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Character analysis · Joe's journeyman, villain who attacks Mrs. Joe

Orlick

in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

He’s a broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man who always slouches, living alone on the marshes and serving as the novel's most threatening character. From the very beginning, he resents Pip deeply, believing that Pip has replaced him in Joe's affections, and he shows a barely concealed hostility towards everyone he meets. Orlick later shows up as an unexpected gatekeeper at Miss Havisham's but is removed from that position after Pip tells Jaggers about him. Eventually, he lures Pip to a sluice-house on the marshes with plans to kill him. There, in a drunken state, he boasts about attacking Mrs. Joe, stalking Pip for years, and his ties to those who pose a threat to Magwitch. He’s driven away when Herbert Pocket and Startop burst in, and the story concludes with him in county jail for breaking into Pumblechook's house. Orlick embodies unchecked resentment and brute force—a dark shadow that follows Pip from childhood to the novel's most intense moments.

About this character

Role
Joe's journeyman, villain who attacks Mrs. Joe
Form
Novel
Author
Charles Dickens
First published
1861

The person01–03

01·Who they are

Who is Orlick?

Orlick first appears in Chapter XV as Joe's journeyman, a physically imposing figure who "always slouched" and is compared to "Cain or the Wandering Jew." His name, "Dolge Orlick," which Pip thinks is "a clear Impossibility," indicates his forceful nature and stubbornness. He stays at a sluice-keeper's house out on the marshes, and when confronted or asked to meet someone’s gaze, he looks up "in a half-resentful, half-puzzled way." Rather than being a clever villain with elaborate schemes, he represents a mix of grievances and raw instincts.

02·Arc & motivation

What is Orlick's arc and motivation?

Orlick is fueled by resentment. Ever since Pip became Joe's apprentice, he has felt overshadowed. Every perceived slight, whether real or imagined, builds within him. His conflict with Mrs. Joe in Chapter XV, his attack on her, his years of lurking near Pip, his appearance at Miss Havisham's gate, and his ambush at the sluice-house all stem from the same feeling: he feels bullied and overlooked, and he’s out to settle the score. In Chapter LIII, he bluntly states: "You was favoured, and he was bullied and beat." His aggression isn’t about calculated malice; it’s more an explosion of long-simmering grievances.

03·Key moments

What are Orlick's key moments?

  • Chapter XV — The half-holiday quarrel: Orlick demands equal treatment with Pip, then pounds the iron "as if it were I," foreshadowing his future violence. He insults Mrs. Joe, gets beaten by Joe, and later, the two men share a pot of beer—showing how quickly violence is normalized in the forge environment.
  • Chapter XV — Return from town: While walking home with Pip and Wopsle, Orlick remarks, "A good night for cutting off in," just as the signal cannon fires—this comment takes on a sinister tone in light of what has just happened to Mrs. Joe.
  • Chapter XVI — Mrs. Joe's signal: Biddy interprets Mrs. Joe's slate-drawing as Orlick's hammer. Mrs. Joe's fearful respect towards him—"an air of humble propitiation"—creates one of the novel's most disturbing images.
  • Chapter XXIX — Miss Havisham's porter: Orlick reappears, now working at the gate of Satis House, casually noting that "there's more changes than yours."
  • Chapter LIII — The sluice-house: This scene is the novel's most intense moment of threat. Orlick confesses to attacking Mrs. Joe, admits he has been stalking Pip, reveals connections to Compeyson's network, and is only stopped from killing Pip by Herbert's rescue party.
  • Chapter LVII — The county jail: Joe reports that Orlick has broken into Pumblechook's house and is now imprisoned—a deflating, almost comical conclusion for someone who seemed capable of much worse.

The cast04–05

04·Relationships

What are Orlick's most important relationships?

Orlick's relationship with Pip is the novel's most enduring antagonism. It begins with childhood intimidation (scaring young Pip with tales of the Devil in the forge), deepens into professional jealousy, and culminates in a potentially deadly confrontation. Orlick blames Pip for his grievances—"it was you as did for your shrew sister"—a twisted blame that grotesquely mirrors Pip's own tendency to feel responsible for others' suffering. His connection to Compeyson's circle ties the marshes plot to the London plot and shows that Orlick, though crude, has become entangled in the novel's broader criminal web.

05·Connected characters

How is Orlick connected to the other characters?

Pip

Orlick resents Pip from childhood, believing Pip displaces him and ruins his reputation; this hatred culminates in his attempt to murder Pip at the sluice-house in Chapter LIII.

Joe Gargery

Orlick is Joe's journeyman, tolerated as a capable worker but physically beaten by Joe after insulting Mrs. Joe; his relationship with Joe is one of grudging subordination.

Mrs. Joe

Orlick later confesses that he came upon Mrs. Joe from behind and struck her down; she survives but is left in a damaged state, after which she draws a hammer on her slate to indicate him and shows every sign of anxious deference whenever he comes to stand before her.

Biddy

Orlick directs unwanted attention at Biddy, which Pip notices and resents. Biddy tells Pip that Orlick "dances" at her whenever he can catch her eye, and Pip takes it as a sign of his interest in her.

Mr. Jaggers

Jaggers summarily dismisses Orlick from his post at Miss Havisham's after Pip reports his unsuitability, demonstrating Jaggers's brisk authority over him.

Abel Magwitch

Orlick reveals that he picked up and kept the filed leg-iron later used to strike Mrs. Joe, and that he knows Magwitch's identity and has passed information about him to Compeyson's associates.

Compeyson

Orlick hints that he has taken up with Compeyson's circle, who are determined to prevent Magwitch from escaping safely.

Herbert Pocket

Herbert, finding Pip's dropped letter open in their chambers, grows uneasy and sets off with Startop to follow Pip by post-chaise. With Trabb's boy as their guide, they reach the sluice-house, where Herbert goes on alone to reconnoitre, and then rushes in with the others when Pip cries out, interrupting Orlick's attempt to kill him.

Study06–07

06·Questions

Questions readers ask about Orlick

Did Orlick really attack Mrs. Joe?

In Chapter LIII, he confesses to Pip that he approached her from behind, similar to how he had approached Pip that night, and that he hit her. He also reveals that the weapon was the leg-iron he discovered on the marshes — the same one that had previously belonged to Magwitch.

Why does Mrs. Joe show such fearful deference to Orlick after her attack?

After Biddy points out Orlick from Mrs. Joe's slate drawing in Chapter XVI, Mrs. Joe displays a strong desire to get along with him and carries "an air of humble propitiation." It seems like she acknowledges him as her attacker and feels scared of him, even though she can't express this directly.

How does Orlick end up working at Miss Havisham's?

He mentions to Pip that he arrived at Miss Havisham's after Pip had already left the forge.

How is Orlick dismissed from Miss Havisham's?

In Chapter XXX, Pip shares what he knows about Orlick with Jaggers, who quickly decides to "go round presently, and pay our friend off," showing no hesitation in dismissing him.

What does Orlick reveal about Compeyson in the sluice-house scene?

In Chapter LIII, Orlick tells Pip that he has made new friends and found new masters, some of whom even write his letters for him.

How is Pip saved from Orlick?

Herbert Pocket discovered the threatening letter that Pip had accidentally dropped, became worried, and went down with Startop. With Trabb's boy leading the way, they arrived at the sluice-house and rushed in when Pip shouted, prompting Orlick to escape into the night.

What happens to Orlick at the end of the novel?

Joe mentions in Chapter LVII that Orlick broke into Pumblechook's house, where he stole the cash box, drank his wine, and assaulted him. Orlick is currently in the county jail.

07·Essay angles

Use this in your essay

Tool · Essay angles

  • Orlick as Pip's dark double: both emerge from the forge, both feel out of place and resentful—explore how Dickens uses Orlick to externalize the destructive potential of Pip's social ambitions.

  • The treatment of violence in the novel: Orlick's assaults are brutal, yet the narrative moves past them quickly (Joe and Orlick share a beer after their fight); consider what this reveals about the forge world and Victorian views on working-class violence.

  • Resentment as social critique: Orlick's grievances arise from class inequality and favoritism—assess how the novel invites sympathy for, or simply fear of, his situation.

  • The confession scene in Chapter LIII as a Gothic set-piece: analyze Dickens's use of darkness, fire, drink, and the limekiln to create atmosphere and provoke Pip's self-reflection.

  • Orlick's narrative function as a plot connector: he links the attack on Mrs. Joe, the threat to Magwitch, and Compeyson's network—consider how his presence brings together the otherwise separate worlds of the novel.

Great Expectations

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