Estella; Character Analysis

Estella is a very ironic, and honest character that undermines love. But she can't help it since she was adopted by Miss Havisham and raised in a big, dark, cold house with mice running around; the Satis house. 

Instead of being raised by her biological father, Magwich, who is a good and noble man, she becomes Miss Havisham's puppet and weapon aginst men. Miss Havisham destroys her ability to love and express emotion and had made her into a cynical, cold 'beautiful creature' with 'no heart'. In one of their fights, when Miss Havisham gets mad at her for pushing her away, Estella blames her for everything; 

"Do you reproach me for being cold? You?" "Are you not?" was the fierce retort, "You should know," said Estella. "I am what you made me. Take all the praise, take all the blame; take all the success, take all the failure: in short, take me."
(Dickens, C. (1986) Great Expectations  (pages 301 - chapter 38),  Marshall Cavendish Partworks Ltd, 58 Old Compton Street, London  WIV 5PA)

When Pip first meets her, she the first thing he noticed about her was that she is very pretty and very proud. As planned, he falls in love with Estella. She knows that, but she cannot love him back, and as she said, she has nothing to give him. But she was always very honest about it, and she warns him multiple times that she has 'no heat'. At the same time, she says that she will toy with all men, but him, which makes her loyal. The name Estella comes for the Latin word 'stella', meaning star. And just like any other star, she is out of reach.

Yet, she is self destructive. Instead of marrying the one man that loved her unconditionally, she marries B. Drummle, who abuses her and makes her life miserable. Her father is Magwich was a convict; the very lowest class. Just like Pip, she longs for the ideal of life among the upper class, yet, without realizing, becomes a victim of the society.
Finally, at the end of the novel, when both Miss Havisham and her husband had died, she becomes her own woman and is able to shape her own identity, free from all the poison in her life. She learns to only trust her inner feelings and she says to Pip; 

"... - now, when suffering had been stronger than all other teaching, and has thaught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but -I hope - into a better shape. Be as considerate and good to me as you were, and tell me we are friends." 
(Dickens, C. (1986) Great Expectations  (pages 483- chapter 59),  Marshall Cavendish Partworks Ltd, 58 Old Compton Street, London  WIV 5PA)



I see Estella as a very simple character, in comparison with Miss Havisham. All we know about her is that she is a beautiful, and Pip mentioned that her hair is brown. So I imagine her having fresh, glowing, flawless porcelain complextion, rosy cheeks and pink tinted lips.
I like creating characters for TV and film, rather than for theatre, so I would keep the clothing and make up simple, excentuating the natural beauty.