Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a manifestation of a man dominated by cash values. Pip believes that money will do the ultimate for him; make him a gentleman and bring Estella into his arms and life. Nevertheless, the "great expectations" which Pip has in life are slowly met with disappointments because along the sequence of events his "great expectations" begin to turn him into a collaborator in the crime of using people as means to personal ends. But, as in all Dickens' novels, an act of redemption is required and Pip realizes his mistakes. As Pip changes for the better, the events too, take turn for the better. Many problems are solved and the most significant change is in Estella herself. The novel's end is the true beginning for both Pip and Estella: "I took her hand in mine...I saw no shadow of another parting from her." (page 493, Chapter 59)
This much-disputed ending of Great Expectations is not a betrayal to the story that precedes it. Pip who seems to be a victim of circumstances cannot deal with his overwhelming love and devotion for Estella and his sudden rise to comparative affluence blinds him to real values. The coincidences in the events are used as connections of the unconnected. The events make a logically sequential pattern of discovery. The timid and sensitive youth develops into a snobbish gentleman and later goes through a process of redemption and eventually repents. He is not too late as he gets a chance to rectify his mistake with Magwitch. He stands by him until his trial and death. And, Joe: "What remained for me now but to follow him to the dear old forge, and there to have out any disclosure to him, and my pertinent remonstrance with him, and there to relieve my mind and heart of that reserved." (page 463, Chapter 57). Therefore, it can be said that Pip does not lose the essential goodness in him. Money is thus not the root of all evil. It's the love for money that is so. It is just fair and appropriate that after the sufferings and loss Pip experiences, he should gain something in return. The lessons he has learnt in life are crucial and valuable. His unity with Estella is the best way for this novel to end, which fits the saying, "in every cloud there is a silver lining." He deserves her after all that he has been through.
At the end of the novel, it is not only Pip who goes through a redemption period but Estella too. Similar to Pip, she is also a victim of circumstances which resulted in her being supercilious. She is used as a tool by Miss Havisham to take revenge on men but unfortunately suffered more pain than the old lady ever could, by her ill-fated marriage to Bently Drummle. Through this experience and the wretched years he has gone through, the pride and scornful spirit that she has in her is finally broken. She also happens to be the actual reason of Pip's soul searching and eventually finding his true level. Dickens has portrayed both Pip and Estella in a remarkable way and the purposeful events they encounter in pursuing happiness in life brings them back together as two reformed people. Both of them discover that there is nothing more humanly worthwhile about material gains and rich people than there is about humble folks.
The sequence of events presented are consistent with the ending as it completely integrates in the fable-like quality of the story. The complexity of the story with a few unpleasant surprises is finally sorted out by retaining Pip's quest for personal fulfilment. The plot of the novel has sustained the interest of the readers throughout and the ending rewards their interest. The ending is an ending in both significations: an end and the arrival of meaning.