Why did Bertha turn on Lily? Bertha couldn't have thought that Lily was really with her husband George. She didn't know about the letters, did she? Was it simply jealousy because she knew that Lily and Seldon cared for each other?
... are in bloom again
Bertha turned on Lily because Selden had fallen out of love with her and in love with Lily instead.
Bertha Dorset is a two faced conniving b****. It's as simple as that.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
....and, she wanted to hurt Lily by humiliating her and dumping her in Monoco with no means to get home without begging.
sharePlus by making it look like she was jealous of Lily and George and suspected them of having an affair when they were in Monaco, it took attention away from the fact that she was having an affair. Of course she was already mad at Lily over Selden.
shareBertha used Lily as a pawn to get back at her husband. Selden tried to warn her that something bad was gonna happen but she didn't listen. I felt sorry for her.
shareBertha used Lily to control her husband by hoping her husband would enter into an affair with Lily. The thing is that if Lily did enter into an affair with George, Bertha would have accepted her but Lily's refusal, her stubborness and her ignorance annoys her greatly. She wasn't playing by Bertha's rules.
Bertha is in a way the anti-Lily, someone who does what she wants and gets away with it as opposed to Lily who can't get anything she wants and is punished accordingly.
"Ça va by me, madame...Ça va by me!" - The Red Shoes
Haven't seen the movie in a while, but if I remember correctly: Lily knew Bertha had spent the night away from the yacht, and her husband, obviously for an assignation. To discredit Lily before she could reveal this to anyone in society, Bertha ruined her reputation by making it look like it was Lily who'd had an assignation--with Bertha's husband--causing her to refuse to have Lily on their yacht. This on top of Bertha's vanity being wounded by her lover's preference for Lily.
share"Selden had fallen out of love"
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Not sure whether he was ever in love with Bertha? I'd say no. Though married, she was available.
Correct. Laura Linney's performance was completely believable. Women like Bertha Dorset exist in real life, and they are scarier than any terrorist could be.
shareMis Sui Generis: You are so correct. Sadly, I've encountered women like this in my life and they are the most frightening people I know!
shareI do not understand one thing: Bertha was telling Lily how scandalous was to be seen alone with (married) man, yet she was with that young guy all the time. Plus, every of her friends and acquaintances knew what she was doing. Sure, the society was hypocritical but it made no sense to me that they would crucify one woman and the other would be left alone, especially the one who had history of cheating on her husband.
shareBertha was married, therefore respectable, while Lily was not married and anything she did would be scandalous.
Revenge is a dish that best goes stale.