I stole some bread, some rind of cheese, about half a jar of mincemeat…some brandy from a stone bottle…a meat bone with very little on it, and a beautiful round compact pork pie.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 2. We see here Pip’s loss of innocence, when in an act of desperation he steals from his sister and husband Joe. Terrorized by the escaped shackled convict on the marshes, Pip is coerced into being Magwitch’s accomplice by stealing food and a file for him. This sets up a moral conflict in Pip, as he struggles to reconcile this act with his conscience and loyalty to Joe. From Pip’s own language – “I stole” – he now sees himself as a criminal very much like the convict on the marshes.