neater and more styled at the beginning, but gets gradually more bedraggled. I think in terms of audience if you create a more haunting and scary version of Miss Havisham you will attract an older audience, but if however you go for a more soft approach I think younger people, even children, could enjoy the story and the complexities of her character.
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