In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, a young orphaned boy, Pip, is raised by his working-class sister and husband in Kent, England. During his education, due to a series of unexpected events, he is offered the chance for a better life, creating great expectations for his future. Throughout the novel, Dickens covers themes of social class, self-improvement, and innocence by creating complex relationships between characters and using irony in the situations the characters encounter. One of the most complex relationships in the novel is between Pip, the main character, and Joe Gargery, the husband of Pip's sister, Mrs. Joe. The relationship between Joe and Pip is analogous to the bond of a mother with her child, while the relationship between Pip and Mrs. Joe is like the bond of a father with his child. Joe and Joe are a working-class couple who have cared for Pip since his parents and other siblings died. Mrs. Joe claims that she raised Pip "by hand" (Dickens 6). Mrs. Joe is a very strict woman who Dickens reveals uses corporal punishment quite often on both Pip and Joe. Her role as a disciplinarian shows that, unlike most family archetypes, she plays the more paternal role. Joe, on the other hand, is often kinder and treats Pip in a motherly manner. When Mrs. Joe returns home enraged that Pip has left the house, due to his encounter with the convict, Joe tells Pip that she is crazy and has his cane, The Tickler, in an attempt to protect him from Mrs. Joe. . Dickens states Pip's view of Joe: "I have always treated him as an older child, and as nothing more than my equal" (7). Pip and Joe have an equal and caring maternal relationship, like a mother and son. The complexity of their relationship is further revealed later in the book, after Pips sees... halfway through the paper... that such things must come and must be fulfilled as they come." (p. 223). Joe he acts as a mother would when a son has done something wrong. He does not place the blame on Pip but instead places the temporary social class divide between himself and Pip. Even though Pip has wronged Joe, Joe demonstrates unconditional love for Pip In Dickens' Great Expectations, the relationship between Joe and Pip changes but never ends, due to Joe's maternal role in Pip's life. In normal family situations in the novels, Mrs. Joe would have behaved more like Joe his more paternal role of disciplinarian and affection he shows towards Pip Throughout the novel you can see that Pip and Joe have a much closer and more intimate relationship with each other than they have with the other characters could be broken, regardless of the adversity each character faced.