First of all, I really appreciate hearing from all of you on your perceptions regarding if Ennis would/would not commit suicide.
Katie – your story is so sad. It sheds another light on the outcome of suicide …. the anger and heartbreak of loved ones left behind
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.
You are right that suicide would be a devastating and tragic end to this story (a la Romeo and Juliet). IMO, Ennis would never go back to Cassie. Cassie represented Ennis’ continual denial and attempts to have a “normal” relationship with a woman. After Ennis and Jack’s row, Ennis realized that it was Jack he loved. He could not continue the façade of a “straight” relationship with Cassie (or any other woman, for that matter).
After Jack dies, Ennis is left with a lot of questions and angst. He has fettered his life away.
“If you don’t have nothin’, you don’t need nothin’.” The one thing Ennis
did have was the love of a man who would have given up everything to have a relationship with him. Ennis’ passiveness and his inability to freely give of himself (as he did on BBM) is a regret that Ennis will have to live with. The “if only …” scenarios will be plaguing Ennis for the rest of his life.
Although Ennis, by the end of the film, knows he is gay, he is still not accepting of that fact. So, the possibility of him having a relationship with another man is extremely remote to nonexistent. IMO, he becomes more homophobic than before as he is left with an image of Jack being killed with a tire iron (even though there is no proof, Ennis is still left with that possibility). Because of Ennis’ “hatred” of his sexual orientation (i.e. hatred towards himself), he would be an extremely high risk for suicide.
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. )
This, too, is an interesting POV and a realistic one that, honestly, I had not previously considered.
Here are some other things to ponder …
Going for Ennis:
• The love of his daughters
• The potential for grandchildren
• An innate sense of survival in desperate situations
• Having loved and been loved
Going against Ennis:
• His own self loathing, “homohatred”
• Living an isolative existence
• Living in rural Wyoming
• Fear
• The memories of what he did/didn’t do, what he lost and what he’ll never have
I am sure that all of you can add points to both of those lists.
At this moment, I am not prepared to say where I come out on this issue. Ennis is a very complex character that, honestly, I have troubles understanding. (Jack is much easier for me to relate to. My personality and life experiences are more like Jack’s versus Ennis’). Is it in Ennis’ psyche to have the ability to kill himself?