An article into which Joe's destiny led him.

[noumenon52]

In the following sentence in chapter 4 of Great Expectations, Dickens wrote :

"Mrs. Joe was prodigiously busy in getting the house ready for the festivities of the day, and Joe had been put upon the kitchen door-step to keep him out of the dust-pan—an article into which his destiny always led him, sooner or later, when my sister was vigorously reaping the floors of her establishment."

Please explain what Dickens implied when he said the dust-pan was an article into which Joe's destiny always led him.

[mona amon]

It is a joke, so a little difficult to explain - consider how small a dust-pan is, and how enormous Joe Gargery is, and visualize a cartoonish scenario where Mrs Joe is sweeping Mr Joe into her dust-pan with energetic gusto. :D

Pip is telling us in a joking way that Joe was always getting in Mrs Joe's way when she was sweeping out the house, so he was banished to the doorstep.

[noumenon52]

Thanks a lot, mona amon.

[mona amon]

On second thoughts, I think he's just telling us that Joe was always stepping on the dust-pan, LOL. :)