Great Expectations: Book 2, Chapter 24 Summary & Analysis

Several days later, Mr. Pocket tells Pip that he's been told by Mr. Jaggers that Pip is not to be trained for any particular profession but to be educated as a young man of wealth. Pip accepts the plan. He and Mr. Pocket get along well and Pip finds him "serious, honest, and good."

Pip decides to rent one of Herbert's rooms in Barnard's Inn for variety and for the pleasure of Herbert's company. When he asks Mr. Jaggers for money to furnish the room, Mr. Jaggers hassles Pip about the sum, making Pip uncomfortable. When he confides his discomfort to Wemmick, Wemmick assures him that Mr. Jaggers' intends that reaction but that "it's not personal....only professional."

After dispensing his money, Wemmick gives Pip a tour of Mr. Jaggers office and Pip sees four other shabby clerks and learns that the plaster casts are death masks of "famous clients" that earned the practice credit: one a murderer, the other a forger. Wemmick describes them fondly and explains that all of his mourning accessories are gifts from Mr. Jaggers' clients who were killed for their crimes. He tells Pip that he always takes these mementoes when offered as his motto is "get hold of portable property."

Wemmick invites Pip to visit him at home in Walworth. He also warns Pip that, if he ever goes to Mr. Jaggers house, he should look out for his housekeeper, who is "a wild beast tamed."