Would Ennis Commit Suicide?

[dly64]

I have often wondered what happened to Ennis after grows older and alone. With Wyoming having the highest suicide rate in the United States …. the majority of those suicides being single, elderly men … would Ennis be included in those stats?

Researching what life was like for a homosexual in the rural USA during the 60’s has been eye opening. During this time, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association listed “homosexuality” as individuals who were “mentally disordered.” Either a person was heterosexual and “normal” or homosexual and “abnormal.” This definition became the socially constructed norm. Male homosexuality was perceived as a rarity. Within this environment, gay men believed they were “the only one.” Anal sex was perceived as an activity engaged in by “degraded males” who thought themselves to be like women, or were labeled as such because they were accepting the status of being anally penetrated.  What exacerbated the problem were the homophobic reactions of others and themselves. Pierre Trembly states in his research:

“Heterosexist and homophobic messages affirm not only that one is a rarity and  "does not belong," but that hatred, marginalization, and even exclusion will apply if one’s homosexual secret is known or suspected. Related problems, including the internalization of acquired homohating perceptions, often associated with gender nonconformity issues, now turned against the self, have been linked to suicide problems ... The learned "Better Be Dead Than Gay" perception is implicated in self-killings and murders of gay individuals”.

It is interesting to note that even today, many viewers of BBM refer to Jack as the “woman” and Ennis as the “man,” (or vice versa) which is completely ludicrous.

Returning to Ennis … by the end of the story, Ennis is aware that people probably know he is gay (Mrs. Twist, OMT, Alma, Alma, Jr. et.al.). Even though Ennis makes a “baby step” in agreeing to attend Alma, Jr.’s wedding, is he really capable of changing? In the story, he has dreams about Jack … “…he would wake sometimes in grief, sometimes with the old sense of joy and release; the pillow sometimes wet, sometimes the sheets.” IMO, as Ennis grew older, the bitterer he became because of what he did, what he lost and what he’ll never have. But … would that lead to suicide?

[David]

Hi Diane!

   I do recall reading an interview with Anne Proulx where it said she invisioned Ennis becoming more withdrawn from society.   No doubt he regrets withholding his true feelings towards Jack and perhaps now being broken hearted, he will not open himself to such hurt again.  Or even that he see's Jacks death as the result of being "open" and that his father was right.

   And I must admit, I too had a fleeting thought that; "Geez!  Poor Ennis.  I hope there isn't a gun in that Trailer!"

[Wxaupe]

I thought he might, until I read that Larry Mc Murtry said Ennis was too tough to commit suicide. Now I think Larry's right. "If you can't fix it ya gotta stand it" as Ennis says.

[Katie77]

I must say the thought crossed my mind too....probably because I have seen it in real life.....

I have documented this before on this board, but in a nutshell, my father was homosexual in the 50's and 60's...and a had a partner whom it left my mother for....they were together for over 14years, and split, when his partner, decided to have a "normal" life and marry and have a family.

My Dad left him with the home that they had shared, and went off alone moving from one town to the next......Eventually he settled in a small village, and lived in a caravan park (trailer park)....ALONE.....

He visited me and my family several times, I visited him, several times, but I could always see  how lonely he was.......he often used to say, that he didnt have anything to live for anymore, which used to make me angry, because he did have me, his daughter, and  I had given him two grandsons....but I know now, we werent enough to give him what he longed for.

He eventually committed suicide.....

When he took his life, I was not only very sad, but I was still angry with him, because I did feel that me and my children should have been enough to make him want to continue to live on....it made me feel that he didnt love me enough to keep living for me, he didnt even want to live to watch my sons grow up...I was devastated...

When I saw the movie the first time, I thought so much of him...even though, over all the years I had seen him with his partner, and accepted that there was "something" there, it wasnt until I saw it on the screen, the depth of the love between two men, the torment they had to endure because they loved one another, and the fierce overwhelming loss of when it was all over....I finally realized that no one, not me, not my boys, no one, could have ever replaced the loss that Dad was feeling, so I didnt feel angry anymore, and I finally forgave him for taking his life away from us......and if you can understand, that I had been carrying that around with me since his death, 22 years ago, you can imagine the relief that I felt.

So, if you ask me, "would Ennis commit suicide"....I can only answer "yes".....but I really do hope that he didnt.....for as much as I have forgiven,  I can still not condone it, nor agree with it.....Life deals us all some terrible and painful paths to travel, and we have to get thru them, and heal from them.....as Ennis said "If you cant fix it, you gotta stand it".......

[Luvlylittlewing]

I have wondered the same thing, and can see Ennis committing suicide.  Sure he had his daughters and the promise of grandchildren, but he also had to live with Jack's untimely death, a horribly painful death (if you buy the tire iron version) and the guilt.  I can see Ennis committing suicide if no one reached out to him or if he refused to undergo therapy.  With the genuine pain that Ennis endured in his sad, sad life, I don't know how he even got up in the morning.

[Bucky]

I just don't believe Ennis would commit suicide because despite Ennis' loneliness from Jack's death Ennis was a survivor. He wouldn't live with Jack because he was afraid that they would both be killed.  Also Ennis' philosophy of life was that "if you can't fix it you have to stand it."  I think Ennis was a tough old bird who would not do any harm to himself.  I agree that Alma Jr. and Kurt and the family they would have and Jenny might not be enough to keep Ennis from doing anything like that but Ennis was a strong individual who grew up very lonely without many friends and with the exception of Jack he didn't have hardly any friends.  Somehow I see Ennis going to the bus station diner alone and going to the pool halls alone to watch the younger guys play pool always careful but ready to tackle every day as it came.  At times he might have lived with Alma Jr. because of monetary reasons but Ennis was a survivor and I don't think he was the suicide type.  Now that is only my opinion of Ennis. I don't have anyway of knowing for sure.  I think Ennis was so used to being solitary in his life that it came to him like a second nature.

[David]

Well, it is difficult to know what a fictional character was meant to do.   Only Anne Proulx can answer that.   But we can speculate about his future.   

But first. Look where it left off.   Ennis is a ranch hand who now lives pretty much near where ever the work is.  It is at the end of the book where it says the ranch was sold and he had to move on, perhaps with his daughter.   So are we to assume that he can't afford to rent the apartment in Riverton or a small farm house like before?  Probably not.

Suicide would be a horrible end to the story, but as pointed out a possible scenario.   We can think of other options.   He gets a regular blue collar job that pays better and settles into a regular work week.  Spending time with his girls and future grandchildren.    Would he go back to Cassie?   I doubt it.   He now knows how unhappy he was with alma and what a mess the situation made of their marriage.  I think he'd stay single unless some young buck came along and caught his eye.  And that has always been my hope for him.   That one day at the General Store he'd bump into a late 30's handsome (and single) black haired Cowboy that would make Ennis gulp hard and take his breath away.   And just maybe this new young man would have a thing for the strong silent type.

 

[Jeff Wrangler]

I don't think Ennis would commit suicide--not actively, anyway. That is, I don't think he would have directly killed himself. I just don't think that would be in character for the "can't fix it/got to stand it" kind of guy we know Ennis to be.

On the other hand, Ennis does not lead a particularly healthy lifestyle, despite being an outdoorsman. He smokes too much and drinks too much, undoubtedly has a lousy diet (probably lots of starch and fat and very few fresh fruits and vegetables), and probably has little, no, or poor medical care. I can easily imagine that he wouldn't live much past age 60 (yes, this is the scenario I incorporated in my fanfic, "Some Sweet Life").

I don't believe Ennis would eat his 30.06, but I suppose it's possible to see the smoking and drinking as almost a "passive" form of suicide.

(In reality, a friend of mine chose that route--in addition, adding drugs to the mix.  )

[Mikaela]

Jeff, you took the words right out of my keyboard! I was just gearing up to write exactly what you wrote above.

Completely agree; - Ennis would not commit suicide outright, he's too stoic and inured to his "Can-stand-it" attitude for that. But passively, subconsciously...... his life style goes a way to ensuring that he won't become an old man. And I think that even after he knows that (when it becomes public knowledge how damaging smoking is, for instance) he'll go right on living like he's used to.  I don't think he sees any reason or motivation  to "prolong" life through healthy living. 

Ennis would have been ca. 62 years old by now. I actually have some doubt that he'd still be alive though. I've imagined heart problems or lung cancer might have taken their toll already.

[nic]

I read a heartbreaking fan fiction where Ennis went up to Brokeback and took his own life.  It was plausible & sensitively written. 

However, I agree with Jeff & Mikaela, with the addition that his love for his girls goes a little way in helping to keep him in the world of the living.  I can imagine them berating him to stop smoking & drinking so much, to get out more etc  Hopefully they would keep him from becoming totally withdrawn all of the time and provide a little light in the rest of his life.  He would be so good with grandchildren I think, if he got the opportunity & allowed himself the pleasure.

I get worried thinking of the scenario where they move away and he gets left to his own devices.  This "passive" form of suicide (to use Jeff's phrase) would happen a lot more quickly.  It's a shame because Jack woulnd't want him to be so miserable without hope for so long, but then again he knew Ennis better than anyone.  I think Jack would want him to get the most out of his family and keep working hard on the land and with the animals for as long as he was able, until they were able to meet again.