For now my repugnance to him had all melted away, and in the hunted, wounded, shackled creature who held my hand in his, I only saw a man who had meant to be my benefactor, and who had felt affectionately, gratefully, and generously, towards me with great constancy through a series of years. I only saw in him a much better man than I had been to Joe.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 54. Pip’s attitudes towards Magwitch have gone through a significant transformation, reflecting Pip’s own personal growth and development. Initially disgusted that the convict was his benefactor, Pip now recognizes the generosity, affection and loyalty he has shown Pip through the years. The admission when Magwitch is arrested that he is a better man than Pip has been to Joe is significant. Pip is able to recognize his own failures and lack of kindness. We are looking at a more mature Pip than when, blinkered by an obsession with social class and superficiality, he felt superior to Magwitch and Joe. This passage follows Magwitch’s arrest when Pip’s escape plan to spirit Magwitch out of England is foiled by the law.