An important element of time in literature, and one of a number of ways in which the "narrator-I" may differ from the "character-I." Temporal distance describes the time between the moment of narration and the events being narrated. In Great Expectations, given that its contemporary readers would have assumed that the narration was itself taking place at about the time of publication (1860-61), and given that the events of the narrative begin about 1806, the temporal distance is approximately 55 years at the novel's start, and less by half, approximately 27 or 28 years, by its end.

Temporal distance describes how recent the events being described in a narrative are. You’ve got your present tense—meaning the event is happening right now—past tense—meaning the event has already happened—or future tense—meaning the events are occurring at a future date from our present time.