Well that's for sure! That bit of dialogue doesn't sound anything like the Ennis in the movie -- or even like Story Ennis, for that matter. To me, this really supports the idea that previous versions of the screenplay, though perhaps interesting for historical/archival purposes, really aren't relevant in analyzing the final product.
Not surprisingly I'm sure, I have to disagree with you there, Katherine, because "the final product" did not spring, Athena-like, from Ang Lee's head. It was the result of an organic process that began with Annie Proulx's story. To me,
Brokeback Mountain is a single and unique phenomenon comprising both story and film, and while they have their differences, for me
nothing is irrelevant as data for analysis. I recognize and respect that others don't see it this way, but this is my story and I'm stickin' to it.
I do agree that Ennis was taught, in essence, to hate himself. But I long ago rejected the flashback as applying to the movie (or even, IMO, the story). Watch the reunion scene and then tell me that "Ennis couldn't embrace a man face to face becaue he did not want to see or feel that it was Jack he held." Um ... really?
Here I both agree and disagree. Clearly, the story text, "that Ennis would not then embrace him face to face," makes no sense in light of a film that has TS2 (by the way, when did "TS2" become "SNIT" [eeew]?). But as regards the story, don't miss the importance of that little four-letter word "then." At the time that "dozy embrace" took place, Ennis couldn't face up to embracing Jack face to face. OK. But don't forget that by the time of the Story Reunion, Ennis had been wringing it out for three or four years while thinking of Jack, and had figured out that the cause of his gut cramps was that he shouldn't have let Jack out of his sights. The flashback
is relevant to the story, just not to the story version of the reunion, I believe. By the time of the Story Reunion, Ennis was perfectly capable and willing to embrace Jack face to face--and I apologize if I misunderstood what you meant by the flashback not applying to the story.