Introduction to Gothic

This project is based around creating designs of the characters Miss Havisham and Estella from the Gothic Great Expectations. For this introduction I should probably start by analysing the main characters of the book:
Pip - He passionate, romantic and unrealistic at heart. We see the story and characters through his eyes. I find that Pip portrays a naive boy that is learning the ways of the world. He is the victim of Miss Havisham's revenge (as well as other men) and has to go through so much to find happiness in story.
Miss Havisham - She is an eccentric, strange woman basing her life around being jilted at the alter on her wedding day. She is so broken hearted that she doesn't want time to pass, therefore she has never taken off her wedding dress and leaves the feast to decay on a table in her home (Satis House) as well as stopping all the clocks at 20 to 9 which is the time she was jilted.
Estella - She is Miss Havisham's adopted daughter. Havisham has brought her up to be a cold woman with 'no heart' and to break all men's hearts.

I had watched Gillion Anderson's series of Great Expectations before reading the book. I had never learnt anything of the Charles Dickens story before watching the series so my first impressions of Miss Havisham is that she seems so fragile and I felt sorry for her at the beginning of the story. I kind of wished her wedding dress looked more recognisable than how it appeared in Anderson's version as it was not so obvious to be a wedding dress at first. However, the dress also fitted in with this version of Miss Havisham as it looked delicate, fragile and broken as was the way she comes across. She also comes off as a cold person because she looks cold and pale as well as being dressed in white to add to this complexion. She also quotes, 'All of me is cold' which confirms this whole characteristic of her being a cold person.
I have learnt that there is more to the story than what seems. As the story continues we find out Havisham's revenge on men and using Pip as the victim of this revenge. She may be broken hearted but she is evil too.
That there can be many ways to interpret the characters especially Miss Havisham.
I think the story of Miss Havisham is a unique idea of showing how awfully heartbroken a woman can be to want to seek revenge through manipulation as well as the dramatic change that happens to her. When it is revealed that Havisham trained Estella her whole life to break Pip's heart (and all mens), it is so sad to see how naive Pip is and how heart broken he is when he's the most innocent character in the story. Pip's dream of becoming a gentleman was so he was worthy of marrying Estella.