“Money has never made man happy, nor will it; there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more we have, the more we want. This ironic quote from Ben Franklin is the underlying theme of Great Expectations. The book Great Expectations presents wealth as possessing the ability to liberate, but throughout the progression of the book it becomes very clear that wealth is a connecting chain from which no happiness can arise. The Satis House creates this iconic representation of money and depicts the fall from wealth through the actions of Miss Havisham. Pips' relationship with her benefactor, Magwitch, shows the constraining nature of money and how, when it permeates her life, transforms her close relationship with Joe into a detached one. Joe symbolizes the glimmer of hope held in the corrupt darkness of greed by living a contented life through simple parallels with Christ. These three contain common signs of how money begins to enslave lives, but offer a way to escape the clutches of rapacity through Joe. The Satis house, ironically named the “enough” house, embodies the unfulfilled desires for wealth and love. “I saw that the bride in the wedding dress was faded like the dress and like the flowers, and no longer had any shine” (56; Ch.8). Pips' first meeting with Miss Havisham in Satis House reveals a woman chasing love. and a vanished wealth, now left as a husk of its former self. Havisham is presented as if she has been mentally frozen in time while everything around her is aging. This in itself is nothing of substance until Pip says, "And we all had cake and wine on golden plates." » (65; Ch.9) This quote encompasses so much through the lie to Mr. Pumplech...... middle of paper ...... you love the devil. Henry Fielding said this and it rings no truer than it does throughout Great Expectations. People like Miss Havisham build Satis House and use their money to spread misery because of personal vendettas. She made money her god and let it rule her life to the point where she used it to get revenge for a broken heart. Magwitch devotes her life to earning money for Pip and misses opportunities like being able to see her daughter Estella. Even Pip lets money rule him and forgets the important people in his life like Biddy and Joe. Yet Joe finds happiness because he doesn't let the need to further control every aspect of his life. In real life, balance is the path to happiness, because once you let one thing rule everything, you give up control and become unbalanced. Maintaining daily balance remains the key to happiness.