“But you said to me,” returned Estella, very earnestly, “‘God bless you, God forgive you!’ And if you could say that to me then, you will not hesitate to say that to me now, – now, when suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.”
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 59. In the novel’s final scene, Estella recalls what Pip said to her when they parted after announcing her engagement to Bentley Drummle. She tells him how her own suffering has taught her to sympathize with the sufferings of others, like Pip. Using hyperbole and metaphor, she speaks of how life has broken and reshaped her and made her into a better person. After a loveless and failed marriage to the cruel Drummle, she now appreciates the importance of love and what was in Pip’s heart. She sees what a special person Pip is and recalls how even as she broke his heart he forgave her. Among the themes explored in this passage are guilt and shame.