What happens in Chapter XXII of Great Expectations?
Pip arrives at Barnard's Inn and is surprised to find that his new flatmate is the pale young gentleman he fought with in Miss Havisham's garden. They share a laugh about their previous encounter and quickly become friends. Herbert Pocket mentions that Miss Havisham had once considered him as a possible suitor for Estella, but nothing ever came of it. During dinner, Herbert teaches Pip some London table manners while recounting Miss Havisham's story: her wealthy father who was a brewer, her wild half-brother, and the unnamed suitor who duped her out of money and persuaded her to buy her brother's share of the brewery before abandoning her on their wedding day at twenty minutes to nine. Herbert suspects a conspiracy between the suitor and the half-brother. He also reveals that Estella is adopted and not related by blood. The two young men agree to share what they know while respecting the condition that Pip must not inquire about his benefactor's identity, although Herbert clearly believes Miss Havisham is that benefactor. Herbert discusses his ambitious commercial plans—insuring ships and trading with the East and West Indies—while admitting that he hasn't started yet and isn't earning anything. The next day, they visit Westminster Abbey and the Parks. On Monday, Pip accompanies Herbert to his counting-house, and then they take a coach to Hammersmith to meet Mr. Pocket. At the Pocket house, Pip discovers the chaotic household: Mrs. Pocket reads nonstop, children are constantly tumbling around, and nurses struggle to maintain order. The chapter concludes with Mr. Pocket emerging from the house, looking confused and disheveled.
Analysis
The chapter unfolds through a blend of comic surprises and gentle ironies. Pip reflects on past events with a self-aware perspective; for instance, he confesses he "cannot define by what means" he formed his view of Herbert, highlighting the limits of his understanding. The chapter shifts between two styles: intimate conversations, like the dinner-table exchange, and broader observations of the Pocket household. Both approaches aid Pip's growth—one teaches him social graces and history, while the other reveals the amusing chaos of an upper-class family.
Herbert's corrections to Pip's table manners are delivered so lightly—interwoven with the story of Miss Havisham—that Pip "scarcely blushed." The humor in Pip's attempts to stuff his napkin into a tumbler or balance his glass upside down on his nose adds to his social awkwardness. The nickname "Handel," inspired by the Harmonious Blacksmith, cleverly links Pip's modest origins to his new London identity. Herbert argues against "Philip," saying it sounds like a moral boy from a spelling book—lazy, fat, greedy, or reckless—showcasing his playful, literary style.
Herbert is depicted with a thoughtful balance: he is open, friendly, and incapable of anything "secret and mean," yet his ambitious trading plans quickly falter because he hasn't started insuring and isn't making any money. Pip directly compares Herbert's financial naivety to his fighting style—joyfully taking every hit. The Pocket household enhances this comic-pathetic tone, with Mrs. Pocket lost in her reading, a footstool hidden under her skirts causing trips, and children "tumbling up" instead of growing up, all creating a picture of a home where appearances matter but everyday life is neglected.
Key quotes from Chapter XXII
“That girl’s hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree, and has been brought up by Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex.”
Herbert describes Estella to Pip early in their dinner conversation, explaining why he was not sorry to have been rejected as a match for her.
““Would you mind Handel for a familiar name? There’s a charming piece of music by Handel, called the Harmonious Blacksmith.””
Herbert proposes a nickname for Pip, linking his blacksmith past to the composer Handel, just before dinner is served.
“no varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself.”
Herbert quotes his father's principle about true gentlemen while describing the showy man who courted and deceived Miss Havisham.
Check your understanding
Ask about this work
The reader has this chapter in front of it — the summary, the analysis, the key quotes and the vocabulary — along with the rest of the book’s chapters. Ask what happens and why it matters, or push back on a reading.
It cites the chapter or the line it is working from, and it says so plainly when the guide doesn’t cover something. It’s instructed never to write an essay, a paragraph or an answer for you to hand in, and never to grade anything — it will show you how to approach the question instead. The reader is an AI, not a person, and its replies are written by Claude, from Anthropic. The people behind Storgy are at hello@storgy.com.
Sign in to ask the reader about this work — 1 credit covers three messages.
Create an accountSign in