# Biddy — Great Expectations character guide

> Biddy in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** poor Biddy, dear Biddy, Dear Biddy

**First appearance:** 0007-viii

## Snapshot

The quiet, clear-eyed orphan who teaches Pip his letters, then quietly teaches herself everything else while he learns to forget her.

## Who they are

Biddy grows up in Joe's forge-household as the one person who sees Pip plainly and loves him anyway, answering his condescensions with 'Do you, Mr. Pip?' and no visible wound. When she announces she will teach at the new school and care for Joe, she reveals a self-reliance Pip never credits her with. She matters because she is the honest measure against which Pip's gentility looks increasingly counterfeit.

## Relationships

### [Joe Gargery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/joe_gargery)

_friendship_

Biddy is a kind, wise friend and later wife to Joe, providing emotional support and stability in his life.

### [Pip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/pip)

_friendship_

Biddy is Pip's childhood friend and confidante, offering gentle wisdom and later marrying Joe after Pip's rejection.

### [Joe Gargery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/joe_gargery)

_friendship_

Biddy is a kind, wise friend and later wife to Joe, providing emotional support and stability in his life.

### [Pip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/pip)

_friendship_

Biddy is Pip's childhood friend and confidante, offering gentle wisdom and later marrying Joe after Pip's rejection.

### [Joe Gargery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/joe_gargery)

_friendship_

Biddy is a kind, wise friend and later wife to Joe, providing emotional support and stability in his life.

### [Pip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/pip)

_friendship_

Biddy is Pip's childhood friend and confidante, offering gentle wisdom and later marrying Joe after Pip's rejection.

## In the story

### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/vii)

Helps Pip with his studies and runs the shop for Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt.

### [The Stranger at the Jolly Bargemen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/x)

Biddy agrees to teach Pip after he asks her to impart all her learning; she begins by giving him information from her catalogue of Prices.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xii)

Pip confides everything in Biddy, who shows deep concern for his stories.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xvi)

Joins the household to care for Mrs. Joe and proves invaluable, solving the mystery of the hammer symbol on the slate.

### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xvii)

Biddy has grown into a capable and perceptive young woman. She gently advises Pip against his gentlemanly ambitions and reveals her awareness of Orlick's unwanted attention.

### [Great Expectations Are Revealed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xviii)

Biddy asks Pip when he will show himself to them, and later comforts Joe, showing her perceptiveness and care.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xix)

Biddy gently challenges Pip's assumptions about Joe's pride and his own condescension, leading to a tense exchange.

### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xxvii)

Biddy writes the letter to Pip on Joe's behalf, mentioning that they talk of him every night and that Mrs. Joe is much the same.

### [Chapter XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xxxv)

Narrates the details of Mrs. Joe's death, reveals she saw Orlick near the house, and tells Pip her plans to become a schoolmistress.

### [Chapter XXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/xxxix)

Pip thinks of Biddy with regret, acknowledging he cannot undo his past treatment of her.

### [LVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/lvii)

Pip plans to propose to her and confess his past mistakes.

### [LVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/lviii)

Marries Joe; greets Pip with tears of joy and holds his hand to her lips.

### [LIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/chapters/lix)

Now a matronly mother, she gently questions Pip about his feelings for Estella and hints at marriage.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters/biddy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/great_expectations_se/characters