Saturday, June 2, 2012

Original vs. Revised Ending

*SPOILER ALERT* This might give away some details of the ending!

The revised ending was indeed written by Charles Dickens, and it's the one featured first. It was suggested by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the man who came up with that terrible first line: "It was a dark and stormy night." He also said, "the pen is mightier than the sword." 

If you haven't read the original ending, it in our copy of the book but comes after the story is finished. I read it (it's only a page and a half) and I actually like it better. Though the revised ending is happier for Pip, I think the original fits better with Estella's characterization. Also, I feel like the knot has been tied between Pip and Estella (ending their story) in the original ending, whereas the revised one suggests that the knot will literally be tied (they will be married). Abuse does change a person, and it's interesting to think that Estella is now broken, but she isn't a normal human, so I think the original is more fitting. Thoughts?

2 comments:

  1. I also read the original ending and I didn't really like either of them. The second ending makes me feel like they're going to skip off into the sunset together, while the original ending felt really abrupt. I will agree, however, that the original ending did stick with Estella's character more.

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  2. I know what you mean about the original ending being kind of abrupt. It literally just cut off. I actually flipped the next page to see if there was more, but there wasn't. In any case, it suits the story more, but there wasn't enough "closure", to use Mr. Dahl's word.

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