The Symbolism Of Miss Havisham's Wedding Cake

In Charles Dickens' novel, 'Great Expectations', Miss Havisham's wedding cake is a powerful symbol of decay and death. The cake, described as a torrid, insect-infested, decaying mass, is a reflection of the rotting soul of its would-be bride. The cake has been sitting for many years, gathering cobwebs and becoming a feast for spiders, mirroring Miss Havisham's own state of emotional decay and approaching the condition of a corpse. The cake also symbolises the end of Miss Havisham's happy life, representing her broken heart and the moment her heart broke.

Decay and death

Miss Havisham's wedding cake is a symbol of decay and death. The cake, which was once a beautiful centrepiece, has become a rotting, insect-infested, decaying mass. The cake's deterioration reflects the decay of its owner, Miss Havisham, who, though alive, is described as approaching "the condition of a corpse". The cake's decay is a result of Miss Havisham's refusal to move on from the past. The room in which the cake sits is described as being "frozen in time", with the clocks stopped altogether, and the fire...more disposed to go out than to burn up. This refusal to move forward has had destructive effects, with time laying waste to both the room and Miss Havisham herself.

The cake's decay also reflects the social taboos and hierarchies of Victorian Britain. The "grotesque details of decay" depicted in the cake have been interpreted as symbolising a society "paralysed and made rotten by its sexual taboos". Miss Havisham is trapped within this rusted machinery of social hierarchy, unable to escape the past and move forward.

The cake's original form, a beautiful and expensive bride cake, also contributes to the symbolism of decay and death. The cake, which would have been a dense fruitcake, was intended to celebrate a marriage and symbolise social status and purity. However, as a result of Miss Havisham's jilting, the cake has been left to rot, becoming a twisted version of its former self, just as Miss Havisham becomes a tortured echo of the happy brides in other Dickensian works.

Social status

In Charles Dickens's 1861 novel "Great Expectations", Miss Havisham is a wealthy spinster who was left at the altar, suffering a mental breakdown and remaining alone in her decaying mansion. She is described as looking like "the witch of the place", wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life and leaving her wedding cake uneaten on the table.

The wedding cake, or bride cake, was a symbol of social status and purity during the Victorian era. The tradition of the bride cake first came about in the 17th century, transitioning from a bride pie, an ornate meat pie eaten as the wedding dinner. By the time of Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840, the bride cake had evolved into a sugary, sculptural work of art. The Queen's cake, described as a "great beast of a plum cake, some ten feet in circumference", weighed 300 pounds and included sculptures of Britannia, the royal couple in Roman costume, and one of the Queen's dogs.

As a member of the upper class, it is likely that Miss Havisham would have aspired to have a wedding cake befitting her social status. In fact, it is suggested that she may have been inspired by Queen Victoria's cake and attempted to have her own royal-style bride cake. However, by the time the main character, Pip, sees Miss Havisham's bride cake, it has been sitting there for many years, covered in cobwebs and spiders, and described as "rotted" and "grotesque".

The decay and neglect of Miss Havisham's wedding cake symbolise not only the end of her "happy" life and the decay of her own heart but also the social hierarchy that she is trapped within. The cake, once a symbol of social status, now lies in ruins, much like Miss Havisham herself, who is unable to move forward from the humiliation and heartbreak she suffered.

The end of happiness

Miss Havisham's wedding cake symbolises the end of happiness, marking the conclusion of her "happy" life and the beginning of a state of decay and death.

The cake, once a symbol of celebration and joy, has become a grotesque, insect-infested, decaying mass, reflecting the rotting soul of its would-be bride. The room in which it sits, frozen in time, is described as airless, oppressive, and covered in dust and mould, with a fire that is more disposed to go out than to burn. The candles on the chimney-piece faintly trouble the darkness rather than lighting the chamber.

The cake, once a symbol of new beginnings and happiness, has become a symbol of decay, death, and the end of happiness. It reflects Miss Havisham's broken heart and her frozen state, trapped within the rusted machinery of the social hierarchy.

The cake's deterioration also symbolises the passage of time, as it has been sitting untouched for many years, becoming a "travesty" of the many other cakes found at the centre of Dickensian festivities. It is a stark reminder of the fragility of happiness and the inevitability of change and decay.

The wedding cake, meant to be consumed and enjoyed, has instead become a monument to a happiness that was lost and can never be regained. It serves as a warning to the reader and a reflection of the darker aspects of Victorian Britain, paralysed and made rotten by its sexual taboos and social hierarchies.

Victorian-era sexual taboos

In Charles Dickens' novel, *Great Expectations*, Miss Havisham's wedding cake is described as a "torrid, insect-infested, decaying mass" that symbolises the end of her happiness, and the decay and death of her soul. The cake, which has been sitting for many years, is covered in cobwebs and infested with "speckle-legged spiders with blotchy bodies". The scene in which the cake is described is said to be one of the most unforgettable in literature, revealing Dickens' ability to get the reader's imagination to do most of the work.

The Victorian era was a time of strict social hierarchies and sexual taboos. The white icing of wedding cakes during this period symbolised purity and social status. The decayed state of Miss Havisham's cake can be seen as a reflection of the sexual taboos of the time, which had a paralysing and corrupting effect on Victorian Britain.

The cake also represents the social, patriarchal structure that traps Miss Havisham, a jilted bride who is a tortured echo of the happy couples at the conclusions of some of Dickens' other novels, such as *David Copperfield* and *The Pickwick Papers*. The social structure condemns women like Miss Havisham and Bleak House's Lady Dedlock to a fate of death-in-life.

The wedding cake, a symbol of celebration and unity, takes on a sinister meaning in the context of Miss Havisham's decaying mansion and emotional abuse of innocent children. The cake's deterioration over time mirrors the breakdown of Miss Havisham's character, who is described as approaching "the condition of a corpse". The room in which the cake is kept, with its oppressive airlessness and layers of dust and mould, further emphasises the sense of decay and stagnation.

Miss Havisham's wedding cake, then, is a powerful symbol of the sexual taboos and restrictive social hierarchies of the Victorian era, which trapped women within a patriarchal structure and had a corrupting influence on society as a whole.

Miss Havisham's character

Miss Havisham is a character in Charles Dickens's novel, 'Great Expectations'. She is a jilted bride, left at the altar, who spends her time in an old, decaying mansion, emotionally abusing innocent children and wearing her wedding dress while sitting in a room set up with her wedding feast—a rotted bride cake, complete with spiders and mice.

The cake is described as a "torrid, insect-infested, decaying mass" that reflects the rotting soul of its would-be bride. It is a symbol of the end of Miss Havisham's "happy" life, representing decay and death. The cake has been sitting there for many years, and as it deteriorates, its owner, still alive, approaches the condition of a corpse.

The room in which the cake sits is described as airless and oppressive, with a fire that is more disposed to go out than to burn. The candles are described as "wintry", and the whole room is covered in dust and mould, with spiders and beetles crawling over everything. The scene is a reflection of Miss Havisham's character, frozen in time at the moment her heart was broken. Her refusal to move forward has had destructive effects, both on herself and the room she inhabits.

Miss Havisham's wedding cake is a powerful symbol of the character's inner state and her refusal to let go of the past. It is a grotesque and haunting image that has captured the imaginations of readers for generations.

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