MovieChat Forums > Persuasion (2008) Discussion > how was wentworths wedding present to an...

how was wentworths wedding present to anne possible?

posted 10 years ago by tanktrash
12 replies | jump to latest

at the end of the movie wentworth gives anne her family home as a wedding present but how is that possible if the estate is entailed to her cousin mr Elliot. from what i understand about entailments the main purpose is to keep heirs from selling the estates so that they can be passed down to the next heir. I havnt read the novel so I don't know if that part of the movie is from the book or just something the screenwriter tacked on for whatever reason.

[–] Julie-30 10 years ago

It isn't possible. That's just one of the many reasons I have zero use for this adaptation.

And you should definitely read the novel. It's outstanding.

[–] dhanggeli 10 years ago

I thought that perhaps the screenwriter was thinking that Captain Wentworth might have paid off Sir Walter's debts, allowing the family to re-inhabit Kellynch. It's not in the novel, though, so anything is possible.

[–] Julie-30 10 years ago

First, Wentworth's fortune is 25,000 pounds TOTAL. He couldn't afford to pay off Sir Walter's debts and still be able to afford the house.

Second, if Sir Walter had no debts, he'd move back to the house in a heartbeat.

Third, it's not Sir Walter's to sell, so that's not an option either (plus, Wentworth couldn't afford to buy it). Unless Sir Walter remarries and produces a son, the entire estate will go to Mr. Elliot.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] pol-edra 10 years ago

I always assumed the house was still Sir Walter's property, but he had agreed to let Wentworth and his daughter live there and pay for the estate's expenses, while he and his elder daughter lived a more fashionable life in Bath and London. The "present" is not the property of the house, but the fact that Wentworth has arranged for them to live there. I can very well imagine an intelligent man like Wentworth getting to successfully negotiate that kind of deal with Anne's father, considering how foolish he is.

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] Julie-30 10 years ago

The house is not Sir Walter's personal property. It, along with the title of Baronet, will pass to the closest legitimate male relative along the legitimate male line. In other words, the heir is William Walter Elliot.

If Sir Walter were to marry and have a son, then Mr. Elliot would be pushed down the pecking order.

It says in the book that Sir Walter cannot sell anything more than a few acres of the estate.

And I cannot see that Sir Walter would ever want to negotiate a lease with the husband of his least-favorite daughter. I think it would gall him no end for Anne to be living there if he himself could not.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] pol-edra 10 years ago

I, on the contrary, would see him very well being flattered to no end to appear so generous while at the same time being rid of all the expenses he can no longer afford and remaining the official tenant of the estate. He is already renting the place to complete strangers, he might as well rent it to his son-in-law and daughter, and revel in everyone's compliments as to his generous "gift".

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] Paramita1 9 years ago

It doesn't make any sense. Anne doesn't even like that place that much.

[–] Tomatish 9 years ago

True! Other than the fleeting fancy that she could occupy her mother's place, she does not care for the grandeur style of living at all.

[–] tvlover1961 9 years ago

I just commented on another thread how I didn't read the book. I guess I'd better! There were more questions with this film than necessary. That ending confused me too.

[–] klorentz 9 years ago

Ridiculous, no? I cannot imagine Anne would have even wanted to return to Kellynch with Frederick

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Tomatish 9 years ago

Anne clearly thought the world of him, but that didn't mean that he wasn't a hardcase who would have had little difficulty leaning on a gigolo such as Mr Elliot.

But why should he want to. This movie makes so much of Anne's attachment to the estate, when in reality she would be just as comfortable in a small house. And this is something that is quite integral to her character, not a small detail that an adaptation might be allowed to change