“Pip is that hearty welcome,” said Joe, “to go free with his services, to honour and fortun’, as no words can tell him. But if you think as Money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child – what come to the forge – and ever the best of friends!”
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 18. An offended Joe gives this response to Jaggers’s offer of compensation for the loss of Pip in leaving the forge to train as a gentleman. Jaggers seems to think that everyone can be bought and has their price. But not so the highly principled Joe. Joe shows his strong moral integrity and unswerving loyalty and love for Pip, as he rejects the money offer. To Joe, money cannot compensate for the loss of his “little child” and his “best of friends.” Yet never one to stand in the way of the young brother-in-law he raised and cared for as a boy, he wishes Pip well in his new good fortune.