In the novel Great Expectations, numerous meals take place repeatedly that have symbolic resonance. This essay will argue that the meal in the novel is a recurring motif with three main functions. First, they are in fact ceremonies of love or dark manifestations of the absence of love. Furthermore, the meal motif also symbolizes power, which is obtained through social relationships. Ultimately, the meal is a rite of passage that marks new beginnings, or milestones in the lives of Dickens' characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Meals and food are indeed “love ceremonies.” When functioning as a love ceremony, the motif of the meal comes to represent the extension of grace to those who do not deserve it. This is evident in the meal Pip brings to the escaped convict Magwitch. Although Magwitch never asked for it, Pip gives him a "nice, round, firm pork pie" stolen from Mrs. Joe's pantry, which becomes the center of the meal. This cake is much more than what Magwitch had required for his basic sustenance, and thus is a symbol of grace or the extension of undeserved love. The 'round' image of the cake also suggests integrity and therefore attributes a restorative quality to the meal as a whole. Additionally, the cake is made for Mrs. Joe's Christmas meal, which symbolically includes Magwitch in Pip's family's Christmas meal. The biblical allusion to Christmas, marking the birth of Jesus Christ, further suggests the extension of undeserved grace to the inmate Magwitch. Thus, the meal that saves Magwitch's life and symbolically grants him more than he deserves solidifies the meal's role as a love ceremony. However, the meal motif also comes to represent the opposite of love, or lack of love. This is particularly evident in the decaying remains of Miss Havisham's wedding feast, which represent the denial or reversal of the ideal of perfect love. The "long table with a tablecloth spread over it, as if a feast had been prepared" repels rather than attracts all living creatures, since even spiders running "home" immediately "come out of it." Such anthropomorphism demonstrates that even animals most comfortable with decomposition, such as spiders, cannot tolerate the presence of the long table. This in turn transforms the table into a symbol of denied love, reversing the traditional symbolism of the meal as an event that attracts life and companionship. Therefore, the meal motif represents both the presence and absence of love in Great Expectations. The meal is also used to highlight the power inequalities evident in Victorian society. Since the meal is a social event, the characters' interactions during the meal easily show which characters are capable of exerting power over others. This is evident during the meal that Pip shares with Mr. Wopsle and the Gargery family. Here, Wopsle speculates about Pip's moral worth if he had been born "on all fours" or a pig. This is contrasted with the "pork" that the guests are eating. The result is an example of zoomorphism that metaphorically transforms Pip into the pig being eaten, reducing him to total helplessness in the face of the omnipotent adults. In this way, the meal symbolically resonates with the social humiliation children suffer at the hands of more powerful adults. The theme of power is even clearer in the dinner at Jaggers' house. In this meal, the social interaction during dinner is completely under the control of Jaggers, who can manipulate the social world much more skillfully than his guests. For example, Jaggers "hurt" Drummle "up to a.