In the book Great Expectations Pip was a common boy that suddenly, rather out of no where, got his expectations and rose to the status of gentleman. As he grew up he became increasingly ashamed of his family and lifestyle. He wanted to become a gentleman, but when he grew up, he realized that being rich and having everything that he wanted wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Pip got into trouble with debt, and while he knew that he couldn't afford to spend so much, he did it anyway. The same is true for Marie Antoinette.
When Marie became the queen of France, she lost all of her common sense. She spent money like crazy without giving a thought to who or what she was affecting with her current spending habits. Like Pip, she falls into the common "human motif" of greed. She wasn't used to having all of the money that she now possessed, and she failed to use it wisely. She bought anything she wanted when she knew there were much more practical and even more necessary uses for the money. In the end, her greed lead to her death in a revolt.
Not just her greedy nature relates her to Pip. For example, she also fits into the theme of "becoming a gentleman". Or in her case, becoming a queen. Marie grew up in a nice home and had a good life, but she was promised to be married to a prince and become the queen of France (which was a lot better than what she had). She rose from being a commoner (not quite as common as Pip) to the much envied position as queen. When she met the prince and all of the other people that were willing to wait on her, she realized that her life would never be the same, and she felt pressure to change herself and her lifestyle just like Pip did.
In all, there are important similarities between the movie of Marie's life and Great Expectations. The story lines have many similarities and so do the themes and motifs of the characters. I loved the movie, and so far I am loving Great Expectations.
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