While the identity of Mrs. Joe’s attacker is unknown, the two potential suspects in the book would be Pip’s convict and Orlick. The suspect could be Orlick because Mrs. Joe and Orlick got into a fight prior to this attack which caused Orlick to be humiliated. The author could have placed Orlick as the attacker only to build tension for the climax as, out of anger, Orlick could have had the intentions, in the form of vengeance, to attack Mrs. Joe and gain a feeling of victory. However, it is also a possibility that the escaped convict attacked Mrs. Joe because in the succeeding chapter, Pip constantly feels guilty about indirectly providing the weapons for the attack, especially after officials find out that the attacker possessed a leg iron and a convict’s shackle. Pip’s convict is described as ‘fearful’, someone who not only appears intimidating to others but also appears afraid. He is not naturally violent but only reacts violently if he feels threatened. Hence, he might have attacked Mrs. Joe as he must have felt threatened by the loud woman.
However, Orlick is most likely and most probably the attacker because Orlick never had positive feelings for Mrs. Joe or even Pip and Joe for that matter. Orlick was always envious of Pip being constantly favored by Joe; Orlick thought that he should also be equally if not favored more by Joe due to his seniority. This can be seen as Orlick passive-aggressively demands for a half-day as Pip demands Joe to allow him a half-day. Orlick also feared that Pip would take his job eventually, thus giving more motive. While Joe is a flat character and very gentle and polite to Orlick naturally, Mrs. Joe instigates Joe to fight Orlick, verbally abuses him in their fight, and looks down upon him. Overall, it can be agreed that from Orlick’s perspective, he was absolutely abused as a journeyman and would want revenge. With the situation at hand, Orlick must have only thought attacking Mrs. Joe was the answer to his anger. Almost regardless of the identity of the attacker, this scene is significant to the story because this scene creates tension and introduces the conflict. Especially after considering the fact that this novel was first published in serial weekly installments, Dickens incorporated this scene to not only create mystery to ‘titillate’ his audience, but also to hint towards the climax of the novel: to have his audience at the tip of their toes as they flip the page.
