“To state that my terrible patron carried this little black book about the world solely to swear people on in cases of emergency, would be to state what I never quite established; but this I can say, that I never knew him put it to any other use. The book itself had the appearance of having been stolen from some court of justice, and perhaps his knowledge of its antecedents, combined with his own experience in that wise, gave him a reliance on its powers as a sort of legal spell or charm. On this first occasion of his producing it, I recalled how he had made me swear fidelity in the churchyard long ago, and how he had described himself last night as always swearing to his resolutions in his solitude (Great Expectations, 324).”
The “little black book (324)” mentioned in this excerpt by Pip is actually a worn copy of the Bible (which is referred to as a ‘Testament’), one that Pip assumes Mr. Provis swiped from court at some point during his being tried. The excerpt above establishes Provis’s character as one of a complexing nature, and it reminds the reader of Mr. Provis’s long-lasting impact on Pip’s coming-of-age experience.
Although it is merely an inference made by Pip, the notion that Mr. Provis carries this Bible “solely to swear people on in cases of emergency (324)” indicates Provis’s lack of religious knowledge or faith. Pip further states that “[he] never knew [Mr. Provis] put it to any other use (324).” This assessment is important to the development of Mr. Provis’s character, as it could be partial reasoning for his immoral and criminal patterns. This is not to imply that religion cures lawlessness, but rather that a knowledge and devotion to the religion associated with the Bible would denote Mr. Provis’s belonging to a society that, at the time, was heavily intertwined with the Christian faith. Pip goes on to say that the Bible in Provis’s possession “had the appearance of having been stolen from some court of justice.” The irony of a book as sacred as the Bible being illegally obtained by someone is crystal clear. It is indicative of Provis’s unique understanding of the Bible’s significance, which, according to Pip, derives from the legal tradition of solemnly swearing by the Bible before testifying in the court of law. Instead of valuing the Bible by its content, Provis values its symbolizing of trust and honesty. Therefore, trust and honesty appear as Provis’s prioritized qualities in every aspect of life, especially in his assessment of other people.
Pip recalls the time when Provis forced him to swear by the same copy of the Bible in the graveyard when he was a child (324). Along with his criminal record, Provis proves to be consistent in seeking honesty from other individuals. In addition, Provis’s early presence in Pip’s life was foreshadowing of Estella, his daughter’s, later appearance and significance in Pip’s life. This is highlighted by the parallels between the way in which Mr. Provis first appears at the beginning of the novel, a solitary, ragged figure, coming out of the woodworks of a graveyard (4), and the way in which Estella reappears for the last time at the end of the novel, “a solitary figure (471)” in a garden mist.