Great Expectations Connections

     This post is actually quite convenient; one such connection occurred to me quite a while ago. If any of you have read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, you might understand what I'm talking about.


     Outwardly, the two novels are quite different. Bartimaeus was written a few years ago, taking place in a sardonic, fantasy world where the British Empire is run by a large number of paranoid magicians, lacking the ability to do anything the commoners think of as magic but one: they summon spirits to do their work. Tired, I know. But what makes the story interesting is that it is told simultaneously from the perspective of a long-suffering spirit known as Bartimaeus (hence the title) and the upstart apprentice who has summoned him known as Nathaniel. To be more specific, Nathaniel, circa the second book in the trilogy, is the character I am relating Pip to.

     Like Pip, Nathaniel has come into a large amount of money at a fairly early age. Nathaniel has earned his money through serving the rather corrupt government, whereas Pip has gotten his seemingly randomly, but they are similar in the fact that although they are rich, they have little experience with others.

     A striking parallel to me was the scene where Pip thinks of how to offer Herbert money in order to repair the damages that he has inflicted on Herbert's formerly idyllic life; a nearly identical scene appears in the Bartimaeus books where Nathaniel, upon encountering his former art tutor, cannot fathom why she is saddened by his offer of wealth and prestige in the government. This theme is strongly present in both books, that money gained rather than earned through experience does not supply wisdom.

     Another motif that appears in both novels is the nature of the cities. Nathaniel's London, like Pip's, is a strange and pretentious place. Pip remarks on how the purpose of the Finches seems to be not to enjoy, but to give the appearance of pleasure. Likewise, Nathaniel lives in a world of false smiles, where no one quite means what they say.