Hey guys,
This topic came out at the polling place as a result of a comment I made about Jack making the mistake of waiting too much time for Ennis to commit. I got some interesting responses which prompt me to open a whole thread about it. I haven't found any other thread alike, but if there's indeed another one about the same topic, please notify me via PM before posting, so I can delete it.
This is my opinion:
As I was saying at that other thread, Jack, unlike Ennis, was the sort of person who would rather have 5 minutes of wonderful than a whole life of misery and nothing special*. His flaw, however, was stubborness. He waited way too long for Ennis to come around, then died without really enjoying the life he wanted.
I think Jack loved Ennis too much, much more than he loved himself. And while that can sound romantic, because in Hollywood they have made it sound romantic, in my opinion it was a mistake, because it only brought pain, unhappiness and misery into his life. I know things weren't always that bad with Ennis. I'm sure they had great moments together that Jack probably cherished. But the fact is that Jack at the beginning of the movie he was an outgoing happy man, with a quick laugh and a good sense of humor. Then we witness how the frustration he feels in his relationship with Ennis begins to take a toll in him, and in the end he becomes a bitter, depressed man.
That's why I think his stubborness, in this case, was a flaw, a mistake. In fact, is a lesson I learned from the movie. Jack should've loved himself more no matter how much he loved Ennis. In my opinion, he should've called it quits after the divorce scene, when he travels all the way to Wyoming only to be rejected by Ennis.
*This is in reference of Ennis's fear of ending up killed. I think Jack couldn't care less about it. He would rather have a life with Ennis, with the ranch and the calf and cow operation, even if that meant the risk of being killed or tortured like Earl was.