The story of Great Expectations follows a blacksmiths son named Pip, who falls in love with Estella, the daughter of Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham was left at the alter by the love of her life, and so has not left her house since the day of her wedding. Miss Havisham is set on living out her revenge on Men through her Daughter Estella, bringing her up to be cold hearted.
In the book Miss Havisham is described to be withering away and decaying as a result of her heartbreak her not leaving the house for so long...
'I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes... Now, wax-work and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.'
'She was dressed in rich materials- satins, and lace, and silks- all of white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white.'
Satis is house is also symbolic of Miss Havisham, decaying and rotten.
'It was then I began to understand that everything in the room had stopped, like the watch and the clock, a long time ago'
'An epergne or centre-piece of some kind was in the middle of this cloth; it was so heavily overhung with cobwebs that its form was quite undistinguishable; and, as I looked along the yellow expanse out of which I remember it seeming to grow, like a black fungus, I saw speckled-legged spiders with blotchy bodies running home to it, and running out from it...I heard the mice too, rattling behind the panels... the black-beetles took no notice of the agitation and groped about the earth in a ponderous elderly way'.
Film Portrayals of Miss Havisham
I think is is one of the least visually accurate portrayals of Miss Havisham. Directed by Stuart Walker with make up done by Jack P Pierce, I don't find the make up or hair to be particularly reflective of the time period. Realistically, Miss Havisham's hairstyle should be from the late Georgian period as she would not have changed it for so long.
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| Great Expectations (1934) Movie (no date). Great Expectations (1934). Available at: http://moviespictures.org/movie/Great_Expectations_1934 (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Martita Hunt (1946)
This film was Directed by David Lean with make up done by Ernest Gasser and George Blackler. I feel like the hair of Miss Havisham in this portrayal is much more true to the book, as it looks as though it has been worn high on the head (typical of the late Georgian period) but has fallen and become straggly with time.
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| Movie classics (no date). Great Expectations (David Lean, 1946). Available at: https://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/great-expectations-david-lean-1946/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Margaret Leighton (1974)
This TV movie directed by Joseph Hardy was the first version of the Great Expectations story to be shown in colour. The make up for the production is very theatrical, you can see heavy shading has been applied to hollow out the face, and lines have been drawn on to create heavy wrinkles and give the effect of an older woman.
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| Chung, S. (no date). Great Expectations: Film Productions. Available at: http://sophiechung-greatexpectations.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/film-productions.html (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Joan Hickson (1981)
This production was a TV series directed by Julian Amyes. The hair and make up was done by Gwen Arthy who has created an early Victorian Hairstyle for Miss Havisham. Personally I think that the hair should look a little messier, after years of not styling or even so much as washing it.
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| Handout (2011) Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter and Miss Havisham on film, Culture. 2011-11-22. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8907506/Gillian-Anderson-Helena-Bonham-Carter-and-Miss-Havisham-on-film.html?image=16 (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Jean Simmons (1989)
Another TV Mini Series, this time starring Jean Simmons who played Estella in the 1946 film. The make up artist on the production was Eddie Knight, and hair was done by Eithne Fennel.
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| Gillian Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter and Miss Havisham on film(2011) Culture. 2011-11-22. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8907506/Gillian-Anderson-Helena-Bonham-Carter-and-Miss-Havisham-on-film.html?image=15 (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Charlotte Rampling (1999)
The make up in this film was done by Fran Needham. I feel it is a very strange portrayal of Miss Havisham as Charlotte Rampling hasn't been obviously aged, her hair is not grey/white and the general feel of the make up and costume does not feel old, dated or dirty as it has been portrayed in the book.
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| Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations in 1999. (no date). Miss Havisham. Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/291256300873954428/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Gillian Anderson (2011)
This TV Mini Series directed by Brian Kirk is what I think is the most accurate portrayal of Miss Havisham. Make up artist Adele Firth and make up designer Kirstin Chalmers have really thought through the character and the way she would look as a result of lack of sunlight, malnutrition and personal neglect. Her lips have been made to look extremely dry and flaky, which is a result of dehydration. I like this aspect as it is really well thought through and something no other make up artist portraying the character had thought about. The hair for this production is white and styled in an early Victorian style, which slowly falls and becomes even more unkempt throughout the series.
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| Gillian Anderson, Great Expectations (no date). 2013-02-20T00:00:00Z. Available at: http://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/gillian-anderson-great-expectations (Accessed: 2 February 2015). Helena Bonham Carter (2012)
The most recent portrayal of Miss Havisham was by Helena Bonham Carter, directed by Mike Newell. Before watching the movie I felt that Helena would be a perfect actress for the part of Miss Havisham, but afterwards I was left feeling like she could of done more to get into character and pick up some of Miss Havisham's mannerisms. I do really like the Make up and hair that Jenny Shircore created for this film, Helena looks very naturally aged with her features sunken. Her hair is very late Georgian which is true to the setting of the book, and is very dishevelled and matted. I like the fact that the veil is still attached as it adds to the impression she hasn't touched it in years.
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| TV&Showbiz (2011) ‘BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Helena’s bridal path to despair as Miss Havisham in Dickens' masterpiece’, 4 November. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2057429/Helena-Bonham-Carters-path-despair-Miss-Havisham-Dickens-masterpiece.html (Accessed: 2 February 2015). |
Connor, K. (1989) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (TV Mini-Series 1989). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096601/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Hardy, J. (1974) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (TV Movie 1974). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071576/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Jarrold, J. (1999) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (TV Movie 1999). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167187/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Kirk, B. (2011) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (TV Mini-Series 2011). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1949720/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Newell, M. (2012) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (2012). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836808/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
None (no date) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (TV Mini-Series 1981). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196254/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
Walker, S. (1934) Great Expectations. Great Expectations (1934). Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025202/ (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
(no date). Pictures & Photos from Great Expectations (1946) - IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3516045312/tt0038574?ref_=tt_pv_md_3 (Accessed: 2 February 2015).
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