I felt my face fire up as I looked at Joe. I hope one remote cause of its firing may have been my consciousness that if I had known his errand, I should have given him more encouragement.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 27. Pip uses a fire metaphor to describe his embarrassment and awkwardness when his working-class friend Joe visits him in London. It is only when Joe gives Pip the message that Estella has returned to Satis House and wishes to see him, that Pip feels more kindly towards Joe. Reflected here are Pip’s feelings of guilt and shame over the yawning distance that has grown between them. Having abandoned his working class roots, Pip is aware of the growing gap between his newly acquired social class and Joe’s.