Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Post-Divorce Scene
Front-Ranger:
I wanted to make a comment about the post-divorce scene and didn't know where to put it, so here I am. ::) I think part of Jack's hastiness and foolhardiness about rushing up to present himself to Ennis had to do with the warm reception he had received about 10 years earlier when they reunited after four years apart. Ennis was so "welcoming" to him then that Jack had reason to think that, with Alma out of the picture, Ennis would be overjoyed to see Jack.
And who's to say it wouldn't have been that way if Ennis's girls hadn't been there? Ennis may have been in a hurry to get Jack inside out of public view, but after all it was one of those rural ranch houses. It could have been the start of something different, a real sweet life.
Jack underestimated Ennis's need to be close to his daughters because Jack wasn't close to his own family, stemming from his childhood. But Ennis, having been abandoned by most of his family, needed his daughters, especially after the divorce. And Jack didn't realize that. :(
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on August 16, 2006, 01:20:49 pm ---And who's to say it wouldn't have been that way if Ennis's girls hadn't been there? Ennis may have been in a hurry to get Jack inside out of public view, but after all it was one of those rural ranch houses. It could have been the start of something different, a real sweet life.
--- End quote ---
Or at the very least, a real sweet weekend! :-*
And maybe with time to talk, they could have figured out a plan that would have satisfied, or at least improved things, for both of them.
Good points, Lee, about why Jack expected a different reaction, and about how Jack and Ennis felt differently about their kids.
dly64:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on August 16, 2006, 01:20:49 pm ---I wanted to make a comment about the post-divorce scene and didn't know where to put it, so here I am. ::) I think part of Jack's hastiness and foolhardiness about rushing up to present himself to Ennis had to do with the warm reception he had received about 10 years earlier when they reunited after four years apart. Ennis was so "welcoming" to him then that Jack had reason to think that, with Alma out of the picture, Ennis would be overjoyed to see Jack.
And who's to say it wouldn't have been that way if Ennis's girls hadn't been there? Ennis may have been in a hurry to get Jack inside out of public view, but after all it was one of those rural ranch houses. It could have been the start of something different, a real sweet life.
Jack underestimated Ennis's need to be close to his daughters because Jack wasn't close to his own family, stemming from his childhood. But Ennis, having been abandoned by most of his family, needed his daughters, especially after the divorce. And Jack didn't realize that. :(
--- End quote ---
I have to disagree. IMO, Jack interpreted Ennis’ divorce as a change of heart (i.e. that Ennis changed his mind about them having a life together). Jack learned in a very painful and humiliating way that Ennis’ divorce was not an invitation towards living the “sweet life.” At that moment Jack knew that the life he had longed for (with Ennis) would never happen.
I am one of those jaded people who do not put as much emphasis on Ennis’ daughters as others do. I am not saying he doesn’t love his daughters. He absolutely does! What I am saying is that even if the girls wouldn’t have been there when Jack drove up to Wyoming, Ennis would have found another excuse. It’s not that Ennis didn’t want to see Jack or spend time with him. But, Jack arrived in a place outside of Ennis’ comfort zone. Somewhere in another thread, it was discussed that there were a few things about that visit that amplified Ennis’ already low “startle point.” Jack showed up unannounced, in Ennis’ home town, in front of his daughters and Jack had asked about “fourteen people” where Ennis had moved to. In addition to all of that, a pickup drives by. In Ennis’ mind, the driver is scoping out Jack and Ennis together. YIKES! That was too much for Ennis.
Note: In all fairness, I have to admit that if Ennis would have decided to live with Jack, the possibility of him maintaining a relationship with his daughters would have been remote. Understandably, that was not an acceptable scenario for Ennis.
jpwagoneer1964:
--- Quote from: dly64 on August 16, 2006, 01:59:36 pm ---I have to disagree. IMO, Jack interpreted Ennis’ divorce as a change of heart (i.e. that Ennis changed his mind about them having a life together). Jack learned in a very painful and humiliating way that Ennis’ divorce was not an invitation towards living the “sweet life.” At that moment Jack knew that the life he had longed for (with Ennis) would never happen.
I am one of those jaded people who do not put as much emphasis on Ennis’ daughters as others do. I am not saying he doesn’t love his daughters. He absolutely does! What I am saying is that even if the girls wouldn’t have been there when Jack drove up to Wyoming, Ennis would have found another excuse. It’s not that Ennis didn’t want to see Jack or spend time with him. But, Jack arrived in a place outside of Ennis’ comfort zone. Somewhere in another thread, it was discussed that there were a few things about that visit that amplified Ennis’ already low “startle point.” Jack showed up unannounced, in Ennis’ home town, in front of his daughters and Jack had asked about “fourteen people” where Ennis had moved to. In addition to all of that, a pickup drives by. In Ennis’ mind, the driver is scoping out Jack and Ennis together. YIKES! That was too much for Ennis.
[
--- End quote ---
I think Ennis mainly wrote Jack telling him of his trouble, Jack was the one he could turn to. He didn't think how Jack might react. Sadly Ennis's fearsr were not unfounded and while he did long for the "sweet life" he knew it couldn't happen.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: dly64 on August 16, 2006, 01:59:36 pm ---What I am saying is that even if the girls wouldn’t have been there when Jack drove up to Wyoming, Ennis would have found another excuse.
--- End quote ---
Yes. This scene is ambiguous, because to my mind, having his daughters for the weekend is an airtight excuse for not seeing Jack. Yet it's not the only reason he responds the way he does.
However, if Ennis had been alone I do think he would have reacted differently. After all, at first he looked thrilled to see Jack. If they'd been able to discuss it at length, in private, Jack might still have wound up disappointed. But it wouldn't have been as much of a disaster.
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