Chickens come home to roost

With Wemmick's help, Pip secretly arranges a business partnership for Herbert.

Estella and Pip. Pip is often called upon to visit Estella. It is a familiarity without intimacy, she uses him to torment and attract other suitors, of which she has many. Again, he laments that he was never happy in her society, and yet imagines that he can only be happy with her "unto death" meaning marriage. She, to her credit, actually tries to warn Pip off of his devotion to her, but he refuses. In time, they go and visit Havisham. Estella and Havisham have their first disagreement. Estella remains unmoved throughout, Havisham almost goes to madness.  She has raised Estella since a very young child to be cold-hearted, Estella calmly states, to the passionately bitter Havisham, that everything she is and has is due to Miss Havisham. And there was never any love, and Estella does not have any love within her to offer.  She has become what Havisham has taught her to be. Pip leaves the room.  Later, he cannot sleep and walking outside encounters Miss Havisham wandering and muttering to herself. This is the only row between the two. Later, it is as if it never happened.

Estella then gets involved with Pip's enemy Drummles, whom he refers to as "the spider." Pip is tortured by this, and speaks to her of it. She asks him, "Do you want me then...to deceive and entrap you?" Which is what she is capable of offering, and is offering to Drummles.

And this reminds me of a conversation I had at the bus stop last night, with someone I used to share a house with.  He had moved away a couple times but had come back to Seattle.  I commented that Seattle was a hard city, that it was like falling over yourself to gain the affection of someone not able or willing to offer it, and yet you keep coming back for more. I have no desire to be anywhere else. And yet, while there is always enough: food, casual affection (not to be mistaken for love), money, talent, etc. to survive, it's not enough to thrive. And is that all that life is about? Are we only born to survive and reproduce, or should our lives be more? Don't just say "oh, you're lucky...it could be worse." When in truth, it could be so much better, and that would benefit everyone.