“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in his nature that produces happiness. The more you have, the more you want." This tongue-in-cheek quote from Ben Franklin serves as an underlining theme of Great Expectations. The book Great Expectations presents wealth as possessing the ability to liberate oneself, but over the course of the book it becomes abundantly clear that wealth is a binding chain from which no happiness can be generated. The Satis house achieves that iconic representation of money and showcases the fall of wealth through the exploits of Miss Havisham. Pip's relationship with his benefactor, Magwitch, shows the binding nature of money and how, when it pervades his life, it transforms his close relationship with Joe into a detached one. Joe symbolizes the beacon of hope kept in the corrupt darkness of greed living a contented life through simple parallels to Christ. These three people contain common signs of how money begins to enslave lives, but provide an escape from the clutches of rapacity through Joe. The Satis House, ironically called the "enough" house, embodies unfulfilled desires for wealth and love. “I saw that bride in the wedding dress had faded like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no more brightness” (56; ch.8) Pips's first meeting with Miss Havisham in the Satis House reveals a woman who has chased love and wealth gone, now left as a shell of his former self. Havisham is presented as having been mentally frozen in time while everything around her aged. This in itself amounts to nothing of substance until Pip says, "And we all had cake and wine on golden plates." (65; ch.9) This quote encompasses so much through the lie to Mr. Pumplech... center of the paper... you like the devil." Henry Fielding said it and it doesn't seem truer than in Great Expectations. People as Miss Havisham they build the Satis House and use their money to sow misery due to personal revenge and has let it rule her life to the point of using it to take revenge on a broken heart his life to make money for Pip and misses opportunities such as being able to see his daughter Estella. Pip also allows himself to be dominated by money and forgets the important people in his life such as Biddy and Joe. Yet Joe finds happiness because he does not allow need to control everything aspect of his life.In real life balance pervades the path to happiness because once you let one thing dominate everything, you give up control and become unbalanced. Maintaining balance in daily life remains the key to happiness.