What happens in Chapter LV of Great Expectations?
The chapter begins with Magwitch being brought to the Police Court, where his trial is postponed for three days because the only witness who can confirm his identity—a prison officer from the ship he escaped—needs to be located. Compeyson, who was supposed to testify, is dead. Mr. Jaggers, hired by Pip, doesn’t make any admissions on behalf of the prisoner but cautions that the case is doomed once the witness arrives. Pip decides he will not pursue the lost inheritance and finds out that Compeyson's body, discovered disfigured miles away, had notes identifying Magwitch’s banking assets in New South Wales and valuable land—information Compeyson had gathered in hopes of a reward.
Herbert then informs Pip that he must soon depart for Cairo and kindly offers Pip a clerk position in his branch office, with a chance for partnership. Pip postpones his decision by a couple of months. Herbert leaves on Saturday; Pip sees him off at the mail coach and writes a note to Clara before heading back to his solitary lodgings.
On the stairs, Pip encounters Wemmick, who reveals that Compeyson had infiltrated his network and that the timing of the escape attempt was based on a mistaken belief that Compeyson was away. Wemmick then invites Pip to join him for a walk on Monday morning. On that day, Wemmick—carrying a fishing rod—takes Pip to a church near Camberwell Green, where the Aged is accompanying Miss Skiffins. White kid gloves appear, a ring is produced from Wemmick's waistcoat, and Pip acts as the best man at Wemmick’s secret wedding to Miss Skiffins. After a celebratory breakfast at a nearby tavern, Wemmick asks Pip to keep the marriage a "Walworth sentiment"—not to be discussed in Little Britain.
Analysis
The chapter contrasts sharply in tone: the grim machinery of the law in the first half gives way to the elaborate comic pantomime of Wemmick's wedding in the second. Dickens facilitates this transition through Pip's encounter with Wemmick on the stairs — a pivotal moment that shifts from serious explanation to playful mystery.
The legal sections are delivered in Pip's flat, resigned first-person voice. Magwitch's lost wealth is described with deliberate restraint — Pip simply "resolved" and "ever afterwards abided by the resolution" — which conveys a sense of stoic acceptance without sentimentality. The detail of Compeyson's disfigured body, recognized only by the papers in his pockets, closes the villain's story with grim irony: even in death, the informer's greed is apparent.
The wedding sequence plays with the comedy of feigned spontaneity. Wemmick's repeated "Halloa!" — "Here's a church!", "Here's a couple of pair of gloves!", "Here's a ring!" — mocks the language of surprise while making the elaborate preparation clear to the reader. The fishing rod, carried without explanation, serves as a prop of misdirection that Wemmick proudly carries again as they leave, asking if anyone would mistake them for a wedding party. The Aged's blissful smile at the Ten Commandments during the "Who giveth this woman" exchange adds a touch of gentle farce.
The theme of Wemmick's strict separation between his Walworth self and his Little Britain professional self is emphasized at the chapter's end: the wedding is "altogether a Walworth sentiment," not to be mentioned to Jaggers. This division — warmth hidden from the world of law — permeates the entire scene.
Key quotes from Chapter LV
““Halloa!” said Wemmick. “Here’s Miss Skiffins! Let’s have a wedding.””
Wemmick announces the surprise wedding to Pip inside the church near Camberwell Green, after the Aged has escorted Miss Skiffins in through a side door.
“This is altogether a Walworth sentiment, please.” “I understand. Not to be mentioned in Little Britain,” said I.”
Wemmick calls Pip back at the door after breakfast to ask him to keep the marriage secret from Jaggers.
““What I think of, Wemmick, is the poor owner of the property.””
Pip responds to Wemmick's lament about the lost portable property, redirecting the conversation to Magwitch himself.
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