She is very wealthy, reportedly the wealthiest person in the town (although that doesn't mean a lot without knowing what town and how big it is). Still, you might expect that, as the wealthiest person in town, she is also one of the happiest, and many of the poor people seem to think that is the case. It is far from the truth.

    When Pip, a young boy who is the main characters, is brought to visit her at her request, he finds that is not the case. This elderly woman spends her life as a recluse, staying in her house with the windows covered , and with no working clocks because she doesn't want to know what time it is, or even what day it is. She is always dressed in an old and yellowing wedding dress. While I haven't read the details yet, it is easy enough to read between the lines and figure out that, as a wealthy young society woman, Miss Havisham was left standing at the alter by her fiancé. So, instead of getting on with her life, she has spent the rest of it sulking around in her wedding gown with a dried up wedding cake sitting on the table, and plotting revenge against all men by raising her ward to break men's hearts.

    In short, she has let one tragic incident that occurred rather early in her life, to totally destroy the rest of it. What a very sad way to live.

    We all have tragedies and failures in our lives, from very minor things to catastrophes. It is how we deal with them that makes us strong, or weak, that makes our lives rich in experiences, or barren like a desert. Miss Havisham has chosen the desert, and blames her boyfriend, and indirectly all men, when it is she who has put her in this predicament. Many others go through similar tragedies, and worse, but survive and get on with life, many times to find great happiness at a latter stage. Other woman have dealt with husbands getting killed in wars, with babies dying, or with children born with serious deformities, and yet most of them manage to get over it. To choose to spend the rest of your life pining over a lost love and plotting revenge is both sad and sick.

    You can also get an idea of what a person is like by how they react to the story of Miss Havisham. If their reaction is something like, “how sad to have her life ruined at such a young age!” then they are too much like her for comfort. If the reaction is more like: “How ridiculous to let that ruin the rest of your life!”, than you are the type of person who deals with tragedy as an uncomfortable, but often necessary, part of life.

    So what does this story have to do with spiritual growth? Plenty. If you are superficially involved in religion or spiritual development, it doesn't matter, but, if you get serious about it, and want to save your soul and help others do the same, then you are almost certain to attract the attention of the minions of Satan, the demons. Demons don't want us to become enlightened and escape their control, so they will do what they can to stop it. As a result, people engaged in spiritual growth often have to deal with difficulties, sometimes even tragedies, that are often arranged for them by those demons. The purpose of inflicting you with difficulties is to convince you that spiritual growth is a waste of time, perhaps even harmful, and most of all that there is no God and you don't have a soul. You can listen to these suggestions from the forces of darkness, or you can deny them and keep on working toward your enlightenment. You can choose to be a Miss Havisham and live in the dark or you can choose to be a St. Francis and awaken to the light, but you can't choose to be Miss Havisham, and still expect enlightenment. That just isn't going to happen.