Taking on board all the Gothic knowledge I have (if there is such a thing) I think this unit of work is going to be incredibly exciting. I have previously studied 'Great Expectations' I have an in depth understanding of the characters. But like I said, it is from a literary perspective so coming from a design angle it enables room for exploration and interpretation.
When posed the question "Is 'Great Expectations' a Gothic novel?" My answer is YES all the way. YES to the bleak and eerie setting. YES to the sinister characters. But most of all YES to the storyline. On the surface the novel seems to be about a young boy undergoing a series of events that appear to be luck but he is a pawn in a larger game. The fact that the characters plot Pip's future behind his back, for instance the fact that Miss Havisham brings Estelle up to be heartless so that she doesn't have her heart broken, knowing that Pip would fall in love with her, only to be rejected.
Having watched all three versions of 'Great Expectations' the biggest variation in characterisation is in Miss Havisham. In the original version she is portrayed as an older woman who is very stern. Despite the fact that she is jilted on her wedding she appears to have been hardened by the situation. Whereas in the modern interpretation of the film Miss Havisham is played by Helena Bonham-Carter and her characterisation of spinster is extravagant yet dazed. Her dress, hair and make-up is very theatrical with a corpse bride vibe.I believe that the styling in the modern adaptation of Great Expectations was based on how Pip views the situation. Miss Havisham is this rich, secluded, cold woman who to a young boy is intimidating and overwhelming. So I feel like her eccentric appearance is just a projection of what Pip's sees. Whereas, the television interpretation of Miss Havisham sees Gillian Anderson playing a fragile, scared woman who is literally afraid of everything. Her dress is very low key and her personality is very small. One thing that is very apparent in the TV series is that Miss Havisham seems fairly young or middle aged which originally I thought was very odd because she is meant to have lived in the house for years and years. However it occurred to me that during the Victorian times women would marry very young. So although the Miss Havisham in the original film was quite old I think that was intended to emphasise how long she had been living in the house.
Having watched an interview of Gillian Anderson who played Miss Havisham in the TV Series of 'Great Expectations' she revealed that she characterised Miss Havisham completely by herself and then only when they began filming did she reveal the character of Miss Havisham. I feel like this helped with the true portrayal of the character from the perspective of the character Pip, purely because from Pip's point of view she is a woman that has hidden herself from the world for a large portion of her life and she comes into contact with a boy who has only interacted with people from his own class and people of familiarity. So by Gillian revealing her character at the last moment there is an all round awe from all the cast of her actions and hostility around everyone.
MISS HAVISHAM IS MY NUMBER 1 SPINSTER! You can pretty much guess that she is my favourite character. Purely because there are so many ways to interpret her, which has already been done! But I feel like there is still room for interpretation. So I cannot wait to get started on designs...
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