A Young Amelia Havisham - Tuppence Middleton in 'Dickensian' (2015)

Miss Havisham depicted in BBC 1's 'Dickensian'

In late 2015, BBC 1 produced a new drama intertwining the lives of Charles Dickens' most famous characters in 19th century London. In this Great Expectations adaptation, the character of Miss Havisham has been seen in a new and original light - her life before Mr Compeyson's abandonment and heartbreak. The audience are allowed to explore her as a young lady. At the beginning of the series, Miss Havisham learns of her fathers death and has to figure out a life alone with the anger of her brother as she inherited most of their father's estate. The still ongoing series follows Amelia's journey through wealth and a plot of Mr Compeyson's to finically ruin her, whilst crossing paths with various victorian Dickensian characters along the way.

The royal blues and purples used in her
costumes will be interesting to incorporate
into a makeup design to reflect her past
in a high social hierarchy with Mr
Compeyson.

I found the concept of creating the iconic Miss Havisham as a young woman a very clever idea. Rather than sticking to the eery and witch-like descriptions, the makeup designer Karen Hartley and the makeup supervisor Caroline Greenough created a subtle and natural look. Although the look is heavily powdered to reflect the Victorian makeup techniques, and for screen, Miss Havisham remains looking youthful and healthy to reflect her wealth and social status. Although I admire this alternative approach, as I am focusing specifically to the novel Great Expectations and the descriptions that Dicken's wrote about Miss Havisham I feel like I would like to take a more grotesque and unusual makeup design as opposed to a wealthy beauty look. This series, however, has reminded me as a designer for makeup for motion picture to take into account the characters back story to influence how their previous life events can impact their appearance.

Miss Havisham in Great Expectations

In an armchair sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see.

In Charles Dicken's Great Expectations, written in 1861, Miss Havisham plays a pivotal role in distinguishing narrator Pip's course in life. At the beginning of the tale, Pip's uncle arranges for Pip to meet a rich and reclusive character, Miss Havisham and also her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham's house is iconic within the story and holds her nightmare memories of being abandoned on her wedding day resulting in her wearing her old wedding gown and one shoe for the rest of her existence. Pip is immediately attracted to Estella (and spends many months visiting) in spite of her negative attitude towards him, heavily influenced by vengeful Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham funds Pip's blacksmithing apprenticeship. Whilst Pip is away, he is advised he has 'great expectations' and lives the higher life in London as a gentleman. Pip becomes certain Miss Havisham intends Estella for him. However, he learns that Estella is to marry someone else. He begs Estella not to continue with this and professes his deep love, which Estella cannot understand through her upbringing and Miss Havisham realises the depth of the damage she has done before dying in a tragic fire accident.

Miss Havisham is one of Dicken's most strange and grotesque characters. 'Waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.' is the first description of her facial features and her eery presence. This indicates her skin would be waxy and leathery, worn by the years of no daylight and self pity following abandonment. Even though it is made aware to the reader she is around 50, the skeletal description emphasises her lack of self-awareness and health. “You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun since you were born?” Miss Havisham exclaims to Pip, obviously demonstrating her lifestyle and her intimidating spirit when she meets him as a young boy. These aspects displayed early on are interesting features to take into account with a makeup design - the texture of my model's skin, the colour and how the skin has aged. It is also described that the only brightness left in her was in her eyes so it would be striking in photography as well to capture the darkness around bright eyes on a pale, aged skin.

'She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on – the other was on the table near her hand – her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on' starts to indicate to the audience her obsession with the past, a hint towards madness. It is also showing what attire Miss Havisham is wearing throughout the novel. Following her fiance's departure, Miss Havisham stays in the same outfit as the wedding day. 'She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependant from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.' The fine materials and jewels displayed all over her exterior demonstrates to us that she is (or was) wealthy at some point in her life and is stuck in this stage of her life. Heart break has forced her into this state, but it could also be seen that she wants to be stuck at a younger age or a time of innocence that is reflected in her white dress, veil, lace and shoes. The bridal flowers would've been decayed and long past their lifespan, reflecting Miss Havisham's state of mind and stage in life. All the elements of wealth and status are included to try and keep her in a positive stage of her life, but her face and body is giving that away. 'I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone' emphasises her neglect and will be good for me to explore how to slim down someone unhealthily with makeup products and tools.

Some of her main characteristics are madness and delusion. 'Her watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine' alongside all the other clocks in her house. This was the time when she received the letter from her fiance explaining his abandonment. Attempting to freeze time shows her desperate attempt to be the happy bride she was before this news. 'Laying her hands, one upon the other, on her left side. “What do I touch?” “Your heart” “Broken!”' This conversation between Miss Havisham and Pip indicates her over-the-top animation surrounding her own heartbreak, eluding to madness. 'She repeated, "Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces—and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper—love her, love her, love her!"' Her drastic approach forcing love between Pip and Estella is her attempt at gaining revenge, as she plots to raise Estella to not feel love, and demonstrates her delusion that has been created towards love.

The final event in her life is the most dramatic in the novel. 'I saw her running at me,

shrieking, with a whirl of fire blazing all about her, and soaring at least as many feet above her head as she was high'. After trying to redeem herself to Pip after causing a life of deceit and heartbreak for him, she is murdered by the flames from her own fireplace. The vicious element of her death and the damage it left to her throat and face ultimately kills her and the slow death reflects her slow and painful revenge she took upon Pip for just being a man who loved a girl. The blisters and scars left would be a fun element to experiment this term with makeup special effects. Overall, Miss Havisham's eventful life and volatile and delusional personality will make an interesting subject for a makeup design for a motion picture.