THE END

"And the mists had all solemnly risen now, and the world lay spread before me.
THIS IS THE END OF THE FIRST STAGE OF PIP'S EXPECTATIONS." (Dickens 208).

This quote shows a very particular characteristic of Victorian novels. Great Expectations, like many other novels from the era, was published in parts, and one would have to wait for the next bit to come out to read more. This passage was clearly at the end of one such section of the book--it was left as a cliffhanger, so that people would buy the next bit to read more. It also adds a note of foreshadowing to the novel. Pip says that all the world was in front of him, but the narrator then says in no uncertain terms that this is the end of the "first stage" of his expectations--clearly things are about to change.