Ethics and Morality
My Great Expectations and the Pursuit of Worth
Personal Perspective: We all need worthy work, but not at the expense of others.
Updated September 7, 2026 Reviewed by Lybi Ma
I have recently reread two of Dickens' best books: Great Expectations and Bleak House. Both are brilliant books about wanting the wrong things from life, or hunting what we want in the wrong places. In "Great Expectations," Pip, the hero or the antihero, believes Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster who is disappointed in love, has bestowed a fortune on him; and in "Bleak House," Richard, the Jarndyce ward, bankrupts himself and his wife Ada and ultimately destroys himself in his efforts to win an endless and futile legal case. Pip learns that the money he believed came from Miss Havisham was really from a convict whom he had helped in his youth, and Richard ends up in debt and ultimately destroyed by his futile efforts to win the case. Pip, in his fruitless search to be a fine gentleman, leaves behind the people who really love him: Joe Gargery and Biddy. And Richard spurns the good Mr Jarndyce, who supports him and only wants the best for him in life.
Reading these wise and wonderful books, I asked myself if my own expectations and aims, my struggles in the literary world, were in vain and ultimately an endless source of effort for no worthy reward. I wonder if I neglected and even exposed my family or old friends, being caught up in the competition to win fame and fortune. Or if it was important to reach a large audience with my words, to publish yet another book, or even a short story in a publication when someone dear to me might desperately need my help.
The Necessity for Worthy Work
Of course, we need to establish our independence and find work and worthy endeavors to sustain us through our lives. But we can consider the cost of our ambitions and efforts. Dickens, for example, has several women, including Mrs Jellyby in Bleak House, bent on helping people in faraway Nigeria. At home, she makes her daughter Caroline work as her secretary, and she is less worried about her many small children falling down the stairs or almost starving.
When we look at our lives and work goals, some people are driven by greed, money, and fame, or by the desire to succeed more than a rival. But we can try to live a meaningful life, help those around us in need, and above all, help those nearest and dearest; people who love us and whom we love.
References
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens