He and Compeyson plot against her and swindle her to gain more money, despite the fact that Mr Havisham had left Arthur plenty.
Towards the end of his life he suffered from paranoia; a constant haunting by his sister's supposed presence around him.
The only reference to him was in chapter 42, where Abel Magwitch described his past experiences: "There was another in with Compeyson, as was called Arthur – not as being so christened but as a surname.
In the 2011 BBC television series of Great Expectations, Arthur is mentioned as deceased and had a collection of butterflies on his wall.
The most recent representation of Arthur was portrayed by actor Joseph Quinn in the BBC 2015–2016 television series Dickensian in which he helps Compeyson to jilt his sister, to take back the brewery, and to inherit the remainder of his father's money.