Ennis, Jack and swearing

[chowhound]

As we all know, the final line of the movie is Ennis's "Jack, I swear..."

This closely follows the short story:

"'Jack, I swear...,' he said, although Jack had never asked him to swear anything and was himself not the swearing kind."

I've thought about this snippet before but have never been entirely clear about the what the narrator is implying by linking both Jack and Ennis to "swearing". When the narrator tells us that "Jack had never asked him [Ennis] to swear to anything" is she suggesting that Jack had never asked Ennis to formally - as in swearing an oath - to commit to anything in their relationship? And is she thereby suggesting that Ennis is somehow now prepared to take that step even though - or because - Jack is now dead?

And what is being implied when we are told that Ennis is "not of the swearing kind". I suppose the narrator isn't saying that Ennis rarely uses foul language though I suppose that's possible.

Any suggestions?

[Monika]

good question, I've often wondered about this myself.
Since English isn't my first language, I thought that might be the reason I didn't quite get it, but perhaps it's more complex than that.

Like a lot of other stuff in Brokeback Mountain, I think this might be another example Annie Proulx ambiguity and that there simply is no clear answer.

At times, I've figured that the line "and wasn't himself the swearing kind" meant that Jack wasn't exactly faithful to anyone. But I don't know...seems pretty cold to end the story like that. Perhaps that none of them ever talked about their feelings towards each other much. Neither of them were big on fancy words or promises. They both knew how they felt without having to voice it or having to swear anything.

I'm sure there are people who have something more clever to say about this than me though, and me too would be very interested in hearing it!

[chowhound]

Hi Buffymon,
   I see we are reading the same passage differently. Where the passage reads "...and was himself not the swearing kind" I'm assuming "himself" refers to Ennis. In other words, I'm reading it as if the whole passage, if expanded, would read "Jack, I swear---" he said, though Jack had never asked him to swear anything and he himself [ie Ennis] was not the swearing kind". But you're quite right - "himself" could refer back to Jack. Curious. I wonder how other people have read this passage in the past. Is "himself" Jack or Ennis?

[Brown Eyes]

I agree that the use of the word "himself" is not clear in that passage.  It could easily refer to either Jack or Ennis.  But, I think I've tended to see at as referring to Jack.

This topic is very apropos to my viewing this past Sunday evening of BBM.  When watching the final scene, I was struck once again by the ambiguity of how the last line is delivered.  I think it would be very easy to hear that line as "I'll swear..."  rather than "I swear..."  I guess that wouldn't make that much of a difference in terms of meaning... but it's interesting that it's not 100% clear there.

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks for bringing up this interesting topic, c-hound! In the imdb topics rewound forum, Ennis's Maledictions thread, Casey Cornelius discusses the roots of the concept of "swearing":

"I had forgotten about Jacob's thigh wound. An interesting addition to the location of the wound is the fact that in the ancient near east (biblical times), vows and covenants were often sworn to by the party doing the swearing placing his hand on the inner thigh (above the knee but not on the genitals) of the party being sworn to, and then speaking the vow or covenant."

So, we see that when Ennis/Proulx refers to swearing, they are talking about something different, something more primitive and primal than cursing. Although the two concepts are related.

[Brown Eyes]

I don't think I've ever thought of the word "swear" here in terms of cursing.  I've always heard it as a vow.  I think it's very much related to Ennis's very recent discussion with Junior about love and marriage.

[chowhound]

I thought it might be useful to explore this ambiguity a little further, so here goes:

First, my understanding that "himself" refers to Ennis, not Jack, is essentially a minor expansion of the original:

"'Jack, I swear...,' he said, although Jack had never asked him to swear anything and he himself[i.e. Ennis] was not the swearing kind."

The advantage, I think, of this reading is that it keeps the focus on Ennis at this critical moment. We know that Ennis has never been asked by Jack to swear anything, so in doing so now, is not fulfilling some promise he may have made to Jack in the past. We also know that the taciturn Ennis is not given to making solemn pronouncements or oaths. Even so, as Ennis contemplates the two shirts, his own now covering and protecting Jack's, he is so profoundly moved that, probably for the first time in his life, he offers Jack a solemn statement or pronouncement starting "Jack, I swear..."

I feel if "himself" refers to Jack we lose this concentration on Ennis and it is replaced by a not particularly relevant piece of information that Jack wasn't "the swearing kind". So what?

But it's a possible reading. To each his own choice. But undoubtedly a choice has to be made.

[Sason]

Chowhound, I like your interpretation. It makes a lot of sense.

[southendmd]

I love Annie's ambiguities, however maddening they can be.

However, I always read "himself" as referring to Jack.  I see it as contrasting Ennis (who just swore), with Jack--who never asked Ennis to swear, nor was he (Jack) the kind of guy to swear.

Let's look at the sentence:

'Jack, I swear...,' he (Ennis) said, although Jack had never asked him (Ennis) to swear anything and (Jack is the implied subject here) was himself (Jack) not the swearing kind.

In this case, I think of "swear" as meaning promise, oath, hold sacred.

[Brown Eyes]

Great analysis Paul!  I like your point that the "himself" is meant to contrast with Ennis's action of swearing immediately before this observation.

There's something interesting and nice/poignant here that the gendered term "himself" is what causes a bit of confusion... it underscores the fact that we're thinking about a same sex couple here.  

In a very somber context here, it emphasizes some of the quirky peculiarities that do arise when one is in a same sex couple (the kind of thing that is unique to a same sex relationship and not experienced in a straight situation where pronouns are always distinct).  The "she-said-she-said" scenario vs. the "he-said-she-said" kind of grammatical silliness is something I've experienced when I've been in relationships with girlfriends.  And, one of my best male gay friends once dated a guy with his same first name (Michael and Michael).

This also makes me think of a very general, interesting paradox about BBM... at least in how I perceive it.  It seems very true that BBM is a "universal" love story on many levels.  But, at the same time, it's also about the extreme specifics of gay relationships, gay identity and certain aspects of gay psychology, etc., etc.

I love Annie's ambiguities, however maddening they can be.

However, I always read "himself" as referring to Jack.  I see it as contrasting Ennis (who just swore), with Jack--who never asked Ennis to swear, nor was he (Jack) the kind of guy to swear.

Let's look at the sentence:

'Jack, I swear...,' he (Ennis) said, although Jack had never asked him (Ennis) to swear anything and (Jack is the implied subject here) was himself (Jack) not the swearing kind.

In this case, I think of "swear" as meaning promise, oath, hold sacred.