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Character analysis · Joe's uncle, self-important corn-chandler

Mr. Pumblechook

in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Mr. Pumblechook is Joe Gargery's uncle, but Mrs. Joe often takes the lead when it comes to him. He runs a successful corn and seed business in the nearby market town by the marshes. Physically, he is described as "a large hard-breathing middle-aged slow man, with a mouth like a fish, dull staring eyes, and sandy hair standing upright on his head." He drives his own chaise-cart, which Pip associates with his overbearing nature.

Pumblechook's standout trait is his self-important hypocrisy. He makes young Pip solve arithmetic problems during breakfast and drags him from his stool to show off in front of guests, using Pip to flaunt his own social standing. However, when Pip gains his great expectations, Pumblechook quickly rebrands himself as the boy's "earliest patron, companion, and friend," claiming to be the architect of Pip's fortunes—a story he pushes so hard that it becomes local gossip, appearing in the newspaper and recounted by innkeepers. He flatters the successful Pip with repeated "May I?" handshakes and lavish meals, but shifts to a self-righteous and pitying tone when Pip's luck turns sour. His behavior at Mrs. Joe's funeral—gorging on sherry and crumbs, adjusting Pip's hatband as a "delicate attention," and coughing during the scripture reading—highlights his mix of servility and self-promotion. Later, he is broken into by Orlick, who steals from him, drinks his wine, slaps his face, pulls his nose, ties him to his bedpost, and stuffs his mouth with flowering annuals to silence his cries.

About this character

Role
Joe's uncle, self-important corn-chandler
Form
Novel
Author
Charles Dickens
First published
1861

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Mr. Pumblechook?

Mr. Pumblechook first appears in Chapter IV as a fixture of the Gargery household's Christmas tradition. Year after year, he arrives with the same two bottles of wine and the same phrases, putting on a show of generosity that feels oddly forced. His shop on the High Street, described in Chapter VIII as "peppercorny and farinaceous," mirrors his character—dusty and isolated, he seems to run his business mainly by staring across the street at the saddler. He wears corduroys that smell of seeds, and Pip notices a strange connection between him and his goods, as if the man and his merchandise are intertwined.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Mr. Pumblechook's arc and motivation?

Pumblechook's journey is characterized by persistent hypocrisy that the novel gradually reveals. His main goal is social status; he wants to be recognized as the one who helped Pip succeed. In Pip's childhood, he acts like a bully, quizzing the hungry boy with math (Chapter VIII) and dragging him before the fire, holding him by the sleeve as he lectures Mrs. Joe about him. When Pip's fortune is revealed, he quickly shifts to a supportive role, claiming in Chapter XIX that he always knew "that boy is no common boy." He spreads this story so effectively that it gets echoed by innkeepers and appears in the local newspaper, with Pumblechook described as the architect of Pip's success. When Pip's fortunes decline, he reverts to a patronizing attitude in Chapter LVIII, hovering over Pip's breakfast like a benefactor determined to maintain a façade of kindness.

03·Key moments

What are Mr. Pumblechook's key moments?

  • Chapter VIII: Pumblechook subjects Pip to an arithmetic grilling over a meager breakfast, enjoying bacon and hot rolls himself while giving Pip crumbs with hardly any butter, only to be turned away at Miss Havisham's gate by Estella.
  • Chapter IX: He interrogates Pip about Miss Havisham, confidently supporting Pip's tall tales, even though he has never actually seen her.
  • Chapter XV: He judges Pip as Wopsle reads George Barnwell, staring at Pip and saying, "Take warning, boy, take warning!" as if Pip were a possible criminal.
  • Chapter XIX: He throws an extravagant feast for Pip, repeatedly asking, "May I?" before shaking hands, claiming to have always predicted Pip's greatness, and suggests a business partnership where Pip would be a sleeping partner.
  • Chapter XXXV: At Mrs. Joe's funeral, he indulges in sherry, smooths Pip's hatband as a "delicate attention," and coughs during the scripture reading while referencing young men who come into sudden wealth.
  • Chapter LVIII: After Orlick's attack, he still adopts a "magnificently forgiving air" toward the now-fallen Pip, pouring his tea and lamenting Pip's thinness, sharply contrasting his earlier sycophantic behavior.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Mr. Pumblechook's most important relationships?

Pumblechook's relationship with Pip serves as the clearest example of sycophancy and its reversal in the novel. He is at his worst when Pip is vulnerable (the arithmetic torture, the collar-grabbing) and his most grotesque when Pip is successful (the "May I?" handshakes, the lavish feast). This relationship reveals that social standing, not genuine affection, drives his actions. His relationship with Mrs. Joe is one of mutual flattery: she respects his authority, and he enjoys her admiration, as they engage in "nonsensical speculations" about Miss Havisham. With Joe, he is dismissive—Joe is merely talked at during their exchanges, while Pumblechook goes around town claiming to have been Pip's earliest companion and playmate, a story Joe himself contradicts. His connection to Miss Havisham is largely fictional; he presents himself as her intermediary but is turned away at her gate.

05·Connected characters

How is Mr. Pumblechook connected to the other characters?

Pip

Pumblechook bullies Pip as a child with arithmetic and moral lectures, then shamelessly reinvents himself as Pip's patron and the founder of his fortunes once Pip comes into money, only to turn condescending again when Pip's prosperity ends.

Mrs. Joe

Mrs. Joe appropriates Pumblechook as her own uncle rather than Joe's, defers to him as an authority, and joins him in speculating about what Miss Havisham will do for Pip.

Joe Gargery

Pumblechook is technically Joe's uncle but treats Joe with condescension, and Joe in turn notes that Pumblechook falsely claims to have been Pip's childhood companion and playfellow.

Miss Havisham

Pumblechook escorts Pip to Miss Havisham's gate, where Estella turns him away at the door; he later claims to have been the humble instrument that led to Pip's good fortune, presenting himself as Pip's earliest patron and the founder of his fortunes.

Orlick

Orlick breaks into Pumblechook's house, robs him, beats him, and ties him to his bedpost — an assault that leads to Orlick's arrest and imprisonment.

Mr. Wopsle

Wopsle and Pumblechook socialise together, most notably when Wopsle reads the tragedy of George Barnwell aloud in Pumblechook's parlour, using it to morally indict Pip.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Mr. Pumblechook

What is Pumblechook's relationship to Joe and Pip?

He is Joe Gargery's uncle, but Mrs. Joe takes over so completely that Pip isn’t even allowed to call him uncle. He isn't related to Pip by blood, yet he later insists he was Pip's first patron and childhood friend—a claim that Joe himself brushes off as untrue.

How does Pumblechook treat Pip as a child?

He puts Pip through a series of grueling arithmetic quizzes, including a cruel breakfast scene in Chapter VIII where he enjoys bacon and hot rolls while barely giving Pip any butter. He also yanks Pip up by the collar in front of the fire to lecture him, and in Chapter XV, he uses the reading of George Barnwell to glare at Pip and caution him to "take warning."

What role does Pumblechook play in Pip's visit to Miss Havisham?

He takes Pip to Miss Havisham's house in Chapter VIII and introduces him at the gate, but Estella sends him away, not allowing him to come in. Later, he misleadingly uses this connection to claim he is Pip's patron.

How does Pumblechook's behaviour change when Pip comes into his fortune?

He swiftly rebrands himself as Pip's "earliest patron, companion, and friend" and the one who built his fortunes. He throws an extravagant feast, frequently asks, "May I?" before shaking hands, and claims he always believed Pip would succeed — despite how he really treated Pip.

What happens to Pumblechook near the end of the novel?

Orlick breaks into his house, steals from the till and cash-box, drinks his wine, slaps his face, pulls his nose, ties him to the bedpost, and stuffs his mouth with blooming flowers to keep him from crying out. Later, Orlick is recognized and taken to the county jail.

How does Pumblechook behave when Pip's fortunes have fallen?

In Chapter LVIII, he welcomes the now-impoverished Pip with a "magnificently forgiving air." As he stands over his breakfast pouring tea, he sighs at how thin Pip has become, sharply contrasting with the sycophantic manner he displayed during Pip's prosperous days.

How does Pumblechook spread his false claim about being Pip's benefactor?

Pumblechook's assertion that he is the founder of Pip's fortunes gains such traction that it shows up in the local newspaper and is echoed by an innkeeper as if it were undeniable truth. This prompts Pip to think that had he traveled to the North Pole during his prosperous days, he would have encountered someone there—be it a wandering Eskimo or a civilized person—who would have claimed that Pumblechook was his first benefactor and the architect of his success.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Pumblechook as a satirical portrayal of provincial self-importance

    how Dickens uses repetition (the arithmetic, the "May I?", the "founder of my fortunes" claim) to craft a comic yet damning character study.

  • The reversal of Pumblechook's behavior as a structural reflection of Pip's own snobbery

    both characters adjust their behavior based on wealth and status.

  • Pumblechook and the unreliability of social narrative

    his false claims become "fact" through repetition—in newspapers, by innkeepers, and in public legend—prompting questions about how reputation is built.

  • Pumblechook's fate at Orlick's hands (Chapter LVII)

    consider whether the novel presents this as comic justice and what it reveals about the limits of social performance as a means of self-protection.

Great Expectations

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