You know, I keep changing my mind. Or not changing it, exactly, but letting the various arguments weigh more or less according to the compelling posts I read from others - and the mood I'm in. The more romantic, the less the quitter....
So if Jack's plan to move with Randall to LF was empty talk triggered by his frustration with Ennis, and if he probably wouldn't have really wanted to live with Randall, and if Randall probably wouldn't want to do it anyway ... then I would say Jack wouldn't have quit Ennis.
I think he would, or could, still have quit Ennis even so. Because his reason for quitting IMO mainly is love and concern for Ennis (and himself); - their relationship is "killing them" - their spirit, their love, their lives if not their excistence. Jack's wish to be with someone else would be entirely secondary to a perceived need to set Ennis free for Ennis's own sake. If so, whether or not he could be certain that Randall was willing to commit to anything more than what they previously had would not be an important deciding factor for Jack. And Jack could in this scenario still go on about the ranch neighbour to his parents immediately after having seen Ennis, to convince himself he could manage the quitting.
Then when he got back to Childress, it seems he'd overtaxed his "quitting" resources and probably was in very much doubt - consequently the drinking and the (probable) carelessness . That face of Jack's in the very last scene we see with him.... I can imagine him returning to Childress completely mentally worn out, heavily depressed, unable to make further changes and decisions. **sniff** Only we don't get to see that, while we *do* get to see Ennis's corresponding state of mind. Was there ever a more dejected and lonely-looking person than that silent man sitting by himself in the empty cafe, looking crushed by life, barely managing to nibble at his sad little piece of pie? **sniff**
I am close to agreeing that *Ennis* was ready to try to change - that the scene in the cafe shows some sort of epiphany.... Less certain about his ability to change. And we would have known, if not for........
Concerning whether or not J&E ever discussed a life together after the "cow and calf operation" talk, I've been wondering about what, if anything, was said when they met a month after the disastrous post-divorce scene. Would they both have pretended that nothing happened? Would they have just let be, let be without comment? Would they have talked through what happened, - at all? At least touched upon Jack's hopes and Ennis's fears? Would Ennis pretend that he thought Jack'd come up to be with him for a weekend or so, which was impossible because of the girls? Well, "pretend" is not the right word here, I know, that's doing Ennis an injustice - it's more that Ennis uses his "the girls" mantra (and the "child support" one as well) when he doesn't really know what else to *say* - however deeply he feels - when he just can't find the words. So let me rephrase: If they talked about that post-divorce disaster at all, did Ennis continue to explain his behaviour with having to take care of the girls?
Edit: Hey, Jane, you posted while I was scribbling away. Seems we're on to some of the same thoughts.
