Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
"Jack, I swear..." What do you think Ennis meant by that?
heath4oscar:
I can only go on my gut reaction the first time I saw the movie......
I took "I swear" to mean that, before he discovered the hidden shirts, Ennis had no idea just how much in love with him Jack had been.
He is in effect saying: "I swear, I had no idea how much you loved me."
As a consequence, he is probably thinking he had no idea how much he loved Jack either.
[You don't know how much you've got 'til it's gone, Put up a parking lot, etc etc!]
Marge_Innavera:
--- Quote from: brokeplex on August 18, 2007, 12:40:07 pm ---yes, and after straightening the card he would close the closet door once again on his love and his true nature. That to me is the big tear jerking moment. The image of Ennis serving his life sentence in his prison, closing the cell door, and locking himself in.
--- End quote ---
That's the interpretation many people have; I really can't see that.
Put it this way: if, earlier in the story, Ennis had some kind of momento of Jack, where would he be likely to keep it? IMO, it would be not only in his closet but in the back of the closet. And if it was an item of clothing, it probably wouldn't even be hung up -- it'd be in the bottom of a cardboard box under a pile of old towels or such.
Yes, the shirts are hidden in the closet, but just barely. They're on the inside of the closet door, out of sight but just barely, and visible if the door is opened even halfway. IMO, that's a parallel to his agreeing to attend Alma Junior's wedding, where of course he's going to have to interact with Alma at least on a superficial level. For that matter, he'll have to say a few words to Monroe too, and after the Thanksgiving confrontation it's not likely that Monroe knows nothing about it.
That's no small thing for a man as repressed and self-loathing as Ennis, and to me it comprises an ending that suggests he might make some progress after that. No guarantees, but I'd have been disappointed in the film if there was anything more definite at that point; people just don't make lasting changes very fast, even people much more flexible and self-confident than Ennis.
Would have loved to have watched that wedding scene, though.... ;D
Marge_Innavera:
--- Quote from: heath4oscar on September 08, 2007, 09:35:07 am ---I can only go on my gut reaction the first time I saw the movie......
I took "I swear" to mean that, before he discovered the hidden shirts, Ennis had no idea just how much in love with him Jack had been.
He is in effect saying: "I swear, I had no idea how much you loved me."
As a consequence, he is probably thinking he had no idea how much he loved Jack either.
--- End quote ---
Yes, and that "this thing" wasn't something that was just physical. IMO, on some level he knew that all along, and at this point "I swear...." is the closest he can come to saying that out loud.
Brokeback_Dev:
The shirts hanging in the closet one inside another is Ennis secret sexual orientation. I believe Ennis was saying Jack I swear I love you, finally realizing he was in love with another man, but not too late. Does Ennis come out of the closet and live? Or does he live out a lonely life in a trailer a billion miles from nowhere? It leaves you in the learch and very very heart broken for Ennis. First the "I wish I knew how to Quit you argument" then Jack's death/murder, and finally Ennis' lonely life. I wish the best for Ennis. Although he will always love Jack, he's got to move on.
moremojo:
--- Quote from: brokeback_dev on September 08, 2007, 11:09:05 am ---Does Ennis come out of the closet and live?
--- End quote ---
It's possible that Ennis has come out to himself (the most essential step of any coming-out process) but may never go any further than that. The original short story strongly suggests this will be how his life will play out (the film ends on a distinctly more hopeful note). And I think back on the old man who was Proulx's original inspiration, staring at the young men playing pool in the bar, perhaps searching for traces of his own lost Jack, maybe wistfully reflecting on his own vanished youth. For Ennis to even look at other men in this way would be a major step forward for him, however tinged with melancholy and frustration the action might be.
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