Why does Charles dump Gabrielle??

I think he's just assuming he's gonna cheat on her.

Let's see. When Charles tells Gabrielle that he's going to London, he sais that he's coming back on thursday or friday. but when we later see him with his wife at the train station about to catch the Eurostar train to London, he sais to his wife that his gonna be in London for a month or so, and then he talks about moving to New York depending on someone that we don't know. My guess, is that this is a consequence of what we early saw in the movie, when he talks about writting a biography, and wants his manager to get him a travel round the world. So, I guess he manage to get that trip, or the book, or both, and that's why he leaves.

But maybe the final reason for him to leave is that he's also "coupé en deux", between his wife and Gabrielle, and he doesn't want to chose.

Chabrol always works a lot with time, not making easy time transitions. But the key to this I guess is the conversation in Lisbon the first time Gabrielle and Paul go there, when he sais that it's almost a year since he run into her at the book store, So, we have to assume that several months have passed between Charles' departure and their trip, And, since we have no notice of Charles until they are engaged, when he's in the tub, that make sense, I guess.

Hope it helped.

I just saw this movie and I have my own idea as to why Charles dumped Gabrielle. The obvious one is it's a typical male pig thing to do, LOL. But perhaps he wasn't a typical male and actually felt for Gabrielle. I disagree with your son's theory. I think Gabrielle passed the test. We know she did what he asked and slept with his friends while Charles watched. I think he then realized how much Gabrielle loved him and the lengths she was willing to go for him. He knew in good conscience that he was never leaving his wife and it was not fair to string such a young woman along. So he said his goodbyes and left her. Had she not jumped into marriage with a man she didn't love, Charles' move would have been the right thing to do and the best thing for Gabrielle in the long run.

You might want to check out my post on another thread on this board here : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0901485/board/thread/117875104?d=119145912&p=1#119145912

<Spoilers>

He dumped her because she was giving him too much of herself, she opened up too much for him, and a woman should never do that. Poor Gabrielle makes this mistake twice in the movie (later she opens up to Paul with fatal consequences). She is very naive, and that's why her last name is DeNeige (not because she is that innocent, but because she is naive, i. e. pure.) Her mystique was lost in Charles's eyes after she underwent the final test in the sex club. When he learns about her getting married he attempts to get her back, and that's typical too - now that she is someone else's property, she is attractive again. The man-woman relationships in this film are very conventional, just taken to an extreme, and that's what makes it a good movie.

..........because he's a d-bag? He got what he wanted out of her and didn't want her to get anymore attached beyond that because he was still committed to his marriage...in the sense of, keeping it. All his "I never loved anyone as much as you" and blah blah was just BS I think.