Loading…
GCSE English Literature · key term
A persistent preoccupation that dominates a person’s thoughts and can override judgement or damage other relationships.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
An overwhelming preoccupation that dominates someone’s thoughts and behaviour.
Revise: Love and rejectionAlternatively, the scale of the speech reveals obsession. His identity remains organised around someone who repeatedly warns that she cannot return his feelings. Both readings have evidence.
A consuming preoccupation that dominates a person’s thoughts and behaviour.
Create a free account to keep every note you open and track your progress.
Paper 2
A persistent, overwhelming preoccupation with someone or something that can override judgement and damage other relationships.
Revise: Love and rejectionAnother reading emphasises the continuing obsession. His lifelong claim suggests that he still cannot imagine himself independently of Estella. The first-person form gives us access to the force of his feelings, but not proof that their relationship is destined to succeed.
A consuming preoccupation that displaces other interests, relationships or responsibilities.
Paper 1
Revise: Love and rejectionPip’s narration explicitly compares her repeated word “love” with hatred, despair and revenge. This distinction between her vocabulary and its effect reveals how affection can become a disguise for cruelty. That night, Pip repeats her command as his own declaration of love: her language helps organise his obsession.
