After the death of Magwitch, Pip falls into deep illness and depression, unable to leave his apartment. Two men come to arrest him for an unpaid debt of 123 pounds. When Pip tries—and fails—to dress himself, however, the men observe his state of extreme physical and mental distress. They refrain from arresting Pip, leaving him to experience feverish nightmares and hallucinations.

In these hallucinations, Pip sees scenes from his life, including the near-death tragedy of Miss Havisham and his own near-death encounter with Orlick. When Joe arrives at Pip’s apartment, Pip initially believes that Joe is a hallucination. Overwhelmed by remorse for neglecting Joe all these years, Pip tries to refuse his kindness, pleading with Joe to strike him and berate him. Joe simply replies that they’ve always been friends.

Joe nurses Pip back to health, bringing a mix of pleasant and bittersweet news from home. Miss Havisham has died and distributed her fortune among Estella, Matthew Pocket, and Pip. She had given Matthew some of her inheritance due to Pip’s account of Matthew. Orlick robbed Mr. Pumblechook and jailed.