Hubbry Logo
CompeysonCompeysonMain
Open search
Compeyson
Community hub
Compeyson
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Compeyson
Compeyson
Compeyson
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia
Compeyson
Great Expectations character
Magwitch and Compeyson struggling, by F.A. Fraser, c. 1877
Created byCharles Dickens
In-universe information
NicknameCompey
GenderMale
Occupationforger, fraudster
Significant otherMiss Havisham (former fiancée)
NationalityBritish

Compeyson is the main antagonist of Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations, a 'George Wickham'-esque man, whose criminal activities harmed two people, who in turn shaped much of protagonist Pip's life.[1]

Compeyson abandoned Miss Havisham at the altar, and later got Abel Magwitch arrested. After Magwitch returned to England, Compeyson died after drowning in the River Thames while fighting with Magwitch.[2]

Criminal career

[edit]

Compeyson had a good education when he was a child. His appearance was attractive and his manners gentlemanly and smooth. As an adult, he made his living through forgery and financial schemes. One of his fellows in crime was Miss Havisham's half brother, known in the novel only by his forename, Arthur. They conspired against her, as she had inherited the greater part of their father's estate.[3]

Compeyson seduced Miss Havisham and fooled her into thinking that he loved her and would marry her. Before the marriage, he got her to agree to buy the brewery Arthur inherited from their father. When the day of the marriage came, Compeyson left her a letter saying that he would not be present. This scarred Miss Havisham for life; she stopped her life at the moment she received that note. Clocks were not set, her clothes were never changed, the wedding meal was left in place at her home, Satis House. She adopted Estella, meaning to bring up the girl to "wreak revenge on all the male sex".

In a later crime, Compeyson involved Magwitch in a counterfeiting scheme. Both were arrested, but Compeyson arranged his story so that the most evidence of criminality fell to Magwitch, even though Compeyson had set up and run the whole scheme. At their trial, Compeyson insisted on separate defence, so his own lawyer could play up the contrast between the two men. Compeyson's appearance of gentility did not free him of prison time, but the judge and jury looked upon him more favourably, solely due to his social level compared to Magwitch, a boy with no parents, brought up by chance among lower-class people, and nearly always hungry.[1]

Magwitch got fourteen years, whilst Compeyson received a sentence of seven years in jail. They were imprisoned in the same prison ship. Magwitch escaped on his own. Compeyson did not realise it was Magwitch who had gone when he escaped himself. When Magwitch learned from young Pip that a second convict was in the marshes and hearing a description, Magwitch pursued and attacked Compeyson. Again, Compeyson emphasised the contrast between himself and Magwitch and so the latter was tried again, earning the sentence of transportation for life, in Australia. Compeyson was released at the end of his term and returned to his same schemes and network of contacts. He knew that Magwitch left Australia and when he arrived in London, at which time he did two things: he spread false information of his own plans that Wemmick would hear and advise Pip and Herbert to act on as to when to take Magwitch out of England and he worked with the police, offering to identify Magwitch when they planned to pick him up by boat on his way out of England.

That sets up the last encounter between the two convicts. Magwitch leaps on Compeyson. The two boats are jostled by tides and two large steamers in the river, so the fight between them puts them in the water. Compeyson drowns, while Magwitch survives, although injured against a steamboat paddle in the scuffle.

Compeyson is absent for most of the novel and is not even named until Chapter 42, more than three quarters of the way through. Nonetheless, by having jilted Miss Havisham and then dragging Magwitch, as Estella's father, further into a life of crime, he affects the lives of multiple characters in the story, including Pip, and so becomes the antagonist in this novel.

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Compeyson

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Compeyson is the principal antagonist in Charles Dickens's novel , first serialized from December 1860 to August 1861. A suave and educated forger who masquerades as a gentleman of the , Compeyson embodies themes of and social pretense through his criminal exploits, including swindling the wealthy and betraying those closest to him. Born into privilege and educated at a public , Compeyson turns to a life of crime, specializing in , counterfeiting, and elaborate schemes that exploit his polished appearance and charm. His most notorious act is his courtship and abandonment of on their wedding day over two decades before the novel's main events; having conspired with her half-brother Arthur to defraud her of her fortune by inducing her to purchase his undervalued shares at an exorbitant price, Compeyson leaves her a note at the altar, plunging her into lifelong isolation and bitterness. This betrayal, detailed in accounts shared by characters like Herbert Pocket, underscores Compeyson's cold-hearted manipulation and his role in shaping the novel's central tragedies. Compeyson's criminal partnership with the convict further highlights his duplicity; the two meet at the races more than twenty years prior, with Compeyson recruiting the uneducated Magwitch for schemes involving stolen banknotes and impersonation. During their joint trial for , Compeyson leverages his gentlemanly facade to secure a lighter sentence of seven years' transportation, while framing Magwitch—who receives fourteen years—for the worst offenses, fueling Magwitch's lifelong vendetta. Their erupts violently on the marshes early in the story, where Compeyson, an escaped convict from the prison hulks, is captured after a struggle with Magwitch, whom he had earlier attacked in an attempt to him. Throughout Great Expectations, Compeyson's shadowy influence persists indirectly, as his actions ripple through the lives of protagonist Pip, , and Magwitch, driving plots of revenge, redemption, and . His ultimate fate arrives during a climactic confrontation with Magwitch in the Thames River, where the two grapple during an escape attempt; Compeyson drowns, his death marking the culmination of Magwitch's pursuit of justice against his betrayer.

Role in Great Expectations

Early crimes and relationship with Miss Havisham

Compeyson established himself as a notorious forger and swindler in his early criminal career, specializing in handwriting , passing stolen banknotes, and extracting money through and tricks. He targeted wealthy individuals by leveraging his education, good looks, and ability to impersonate a gentleman, thereby gaining their trust under deceptive guises. These schemes often involved systematic manipulation, allowing him to amass significant profits while minimizing personal risk, as evidenced by his prior involvement in multiple before more notorious partnerships. In one of his most infamous deceptions, Compeyson seduced , a wealthy heiress, by worming his way into her confidence and winning her affection through calculated charm. He collaborated closely with her half-brother, Arthur Havisham, in a designed to exploit her fortune, with the pair sharing the illicit gains from their plot. This partnership enabled Compeyson to obtain large sums of money from , who had fallen deeply in love with him and provided financial support under the illusion of a genuine romantic attachment. The scheme culminated in a devastating betrayal on their wedding day, when Compeyson wrote and sent a letter at twenty minutes to nine, abruptly calling off the marriage and leaving her abandoned at . The church had been prepared with evergreens, and her family, including the parson, awaited the ceremony, but Compeyson failed to appear, executing a premeditated plan to defraud her. This act inflicted profound trauma on , who suffered a severe illness, stopped all clocks in Satis House at the moment of betrayal, and descended into a state of perpetual mourning and decay. In the immediate aftermath, Compeyson fled with the substantial funds he had extracted, evading capture by going abroad and continuing a life of dissipation. He and Arthur Havisham spiraled into further ruin and degradation as a result of their actions, though Compeyson's manipulative skills allowed him to prolong his freedom initially. This betrayal not only stripped of her wealth but also shaped her enduring isolation and vengeful worldview.

Partnership with Abel Magwitch

Compeyson's criminal partnership with formed in the mid-1810s when Compeyson, leveraging his prior success in swindling to fund initial operations, recruited the lower-class Magwitch at the races. Introduced by a local who saw potential in Magwitch's and desperation, Compeyson offered him five shillings and a share in profitable schemes, drawing the uneducated laborer into a world of and counterfeiting where Magwitch's brute force complemented Compeyson's intellectual cunning and gentlemanly facade. This alliance marked a shift for Compeyson from solitary deceptions to collaborative ventures that amplified their reach among affluent targets. Their joint operations centered on high-stakes frauds, including banknotes and swindling wealthy victims through elaborate . Compeyson, with his polished manners and , posed as a respectable to infiltrate social circles and gain trust, while Magwitch handled the manual aspects, such as passing counterfeit currency or executing thefts under cover. As Magwitch later recounted, they were "always in the thick of crime—, swindling, and such," operating in a cycle of and desperation that targeted the for maximum gain. These schemes exemplified Compeyson's strategic exploitation of class divides, using his refined appearance to orchestrate deceptions that Magwitch's rough demeanor could never achieve alone. Within the partnership, Compeyson dominated through manipulation, treating Magwitch as a disposable underling and pocketing the majority of profits while assigning him the most perilous tasks. Magwitch described Compeyson as a "smooth one to talk" with "no more heart than an iron file," highlighting how the younger man's charm masked a ruthless exploitation that left Magwitch in perpetual , performing the "rough" labor so Compeyson could "live smooth." This imbalance sowed early seeds of rivalry, as Compeyson's refusal to share equitably—insisting "he’d got the money, and I’d got the work"—fostered resentment in Magwitch, who felt overmatched "five hundred times told and no mercy." The partnership unraveled during a bold operation involving the circulation of stolen banknotes, when authorities ambushed them in a dockyard amid a hasty exchange. Taken into custody on suspicion of after their scheme drew scrutiny from , the duo's capture exposed the fragility of their unequal alliance, with Compeyson's calculated risks finally backfiring under pressure.

, , and escape

Compeyson and his criminal partner were tried together in a courtroom during the 1810s for and the circulation of stolen banknotes, charges stemming from their joint fraudulent schemes. During the proceedings, Compeyson's polished appearance—featuring a handsome face, curly hair, black , and white pocket-handkerchief—along with his soft-spoken manner and at a public , presented him as a fallen gentleman rather than a hardened criminal. He delivered an eloquent , emphasizing his respectable upbringing, which his counsel reinforced by contrasting it with Magwitch's rough, illiterate background as an "old offender of violent passion." This facade swayed the judge, who viewed Compeyson sympathetically despite the evidence of their shared crimes. The sentencing highlighted stark class-based disparities in the British penal system at the time. Compeyson received a comparatively lenient term of seven years' transportation for his offenses, a punishment often mitigated for those who maintained an air of gentility. In contrast, Magwitch, appearing as a coarse , was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation, underscoring how social presentation influenced judicial outcomes in early 19th-century . Both men were initially confined to the same prison hulk on the Thames, a floating penal vessel used for convicts awaiting transportation to . In , Compeyson continued to exploit his manipulative skills and veneer of respectability to ease his conditions. He associated preferentially with officers and guards, bribing them to avoid and secure better accommodations, thereby sustaining his gentlemanly pretense even behind bars. This behavior exacerbated tensions with Magwitch, who endured chains and solitary punishment after assaulting Compeyson in a fit of over the unequal treatment. Compeyson's actions on the exemplified his ongoing reliance on charm and corruption to navigate the penal system. Both convicts eventually escaped from the amid the confusion following Magwitch's attack on Compeyson, with Compeyson fleeing out of fear for his safety. After the escape, Compeyson was recaptured following a confrontation with Magwitch on the marshes and returned to the prison hulks, where he later escaped again. He resumed criminal activities in while evading full recapture by authorities.

Final confrontation and death

In the later stages of the , Compeyson re-emerges as a threat when he identifies in , having learned of his former partner's return to in violation of his sentence. Driven by a lingering grudge from their shared and a desire for the reward offered for Magwitch's capture, Compeyson alerts the authorities, setting the stage for a climactic pursuit. This betrayal underscores Compeyson's opportunistic nature, as he positions himself to profit from Magwitch's downfall while evading his own past crimes. The confrontation unfolds during Magwitch's attempted escape down the River Thames, orchestrated by Pip, Herbert Pocket, and Startop in a rowing boat under cover of fog and darkness. As the group nears a steamer bound for the open sea, Compeyson appears on a pursuing police galley, recognizing Magwitch despite their disguises. In a sudden act of vengeance, Magwitch lunges at Compeyson, leading to a fierce physical struggle in the water; the two men grapple violently, with Compeyson boarding the escape boat briefly before both tumble overboard amid the chaos. The fight occurs in the murky, tide-swept river, heightening the peril as the boats collide and Pip's vessel capsizes. Compeyson meets his end by drowning during the altercation, overpowered and unable to resurface after being dragged under by Magwitch. His body is recovered later by authorities floating in the Thames, confirming his death and preventing him from testifying against Magwitch. Pip narrates the scene with a sense of horrified irony, noting how Compeyson's pursuit—intended to seal Magwitch's fate—results in his own demise, providing a grim closure to their long-standing rivalry born in the hulks. The aftermath of Compeyson's directly resolves the immediate to Magwitch, allowing his capture but sparing him further in the legal proceedings. Though Magwitch sustains severe injuries from the struggle and is arrested, the event marks the end of Compeyson's influence without immediate repercussions for Pip, who remains focused on supporting his benefactor in . This outcome ties off the arc of their criminal , emphasizing the novel's themes of retribution through Pip's reflective account.

Character analysis

Personality and manipulation tactics

Compeyson emerges in as a charismatic yet ruthless sociopath, whose polished demeanor effectively masks his inherent amorality and lack of empathy. Described by as possessing a "smooth face" and a "soft way with him that I always thought a shifty one," Compeyson leverages his education and upper-class refinement to present as a gentleman, complete with curly hair, black clothes, a white pocket-handkerchief, ring, and gold watch. This facade enables him to navigate undetected, embodying a "gentlemanly villainy" that contrasts with the raw, hardship-forged traits of characters like Magwitch. His core traits—charm intertwined with cold calculation—position him as a figure of self-generated evil, driven by ambition devoid of restraint, unlike more redeemable souls shaped by circumstance. Compeyson's manipulation tactics are methodical and multifaceted, relying on his silver tongue to exploit vulnerabilities and social hierarchies. He masters gaslighting and emotional deceit, as in his orchestration of Miss Havisham's abandonment, where he feigned devotion to siphon her wealth before deserting her with a curt letter on their wedding day, leaving her psychologically shattered. In his criminal partnership with Magwitch, Compeyson devises "all sorts of traps" to reap profits from forgeries and swindles while his uneducated associate, insisting on "separate defences, no communication" during their to ensure Magwitch shoulders the . He further capitalizes on class perceptions, using his refined appearance to secure a lenient sentence—seven years versus Magwitch's fourteen years—despite their equal guilt, a that exemplifies his pattern of discarding allies once expedient. These techniques reveal a sociopathic proficiency in mimicking gentlefolk manners, honed at a public , to evade . Psychologically, Dickens portrays Compeyson as motivated by an unyielding pursuit of gain, unburdened by , with "no more heart than an iron file" and the "head of the ." This stems from privilege-fueled detachment, rendering him a flat of innate rather than a product of societal ills, and a deliberate foil to empathetic figures. Textual evidence underscores this through Magwitch's recounting: "He was a smooth one to talk, and was a dab at the ways of gentlefolks. He was good-looking too," illustrating how his persuasive allure conceals a "swindler on a large scale" who thrives on others' ruin. Such observations by Pip and Magwitch highlight Compeyson's enduring threat as a deceiver whose charm amplifies his destructive potential.

Thematic role in social critique

Compeyson's portrayal as a suave forger and swindler who masquerades as a gentleman exemplifies ' sharp critique of class hypocrisy in Victorian , where shielded the elite from the full consequences of their moral failings. Despite collaborating equally with the lower-class in crimes such as forgery and , Compeyson leverages his refined manners and education to secure a mere seven-year sentence for transportation, while Magwitch receives fourteen years for the identical offenses. This judicial disparity, as detailed in Magwitch's recounting of their trial, exposes the in the legal system that privileged outward appearances of respectability over actual , allowing upper-class criminals to evade harsher penalties typically reserved for the . Through Compeyson, Dickens further indicts the pervasive embedded in societal structures, where of and corrupt personal and economic relations, mirroring the illusions that ensnare characters like Pip in his pursuit of gentlemanly status. Compeyson's calculated seduction and abandonment of , conspiring with her half-brother in a fraudulent scheme and using gentlemanly charm to extract her fortune, symbolizes how affluent deceivers exploited vulnerabilities in a class-obsessed , fostering isolation and among the victims of such betrayals. This thematic thread underscores the novel's broader commentary on the hollowness of , as Compeyson's "smooth" facade—described as having "no more heart than an iron file"—enables him to thrive amid widespread economic frauds, linking his personal duplicity to Pip's disillusionment with inherited . Dickens employs Compeyson's unchallenged early successes and ultimate ironic demise—drowning in a struggle with the vengeful Magwitch—to contrast legal with retribution, critiquing the Victorian system's failure to address elite equitably. While Compeyson escapes severe punishment for his role in rings that plagued the , contributing to an of over 870 prosecutions between 1797 and 1817 amid the Bank of England's small-note issuances, his outside the courts affirms Dickens' belief in inevitable ethical reckoning over flawed institutional accountability. This narrative arc, rooted in chapters revealing Compeyson's criminal history, connects to 19th-century penal reforms, such as the 1832 abolition of for , yet highlights persistent class-based leniency that Dickens saw as undermining true ; as a foil to Magwitch's redemptive path, Compeyson's fate reinforces the novel's condemnation of unrepentant deceit in a stratified .

Adaptations and portrayals

Film versions

In the 1946 film adaptation of directed by , Compeyson is portrayed by George Hayes as a sleazy and opportunistic convict whose duplicity is highlighted through dramatic visual elements, particularly the scene of his betrayal of on her wedding day. This depiction amplifies the character's villainy via close-up shots of his smug expression during the abandonment, contrasting with the novel's more subtle narrative hints at his charm and deceit. The 2012 film directed by Mike Newell features William Ellis as Compeyson, presenting him as a suave and modernized swindler with an emphasis on his charismatic manipulation in early flashback scenes involving Miss Havisham. Ellis's performance underscores Compeyson's polished exterior, using updated dialogue to heighten his seductive allure before revealing his treachery, diverging from the book's understated social commentary on class and forgery. Other notable film versions include the 1934 adaptation directed by Stuart Walker, where George Barraud plays Compeyson in a supporting role that briefly captures his criminal partnership with Magwitch. Across these films, interpretive shifts often employ tighter editing and intensified facial expressions to exaggerate Compeyson's malevolence, making his subtle novelistic traits more cinematically visceral for broader audiences.

Television adaptations

In earlier television adaptations of Great Expectations, Compeyson's role as a duplicitous criminal was often portrayed to underscore class divisions, leveraging the serialized format to explore his manipulative ascent through society. In the 1989 ITV miniseries, depicted Compeyson as a suave yet ruthless forger whose charm masked his predatory nature, with scenes highlighting his betrayal of and rivalry with Magwitch to illustrate Dickens's critique of . Similarly, the 1999 version featured as Compeyson, emphasizing his brief but pivotal appearances in extended trial and confrontation sequences that contrasted his polished demeanor with the raw desperation of lower-class characters like Magwitch. The 2011 BBC three-part miniseries, directed by Brian Kirk, expanded Compeyson's arc through Paul Rhys's portrayal of him as a cunning fraudster who reintegrates into high society under the alias Denby after his escape. Rhys's performance captured the character's sly intelligence and moral corruption, with added scenes depicting his post-prison schemes at a frequented by Pip, allowing for deeper exploration of his psychological hold over others and thematic ties to class deception. This adaptation used the miniseries length to delve into Compeyson's interactions with , portraying their wedding-day fraud in vivid detail to heighten the emotional stakes. In the 2023 BBC/FX six-part series, written by , brought a charismatic intensity to Compeyson as a modernized , infusing the role with contemporary-edged dialogue to explain his vengeful obsession with Magwitch. Gravelle's depiction amplified Compeyson's role as a police informant and swindler, with extended episodes focusing on their prison-ship escape and ongoing to inject tension and psychological depth absent in shorter formats. The series' runtime enabled richer dives into his manipulation tactics, such as prolonged courtroom scenes that revealed his class-based privileges during , contrasting sharply with Magwitch's harsher sentence. Overall, these television versions exploit the medium's narrative expanse to humanize Compeyson's villainy, offering nuanced insights into his psyche through expanded dialogues and interactions that build on the novel's .

References

  1. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm
  2. https://dickens.stanford.edu/great/historical_context.html
  3. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm#chap42
  4. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm#chapter22
  5. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm#chap05
  6. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm#chap54
  7. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm#chapter42
  8. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/great-expectations/book-3-chapter-54
  9. https://literariness.org/2021/01/29/analysis-of-charles-dickenss-great-expectations/
  10. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/section13/
  11. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/great-expectations/summary-and-analysis/chapters-5254
  12. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/great-expectations/summary-and-analysis/chapters-5557
  13. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/great-expectations/book-3-chapter-55
  14. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/character/compeyson/
  15. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1118&context=masters
  16. https://study.com/academy/lesson/compeyson-in-great-expectations.html
  17. https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/great-expectations/compeyson.html
  18. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/2b88qm07z
  19. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/7038/703876867056.pdf
  20. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/232762760.pdf
  21. http://stevenconnor.com/forgeries/forgeries.pdf
  22. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038574/fullcredits/
  23. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/76862/great-expectations
  24. https://theadaptationstation.com/2024/04/two-adaptations-of-great-expectations-that-deserve-commendation/
  25. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836808/fullcredits/
  26. https://www.tvguide.com/movies/great-expectations/cast/2000199093/
  27. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025202/fullcredits/
  28. https://bethlisogorsky.substack.com/p/great-expectations-1998-review
  29. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096601/
  30. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167187/
  31. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1949720/
  32. https://charlesdickenschallenge.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/great-expectations-2011-directed-by-brian-kirk/
  33. https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/great-expectations/cast/trystan-gravelle-compeyson
  34. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/great-expectations-review-olivia-colman-1235360210/
  35. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/26/bbc-great-expectations-review-olivia-colman-is-mesmerisingly-sinister
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.