By degrees she led me into more temperate talk, and she told me how Joe loved me, and how Joe never complained of anything, – she didn’t say, of me; she had no need; I knew what she meant, – but ever did his duty in his way of life, with a strong hand, a quiet tongue, and a gentle heart.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 35. Biddy speaks to Pip about how the gentle Joe loved him, never complained and just got on with life. Joe is shown here to be a constant, reliable and dependable figure compared to Pip’s fickleness, self-deception and romantic illusions.