Frustrating ending [spoilers, obviously]

I just saw this film for the first time, and although it was initially rather claustrophobic and anxiety-producing, ultimately that was the film's great power. At first the film struck me as a little contrived and stagey, but by halfway through my head was spinning with the breath-taking audacity and whirling themes of it all. In general, I loved the film.


That said, on first viewing I found the ending-- the protagonist's sudden suicide-- not just jarring, but contrived and out of sync. Yes, I know that in the type of film we now call noir the hero must barrel toward existential doom and all that, and yes, I couldn't help but discern the tragic Shakespearean undercurrent with its ill-fated trajectory-- in short, structurally, the hero had to die-- but emotionally it did not seem commensurate with the film as I understood it. When Charlie defied Huff in the film's end, it seemed to me that at last the hero was being heroic; he developed a moral backbone ('Oh, my aching back!'), and he finally faced up to the consequences of his actions. He took responsibility for his life, choosing integrity over material success and moral compromise. These steps seem positive both in terms of existential authenticity and in terms of romantic ideals. Most importantly, it seemed to me that his actions had finally won back the undying love, respect and devotion of his wife.

So just then, he decides that it's all too much, that some sort of suicidal sacrifice is necessary? Did anyone else find this frustratingly jarring, so much of an emotional non sequitir that it didn't work dramaturgically?