I come of age

• A Major Milestone Pip reaches his twenty-first birthday while living in debt at Barnard’s Inn. He and Herbert strongly anticipate that this occasion will finally reveal the identity of Pip's secret benefactor.
• The Birthday Meeting Pip visits Mr. Jaggers, who officially recognizes his maturity by addressing him as "Mr. Pip." During the meeting, Jaggers gifts Pip a substantial sum of five hundred pounds.
• Financial Independence Jaggers informs Pip that he will receive an annual allowance of five hundred pounds to manage his own affairs. However, Jaggers continues to withhold the benefactor's name, maintaining that he is merely an agent.
• An Act of Friendship Wanting to help Herbert succeed, Pip consults Wemmick and uses half of his new funds to secretly secure a partnership for Herbert in a shipping firm. Herbert remains completely unaware of Pip's financial assistance.
• Return to Satis House Pip escorts Estella to visit Miss Havisham. He observes Miss Havisham’s intense and "hungry" obsession with Estella’s beauty and her desire for Estella to take revenge on the young men she attracts.
• The Bitter Conflict For the first time, Pip witnesses a sharp argument between Estella and Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham calls Estella "hard and ungrateful," while Estella coldly detaches herself from her guardian's fierce affection.
• Estella's Retort Estella defends her coldness by telling Miss Havisham, "I am what you have made me." She reminds Miss Havisham that she was taught from childhood to be proud and hard, and therefore cannot provide the love or gratitude she was never given.
• The Rivalry with Drummle At a ball in Richmond, Pip is pained to see the "clumsy and stupid" Bentley Drummle pursuing Estella. He is further distressed by the fact that Estella seems to tolerate and even encourage Drummle's attention.
• The Candle and the Moths Estella dismisses Pip's jealousy, comparing her admirers to moths drawn to a candle. She admits to "deceiving and entrapping" many men but pointedly tells Pip that he is the only one she does not treat this way.
• Unresolved Expectations By the age of twenty-three, Pip continues his life of expectation. Despite his legal maturity and financial status, he remains entirely in the dark regarding the true identity and future plans of his patron.