Women are powerful. Although society has not always recognized and respected women as they deserve, members of the female gender have greatly influenced the world since the beginning of the time when Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Today, women continue to gain more and more power and status. Similarly, in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, women play an important role in influencing the protagonist, Pip, both positively and negatively. Through their words and actions, the women influence Pip to make significant lifestyle changes, whether beneficial or negative. He is continually pushed to pursue characters other than Mrs. Joe, Miss Havisham, Estella, and Biddy, and learns important lessons from each of them. In the early chapters, Pip is immediately introduced as having no living parents and, as a result, being the quasi-adopted orphan son of his sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. Pip's sister, commonly called “Mrs. Joe", is said to have raised Pip "by hand", which actually means that he abused him. When there are guests in the house, he is mocked or chastised by his sister to the amusement of the guests. An exhausted and irritable woman, Mrs. Joe often uses a wooden stick known as a "Tickler" to punish Pip, as in this passage: "My sister, Mrs. Joe, throwing open the door, and finding an obstruction behind it, immediately divined the cause, and applied Tickler to his further investigations” (Dickens 7). Joe is cruel and selfish, and Pip fears his violent anger. He fails to be the maternal figure he should be, and this harsh upbringing makes Pip a shameful and fearful boy. He is quiet around others and seeks the approval and appreciation of the only friend he has, Joe. Furthermore, Mrs. Joe... at the center of the card... inevitably influenced by many women, for better or worse. Mrs. Joe, Miss Havisham, and Estella use and abuse Pip for their own pleasure or amusement, causing Pip to feel dejected and ashamed. These negative emotions start a chain reaction as Pip hurts those closest to him to please these women. Biddy, however, is kind to Pip. It has a positive influence; constant, always there for him. Ultimately, this leads Pip to do the right thing and return to his roots. The combination of these many influences makes up a large part of Pip's character. The words and actions of these four women shape Pip. They transform him from a kind, innocent boy to an arrogant, selfish fool to a responsible, caring gentleman. Without these women, Pip would never have become the gentleman he was. His life was changed directly by them. So, in Pip's life, women are really powerful.