<![CDATA[Why does Estella marry Walter?]]>Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Great Expectations

allie_sleeps — 12 years ago(May 08, 2013 01:05 AM)

Okay, so Estella is taught by her aunt from a very early age to hate and fear men, right? And this is the accepted reason why she toys with and hurts Finn, yes? Then why does she marry Walter? As evidenced by this quote, Ms. Dinsmoor detests all men indiscriminately and wants them all to suffer:
"Who does this? A man, a man does this. So men must pay, am I right? Estella will make men weep. Oh yes, I taught her well. And when she returns, she'll cut through them like a hot knife on butter."
The movie makes it seem like Estella is only screwing with Finn (or at least screwing with him the most) when she should be equally torturous with every man she comes across. According to lines said by both Ms. Dinsmoor and Estella, she shouldn't be marrying anyone! Why does Estella go out of her way to torment Finn and not Walter?
If the difference is social standing - I feel that is a weak excuse and makes Estella more loathsome than ever. Either way, this question bothers me every time I watch the movie (which I do love, by the way).

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/223381/why-does-estella-marry-walterRSS for NodeWed, 13 May 2026 07:08:04 GMTSat, 02 May 2026 16:48:26 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Why does Estella marry Walter? on Sat, 02 May 2026 16:48:29 GMT]]>thbryn — 11 years ago(August 16, 2014 12:31 AM)

It's pretty much the same in all versions. Though I wouldn't say that "her aunt" asks her to. She moves towards an alternative to Finn to hurt him and more or less get her courtship over with and do it with someone with means.
Kiss
kiss,
Bang
bang

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1873194https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1873194Sat, 02 May 2026 16:48:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why does Estella marry Walter? on Sat, 02 May 2026 16:48:28 GMT]]>jmrex — 12 years ago(February 09, 2014 07:35 PM)

The better question is why Walter, the smug prick that he is, would marry Estella? WaitI think I just answered it.

]]>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1873193https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1873193Sat, 02 May 2026 16:48:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Why does Estella marry Walter? on Sat, 02 May 2026 16:48:27 GMT]]>riverwalk — 12 years ago(October 08, 2013 10:05 PM)

It's clear in the movie Estella is not in love with Walter but marries him under the orders of her 'aunt'. This is all part of the plan to target Finn. Understand the aunt has great power and influence over Estella. The aunt knows the marriage to Walter will break Finn's heart a 2nd time and do untold damage to him which she herself will get to see personally and revel in his pain so she orders the marriage to Walter immediately when she discovers Finn is back on the scene. The aunt singles out Finn because she knows she can get to see his pain where as she will not see Walter's pain nor has any connection to Walter, Finn was something of a longterm project she set her sights upon. Plus Estalla was getting older remember, her game of seducing and dumping men had a shelf life as eventually she'd lose her appeal. I also think that she ordered the marriage as she knew Estalla loved Finn and did'nt love Walter so she wanted Estalla miserable as well and in the process to strike out any chance of the 2 of them ending up togerher. In essence, it was not just men she hated really-it was all happy people. She wanted every1 to be as sad as her. Misery wants company as they say.

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