Pip is a young orphan who lives with his sister known as Mrs Joe and her husband, Joe Gargery, the strong but gentle blacksmith. As Pip visits his parents' graves he has a terrifying meeting with Magwitch an escaped convict. Pip helps the convict but he is eventually recaptured and taken back to prison.
Pip continues his simple existence as a poor but honest boy but he cannot help feeling unhappy with his place in life. Pip is taken to meet Miss Havisham, an eccentric lady who has shut herself away ever since her wedding was called off at the last minute. She never leaves her house, still wears her wedding dress and despises all men. Pip also meets Miss Havisham's adopted daughter Estella who is being brought up by Miss Havisham to break men's hearts.
Instead he bows a little bit to Herbert in deference to him. Joe notices the Avenger, but doesn't quite know what to make of him. This is kind of a theme: he also doesn't know what to do with his hat, so he hangs it on the side of a fireplace—where it keeps falling down.
Pip is not really helping this whole situation, and he's relieved when Herbert has to leave. Joe tells Pip that Mr. Wopsle has left the church to become an actor in London. He and Mr. Wopsle went to go check out a blacking factory the day before, and Joe didn't think it was nearly as cool as the pictures made it look.
Pip is totally unresponsive, but at the same time he can't understand why Joe keeps calling him "sir. Pumblechook is taking credit all over town for Pip's fortune and is telling everyone that he and Pip were and are the best of friends.
Pip suddenly feels much, much better, and he wishes he had known that this was the reason for Joe's visit all along. With this message passed along, Joe gets ready to leave. Although he seems to be attracted to Biddy, he tells her the secret of his love for Estella. When Biddy advises him to stay away from Estella, Pip is angry with her, but he still becomes very jealous when Orlick begins trying to flirt with her.
At the pub one evening, Pip sits in a crowd listening to Wopsle read the story of a murder trial from a newspaper. A stranger begins questioning Wopsle about the legal details of the case. The stranger introduces himself as the lawyer Jaggers, and he goes home with Pip and Joe. Here, he explains that Pip will soon inherit a large fortune. His education as a gentleman will begin immediately. Pip will move to London and become a gentleman, he says, but the person who is giving him the fortune wishes to remain secret: Pip can never know the name of his benefactor.
Biddy is also sad, but Pip adopts a snobbish attitude and thinks himself too good for his surroundings. Still, when Pip sees Joe and Biddy quietly talking together that night, he feels sorry to be leaving them. Pip even allows Pumblechook to take him out to dinner and ingratiate himself. He tries to comfort Joe, but his attempt is obviously forced, and Biddy criticizes him for it. Preparing to leave for London, he visits Miss Havisham one last time; based on her excitement and knowledge of the details of his situation, Pip feels even more certain that she is his anonymous benefactor.
As Pip enters adolescence, Dickens gradually changes the presentation of his thoughts and perceptions.
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