Edward Said is one of the first critics to read Great Expectations from a postcolonial perspective. He stresses the 'exclusive' side of the British colonialism, which is still quite oppressive to the marginalized 'other.' However, ...
Edward Said is one of the first critics to read Great Expectations from a postcolonial perspective. He stresses the 'exclusive' side of the British colonialism, which is still quite oppressive to the marginalized 'other.' However, in his overemphasis on the exclusive colonialism, Said overlooks Dickens's positive portrayal of Magwitch who consistently shows affection, gratitude, and generosity despite Pip's disgust toward him. Magwitch not only succeeds in his transformation from a transferred convict to a prosperous trader, but also helps Pip become a London gentleman. In the end, Pip acknowledges his debt to the benefactor Magwitch. Dickens also argues for the inclusive colonialism by making Magwitch the victim of the oppressive penal systems, which support the corrupt aristocracy. The mercenary lawyer Jaggers and the abusive gentleman Drummle rule at the top of the novel's social ladder. The reformed Magwitch is chased by the police with the help of the irredeemable criminals, Compeyson and Orlick .
Victorian women play an important role in the establishment of the British Empire, as in Mrs. Chisholm, who helps the British poor immigrate to and settle down in Australia. Dickens takes an ambivalent posture toward her colonial activities. On the one hand, he wholeheartedly adopts her ideas of settlement colonialism as a solution to British internal social problems caused by industrialization and class division. However, on the other, he warns that her colonial activities could sacrifice another important female role, the 'angel of the house.' For this reason, creating Biddy, Dickens suggests an alternative image of woman who not only does her best to improve herself despite adversities, but also helps others, like Pip and Joe. She does not contradict the middle-class ideology of domesticity by indirectly contributing to the construction of the British Empire as a helpful wife and good mother. In this way Dickens orchestrates the social discourses of class, gender, and race in his argument for the inclusive colonialism that saves the 'internal other,' the British poor, at the sacrifice of the 'external other,' the Australian aborigines.