Journal | Il Tolomeo
Journal issue | 19 | 2017
Research Article | “Pip is my story”

“Pip is my story”

Cross-Fertilising Narratives in Lloyd Jones’s Mister Pip

Abstract

In Mister Pip (2006), New Zealander writer Lloyd Jones transfers Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations to Papua New Guinea. Through a skilful play of metanarrative cross-references, Jones gives lifeblood back to the Victorian text while creating a new artistic work in which the 19th century enters into a dialogue with contemporary times offering its reader a modern ‘female’ Bildungsroman. This paper explores how Great Expectations turns out to be instrumental for the growth of Matilda, Jones’s main character, and for the development of the plot in a way that invites us to reflect on the imaginative power of literature and the unpredictable nature of its consequences in the world outside literary fiction.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Oct. 29, 2017 | Accepted: Nov. 5, 2017 | Published Dec. 21, 2017 | Language: en

Keywords Great ExpectationsLloyd JonesPostcolonial literatureBildungsromanMister Pip


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