I Now Know Why the Dozy Embrace is So Sad.

[Cameron]

A while ago I asked the question here, why is the Dozy Embrace so sad?  I was trying to figure out why I thought it still would have been so very sad even if was not a flashback, but was seen by itself or in the actual time in the film.  As beautiful as the Dozy Embrace is, I have always found it so sad, even on its own.  I couldn’t really understand it then, but I do now.

I finally figured out why the Dozy Embrace is so sad.  After all this time I finally know why it still breaks my heart every time I watch it.  The reason is so simple and obvious I just can’t believe that it has really taken me this long to figure it out.  But I finally did.

The Dozy Embrace is so incredibly, heartbreakingly, and devastatingly sad because Ennis leaves Jack to go back to the sheep. Even though there really is no reason to go back, the sheep would have been just fine if he stayed with Jack for a longer time.  They would not have gotten tangled up again.  Ennis should have stayed with Jack.  He should have stayed, even for just a while longer, and had some more sweet time with Jack.  But instead Ennis is so obligated to follow the rules and do what he thinks he is supposed to do, because of the pressures that society and other people have put on him, as well as because of the pressures that he has placed on himself.  So he leaves that beautiful moment and does what he thinks he is supposed to do.  He should have stayed with Jack.  I want him every time I watch to have decided to stay.  I long for him to stay, but he doesn’t.  He did what he thought he should do, and nothing is the same again, ever.  Especially, when the DE is put in its proper time place.  No matter how much they try, I don’t think it ever again is quite like the moment of the Dozy Embrace.

I guess that is why I understand Ennis so well, I have always done the things that I thought I was supposed to do, instead of doing the things I wanted to do.

So that is why the Dozy Embrace is so sad.  Because Ennis left Jack to go back to the sheep.  He should have stayed there, with Jack, forever.

[malina]

Cameron,
this is fresh in my mind because... well, not to self-promote, but I just wrote a little fanfic about that on toycoon's "Jack with Ennis" thread. Just the other day. And, thinking about that scene again, another thing struck me... it was still light, still so early, and Ennis was going up to the sheep. Earlier on, when he and Jack were just getting to know each other, he would stay with Jack as late as possible, till the moon notched past two... why the difference? Why is he leaving Jack so early, now?
I guess because of the way relationships progress. At the beginning, there's all this intensity... sense of urgency... but later, things get calmer. So maybe it felt okay to have an early night, because there would be the next night after that, and the next...
Except, of course, there wasn't, so even that comfort, if that's what it was, becomes sad because of the dramatic irony in it. They're acting as if they have all the time in the world... as if, in some sense, they are already in 'the sweet life'... but they don't, and they're not.
All of that gets a little bit away from your point - sorry - about Ennis doing his duty and going to the sheep instead of being with Jack. And yes, that is sad too. Although, I guess, logically, he would've had to be with the sheep at least some nights.
I think they just felt comfortable. A false sense of security and timelessness. Just my 'take'..

[Fran]

Beautifully stated, Marleen and Malina.

[Cameron]

Thank you, Malina, for your wonderful reply to my post.

Thank you Fran, for your kind words.

[RodneyFL]

For your consideration, a new representation of the Dozy Embrace, from Brokenback, May 2007 . . .

. . . and it truly was bittersweet!

[injest]

I think the dozy embrace was a 'tipping point' for Ennis. I think he had gone as far as he could opening up to Jack....that he had to pull away and go back to the sheep to protect himself. He was still afraid to trust what he felt.

It was telling to me that he couldn't look at Jack as he left. He was so close to losing it....if he had stayed, he would have broken. And he was terrified of losing that control.

[injest]

Rodney, Great pic....that Adam was sure making sure everyone got what they needed, wasn't he? Glad you had a good time.

[nic]

At face value, I sometimes see the DE as entirely happy. Why?  They are both up there on the mountain, newly fallen in love, having the time of their lives.   Ennis is still holding on to the vestiges of what he's supposed to be doing at this early stage because he hasn't thought further than the next day.  Both of them are thinking the other will still be there tomorrow & the day after & the day after for weeks to come so no problem with a temporary break. Sometimes in the throes of first love a brief parting can be a delicious torment to be savoured as it makes the next reunion more ecstatic!  So at face value, no symbolism etc, all is innocent & joyous.  Aaaaaaaahhh...