Miss Havisham Analysis

Miss Havisham - Gillian Anderson 2011 TV Mini Series 

In this portrayal of Miss Havisham, Gillian Anderson did fantastically. This is my favourite interpretation of Miss Havisham from the all the versions of Great Expectations I've researched. This is because of a number of things. First is the make up, I really like the ghostly appearance the make up artist has designed. The appearance of her skin was really wonderful because it didn't look like stage/old age make up but something for the screen. I think I want to use this method for my own interpretation of Miss Havisham. The hair interested me because Gillian Anderson wasn't made to look like she was ageing but she had white hair which would indicate that she was ageing, but as she was made to have no wrinkles I believe who ever designed her look would have decided to make their interpretation of Miss Havisham as ghostly as possible. I felt a sense of uneasiness when it came to scenes featuring Miss Havisham because of the eerie, creepy feel created by the make up and hair.

"It didn't actually take that long to get into hair and make-up every day," explains Gillian. "There were two different wigs but three different stages of deterioration for the wigs, and I think four-and-half stages of deterioration for the costumes, so it was mostly about getting that right. The last wig we had to put a bald cap on because she's lost so much of hair that you actually see through to her scalp. So that took a little longer, I think it was still under two hours." - BBC Interview - Gillian Anderson on the wigs she had to wear for Miss Havisham.

Miss Havisham - Helena Bonham Carter 2012 Film Version 

In this version Miss Havisham is played by a very famous actress called Helena Bonham Carter. I appreciate the make up, hair and styling of this version but it isn't one that really appealed to me, I think that there was too many modern elements in the styling of this version as well as with other characters such as Estella. I think the hair and make up design showed the crazy side to Miss Havisham's personality but not any other elements.The hair didn't look very Victorian, just curled and made to look messy which would not have been the case, they really loved their hair and did all sorts of intricate up dos and as she hadn't changed anything since her wedding day she would have still have the up do but just touched up slightly. . Her dress looked tatty and ripped but not very dirty, which it should because of the soot and smoke from having an open fire which would have effected a white dress after a long period of time. She looked very taken care of and bathed when in fact compared to how the Victorians actually lived is in fact a very poor portrayal of how she would have technically looked in this era. 

Miss Havisham - Martita Hunt 1946 Film Version

The styling in in this film again doesn't look dirty or decayed enough. Her wedding dress looks brand new and I believe her hair doesn't look Victorian enough. They liked a a lot of curls and her hair doesn't feature any loose curls.  

As this film is in black and white its hard to tell whether or not the clothes are dirty but the dress doesn't look ripped either so again I don't believe its giving a correct portrayal of Miss Havisham's character created by Dickens. The story is over a 20 year period and it doesn't show her dress ageing at all. The dress does look a little big for her though which is a good thing, as described in the book, `From what I can tell the make up has been used to make her look withered and tired but the actress playing Miss Havisham is an older actress to begin with.