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NOTES ON THE NOVEL: ISSUE 4
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The illustration below, by Marcus Stone, appeared
in the 1862 edition of Great Expectations. The original serial
(1860-1) and the 1861 editions of the novel were not illustrated.
Myrmidons of justice: The original Myrmidons
were the followers of Achilles during the Trojan War. Pip uses the
term "myrmidon" in its more modern, pejorative sense, to refer to
a regular policemen (OED, "myrmidons of justice").
Old Clem: St. Clement (Old Clem) is the
patron saint of anchor-smiths and blacksmiths. He was martyred in
about 100 A.D., when he was thrown into the Black Sea with an anchor
around his neck. His feast day, November 23, was once celebrated
by smiths; activities included exploding gunpowder on the anvil
and holding a feast known as Clem Feast ("Clementine traditions,"
www.s-clements.org).
Young Rantipole: Though Rantipole was
a nickname for Napoleon III (1808-73), since Mrs. Joe calls Pip
a "young Rantipole" (Ch. 13) in about 1819 (Meckier 173), the name
is probably used in its generic sense, meaning an ill-behaved person
(Mitchell 490).
Collins' ode: Wopsle makes a repeat performance,
in Chapter 13, of William Collins' "The Passions, an Ode for Music":
"[I]n the evening Mr. Wopsle gave us Collins' ode, and threw his
blood-stain'd sword in thunder down." For additional information
and an excerpt, see the note on Collins' Ode in Issue
2.
Beaver bonnet: When Mrs. Joe walks to
town with Pip, "leading the way in a very large beaver bonnet" (Ch.
13) on the day Miss Havisham has asked to see her husband, she is
wearing a bonnet made of beaver fur, either actual or imitation
(OED, "beaver bonnet"). The Dictionary of Daily Wants
(1858-9) makes the following remarks about bonnets:
BONNET.
-- This article of female attire is one of the most important,
for, according as it offends against, or conforms with, certain
principles of taste, so it is rendered what is called "becoming"
or "unbecoming" and materially influences, not only the appearance
of the face of the wearer, but the whole person. (166)
Bride cake: Wedding cakes in the early
19th century were not as elaborate as wedding cakes today. As Charlotte
Mitchell notes, "the modern wedding cake with tiers did not become
fashionable until the late nineteenth century, and Miss Havisham's
cake, though raised on an epergne, or stand, would have been simply
a large round fruit cake with white icing" (490).
The Dictionary of Daily Wants (1858-9)
gives the following recipe and instructions for bride cake:
BRIDE
CAKE. -- Take four pounds of flour well dried, four pounds of
fresh butter, two pounds of loaf sugar, a quarter of an ounce
of mace, and the same of nutmeg. To every pound of flour put eight
eggs and four pounds of currants, which have been well washed
and picked, and dried before the fire until they have become plump.
Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, and cut them lengthwise, very
thin; a pound of candied citron, the same of candied orange, and
the same of candied lemon-peel, together with half a pint of brandy.
First work the butter to a fine cream with your hand, then stir
in the sugar for a quarter of an hour, beat the whites of the
eggs to a strong froth, and mix them with the sugar and butter;
beat the yolks of the eggs for half an hour, and mix them well
with the rest; then by degrees put in the flour, mace, and nutmeg,
and continue beating the whole till the oven is ready, put in
the brandy, currants, and almonds lightly; tie three sheets of
paper round the bottom of the hoop, to secure the mixture, and
rub it well with butter, put in the cake, and lay the sweetmeats
in three layers, with some cake between each layer; as soon as
it rises and colours, cover it with paper before the oven is closed
up, and bake it for three hours. It may be iced or not, as desired.
[Ingredients:] Flour, 4 lbs.; butter, 4 lbs.; sugar, 2 lbs.; mace,
1/4 oz.; nutmeg, 1/4 oz.; eggs, 32; currants, 16 lbs.; almonds,
1 lb.; candied citron, 1 lb.; candied lemon-peel, 1 lb.; candied
orange-peel, 1 lb.; brandy, 1/2 pint. (199)
Garden chair: A garden-chair is, according
to the OED, "a wheel or bath chair" or a "chair intended
for use in the garden." A bath chair is "a large chair on wheels
for invalids" (OED, "bath chair") and the Dictionary of
Daily Wants (1858-9) describes it as follows:
A
species of small carriage drawn by the hand, especially adapted
for invalids, cripples, and aged persons. The peculiar construction
of the bath chair admits of its being brought into the hall or
even the room, so that a person may be placed comfortably in it,
without being exposed to the cold. It may also be drawn round
a garden-walk, or on a lawn, enabling a person to have the advantage
of carriage exercise within sight of his own home. It should also
be remembered that bath chairs are privileged to enter on any
public parks and gardens from which carriages drawn by horses
are excluded. Bath chairs, together with men to draw them, are
generally let out on hire at livery stables. (106)
The garden-chair in which Pip wheels Miss Havisham
must be similar to such a conveyance, except that he pushes it from
behind ("I saw a garden chair -- a light chair on wheels, that you
pushed from behind" [Ch.12]); and, of course, Miss Havisham's garden
chair is only used indoors.
Great Seal of England: The Great Seal,
according to the OED, is the "seal used for the authentication
of documents of the highest importance issued in the name of the
sovereign." The Great Seal of England is kept in the custody of
the Lord High Chancellor (OED, "Great Seal"). Queen Victoria,
the sovereign at the time Dickens was writing Great Expectations
(she reigned from 1837 to 1900), went through four Great Seals
-- when a seal wore out, it had to be re-engraved (see http://www.royalinsight.gov.uk/200108/focus/gallery.html
for further information and pictures of past Seals). A Great Seal
typically had a frontal image of the monarch on one side, and a
profile of the monarch, often on horseback, on the obverse. Given
that Mrs. Joe would have been going to town with her basket in about
1819, when the monarch was still male, Dickens may be invoking the
Victorian Seal. (The comparison of Mrs. Joe marching to town with
her basket may be more apt if the Seal to which her basket is compared
is that of a royal lady, because a monarch's seal would show
a picture of him- or herself). In any case, Mrs. Joe apparently
carries her basket -- "like the Great Seal of England in plaited
straw" (Ch. 13) -- with great stateliness.
Guineas: When Miss
Havisham gives Pip a premium of 25 guineas, she uses a coin that,
although still legal tender, was no longer minted after 1813, and
was out of circulation by 1817 (it is about 1819 when Joe and Pip
visit her in Chapter 13). The critical consensus about this donation
seems to be that Miss Havisham, reclusive since the turn of the
century, would be drawing on an old supply of coins, and unaware
that the guinea was no longer in regular circulation (Meckier 184).
The guinea was a gold coin, issued first in 1663; though worth 20
shillings (one pound) initially, after 1717 it was worth slightly
more than a pound -- 21 shillings (OED, "guinea").
Hardbake: When Pip regards the "black
portraits on the walls [of the Town Hall] as a composition of hardbake
and sticking-plaister" (Ch. 13), he invokes an image partly confectionary,
and partly pharmaceutical: Hard-bake is "A sweetmeat made of boiled
sugar or treacle with blanched almonds; 'almond toffee'" (OED,
"hard-bake"), and a sticking-plaister is "An external curative
application, consisting of a solid or semi-solid substance spread
upon a piece of muslin, skin, or some similar material, and of such
nature as to be adhesive at the temperature of the body; used for
the local application of a medicament, or for closing a wound, and
sometimes to give mechanical support" (OED, "plaister" --
see the note on "plaister" in Issue
1 for more detailed information).
Pattens, a spare shawl, and an umbrella:
With these items, Mrs. Joe is prepared for bad weather. Pattens
were a sort of shoe-protector, described by the Dictionary of
Daily Wants (1858-9) as "Articles made for the feet, to protect
them from wet and damp. From their clumsiness, and the danger attending
the wearing of them, they are now [1859, about two years before
this part of Great Expectations was published] seldom worn,
and are almost entirely superseded by the clog and galosh" (761).
Though perhaps old-fashioned by 1859, the fact that Mrs. Joe carries
pattens about with her in 1819 is stranger because of the mild weather
in Rochester than because of the pattens themselves.
Sal volatile and ginger: When Camilla
insists that "Raymond is a witness what ginger and sal volatile
I am obliged to take in the night" (Ch. 11), she is referring to
doses of popular restoratives. According to the OED, sal
volatile is composed of ammonium carbonate; ginger, of course, is
the same as the ginger we cook with today. The Dictionary of
Daily Wants (1858-9) describes
SAL-VOLATILE.
-- This is an excellent stimulant, and frequently employed in
languor, faintings, hysteria, flatulent colic, and nervous debility,
in doses of from half a teaspoonful to two teaspoonfuls; it may
be given with the same quantity of spirit of lavender in a wineglass
of water, which increases its beneficial effect. (879)
Ginger, according to the Dictionary of Daily
Wants (1858-9), had several medicinal properties:
GINGER
... is an aromatic, stimulant, and stomachic, very useful in flatulence
and spasms of the stomach and bowels, and in loss of appetite
and dyspepsia, arising from debility or occurring in old and gouty
subjects. It often relieves toothache, relaxation of the uvula,
tender gums, and paralytic affections of the tongue. Made into
a paste it forms a useful and simple headache plaster, which frequently
gives relief when applied to the forehead or temples. It is also
one of the most agreeable and wholesome spices, and is extensively
used as a condiment and flavouring ingredient. In this character
it is stimulating to the digestive organs, and is less hurtful
than pepper; but, like all excitants, it should be used with moderation.
(468)
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