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a new miss havisham The Novels of Jasper Fforde


By Tryntsje Cuperus


Thursday two important rules; to do exactly as she says and not to patronize or pity her. Her strong dislike of men compels her to often warn Thursday and others of their “deceitful” nature; when Thursday tells her she is married and loves her husband, the older woman dismisses this as “stuff and nonsense,” but is secretly impressed by her definition of love and asks to use it for her literary role. And she does, for we can easily find their shared conversation in the novel: “Love is blind devotion, unquestioning self- humiliation, utter sub- mission, trust and believe, giving up your whole heart and sole to the smiter.” In contrast to her view of


men, Miss Havisham keeps friendly relations with many of her male Jurisfiction co- workers. She also has a great liking for fast vehicles and often scares Thursday out of her wits with her driving and sailing. She tells her young apprentice that she is angry with Estella because she hoped to obtain Estella‟s role in the novel herself when she was a book character in training. But above all we


get to know Miss Havisham in these novels as a real detective, solving cases with insight and courage. As you can see, Jasper


Fforde has created a Miss Havisham out of his own


Thursday Next novels as a fan of Dickens, the question of what he would think of this use of his character did not fail to enter my mind. I believe there are two possible answers to this


like to see his character altered or used simply for the fame of her name. But personally, I rather believe Dickens would smile at Jasper Fforde‟s novels. Dickens was a great author and I think he would like the way Fforde invented a world behind the pages of books, a world where stories are created and beloved characters encounter new adventures. Besides, it might make readers curious for the original works of fiction they get to know characters from and read or rediscover these as well. Therefore, I can heartily


imagination while still keeping her recognizable as the character we know from Dickens‟ book. Reading the


question. First, you can say that Miss Havisham is a creation of Dickens‟ clever mind alone and he would not


recommend the Thursday Next series for every fan of Miss Havisham, Dickens or just books in general. They are filled with literary allusion and in-jokes for literary fanatics and you might just get the answers to other pressing Dickensian questions, for example why there is no character called Mr. Quaverly in Martin Chuzzlewit, how Uriah Heep got his name and what archaeologists are doing in the first chapter of Great Expectations. ♥


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