SPOILER WARNING
Does anyone think that his brutality towards her might have caused the brain hemorrhage which in the end caused her death?
shareYes! But it was only after seeing the ending a second time that it dawned on me. That hard slap on the face, coupled with the shaking in their final confrontation, might have done it, seems to me.
shareNo. It's far more likely that the hand-to-mouth existence she'd been leading had weakened her, though even that wouldn't necessarily lead to a hemorrhage. Internal bleeding isn't brought on that easily.
shareI think the mental pressure he applied to her caused it...
He constantly tried to force his will, and she constantly resisted.
She did have an underlying condition, but I’m of the opinion that He killed her. Her hemorrhage and collapse came as a result of stress he inflicted upon her.
probably more clear in the novel.
"Rampart: Squad 51."
I think Margaret's health probably started to decline after her husband's death. The way she and her children were forced to live did not help either. She was depressed, and seemed to be trying to keep her husband alive(the shining of his boots). If Frank had been less of a pig, she might have been able to consider starting a new life with him. Frank always managed to spoil whatever little good he did(inviting her to dinner and the gift of the fur coat). He makes an embarrassing scene at the restaurant and Margaret is totally disgusted with him.
I think the final straw was when Frank tells her that her husband *killed himself* because he couldn't stand living with her."You want to kill me",she replies. From that point on, Margaret's health starts to rapidly decline. I believe she lost the will to live. Soon after, she is hospitalized. She suffered a brain hemorrhage that ultimately proved fatal.
*His death had been considered accidental.*
Had to read through almost every thread first to see if anyone had already posted this question. It finally dawned on me that a thread titled "Spolier..." may have something to do with the ending LOL !! Anyway, did she not have an obvious bruise on her right cheek where he smacked her ?? I thought it was pretty dang clear as she lay there in the hospital bed, no ? And since this was a movie, that was make up and make up like that is applied for a reason: To let us know she was hit pretty dang hard ! The scene did show him take a wide, hay maker swing at her rather than a close up shoulder/head shot and, no doubt, that was intentionally directed/acted out - the shot let us see the size of the man, the wind up and swing etc. To my mind, this was all done to 'tell' us that she was whacked hard by this big bruit and leave us with this question. The only problem is that there was no dialogue/hint in any way, shape or form that anyone thought he might have been responsible for her condition (physically).
Any doc treating a patient with that diagnosis (which was also made clear) combined with an obvious bruise to the head would have to report it to the police ! His comment that she, "more importantly, didn't have the will to live' was a bit off the wall considering the 2 physical findings IMHO. At the very least he should have been questioned. Its possible that we were meant to assume this would have been his fate soon after her death. An 'OJ' chase ?
No, I think he would have went along and answered their questions, accepted his fate and done his time (unless the autopsy proved otherwise).
Those 2 scenes were planned and executed to leave little doubt...just a little.