Pip: A young man who is born to a life of the working class, Pip dreams of rising above his humble beginnings. Through an anonymous benefactor, he is given the opportunity to fulfill his dreams to become a gentleman and win the affections of the wealthy young lady of his dreams, Estella.
Estella: The beautiful young woman of Pip’s dreams, Estella was adopted by Miss Havisham. She has been raised to be cold and calculating and to wreak vengeance on all men and cannot comprehend love.
Miss Havisham: The adoptive mother of Estella, Miss Havisham lives in a huge decaying manor home in seclusion. She was jilted as a young bride and still wears her bridal gown and surrounds herself with the remnants of a long-ago, hoped-for wedding. She has raised her adopted daughter, Estella, to be heartless and to be her instrument of revenge on all men.
Joe Gargery: The village blacksmith, Joe is Pip’s loving father-figure. Since Pip’s parents died when he was a child, Joe and his wife, Pip’s eldest sister, have raised him.
Mrs. Joe Gargery: Pip’s sister, who Joe reminds Pip was once “a fine figure of a woman,” Mrs. Joe is a harsh woman who physically and emotionally abuses Pip.
Biddy: Pip’s childhood friend, Biddy is plain but wise, and tries to guide Pip with her devotion and compassion.
Magwitch: An escaped convict, Magwitch stumbles into Pip in the graveyard. There, he frightens Pip into stealing food and a file from home. His memory, and sometimes his presence, haunts Pip throughout the story.
Jaggers: The ubiquitous lawyer, Jaggers seems to know all of the characters involved in the story and the skeletons in their closets. He manages the resources that become Pip’s through his mysterious benefactor.
Herbert Pocket: Pip’s steadfast friend and roommate, Herbert helps Pip with the finer points of becoming a gentleman and through the roughest part off Pip’s life.
Wemmick: The clerk to Jaggers, Wemmick becomes another true friend to Pip.
Pumblechook: Mrs. Joe and Pip’s uncle who is always on the lookout for monetary and influential gain.
Compeyson: The true villain of the story, Compeyson was once an inmate and co-conspirator of Magwitch, who has now become his mortal enemy.
Drummle: A spoiled young aristocrat and classmate of Pip, Drummle is everything a gentleman shouldn’t be and is Pip’s rival for Estella.
Startop: Another classmate of Pip’s, Startop is a good-natured, decent fellow, and is part of the gentleman’s club, the Finches of the Grove, to which Pip, Herbert, and Drummle belong.
