MovieChat Forums > Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979) Discussion > Question about the ending (HUGE SPOILERS...

Question about the ending (HUGE SPOILERS!)

posted 20 years ago by Podporuchik
58 replies | jump to latest

So they both died. Seemed like that was accidental, but if so - that's just stupid! Forced bad ending is not any better then forced happy one (often seen in Hollywood movies). So why they died? Maybe Maria intentionally did it?

And another question: then Maria hears Oscar's will, she tells that she has a headache and retires to bathroom. Then we see her pouring water on her wrist... Here is the question: what does it mean? Is it some headache-calming technique? I had the feeling that she wants to commit suicide!

So what does it all mean? If their death was intentional, like, "we reached our goals, we don't have any other point to live, let's just die together" that's, well, unbelievable...

Any thoughts?

[–] Hypatia42 16 years ago

Maria did not yet know the contents of the will when she set her own destruction in motion. When she left the gas going she had no idea that her husband had known her lover, or that they had had an arrangement. Instead, I must believe that her death was an accident, albeit a symbolic one. With her husband present, Maria need no longer be the contemporary woman but the old fashioned secondary spouse. The film indicates with the relationship between Betti and her husband (who did promptly return from the war and resume married life) that the traditional husband-wife arrangement is not easily sustainable in post-war Germany.

Indeed, the film, in my view, is about integrating the new lessons with the old manners. When Maria's husband returns, she reverts to a carelessness because, as she always promised him, she will allow herself to be handled and his. She dresses herself without noticing, she asks his opinion, his preference regarding the bath, the house. She gave orders to all other characters. I suspect she is unuse to this position, and in some ways she has idolized the time when she will not be in power throughout the film, but that does not mean it is practical. Suddenly this creature with so much charisma and ability shuts down her instincts and the result is destruction for both.

[–] weathered2 16 years ago

"Maria did not yet know the contents of the will when she set her own destruction in motion."

Not sure what movie you were watching, but Maria was definitely aware of the betrayal prior to the murder/suicide.

[–] JKJC4535 16 years ago

I believe the writer means that the gas was left on (accidentally? deliberately?) before she knew the contents of the will. The questions seems to be: Would the suicide/accident have happened if the will had been different? Because the original ending had her commit suicide (no question about it), I must conclude that suicide was her goal and no matter what the will said, she would go into the kitchen and ignite the home. But why kill her husband? Was that accidental? Oh my.

[–] Gloede_The_Saint 15 years ago

How the bloody hell could anybody believe it was accidental. Someone was clearly not paying attention at all.

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[–] maneatingbear 15 years ago

This is a guess, but I would say Fassbinder was inspired by the ending of Angel Face, especially since it was originally supposed to have them drive over the edge of a cliff. Yes, it would seem pretty obvious that Maria blew both of them up intentionally. It was so sudden and unlikely that I felt it was almost comic in that context.

I read the write-up in 1001 Movies You Must Before You Die and it was disappointingly inaccurate in the generally stellar book. It said that a gas value happenings to explode, which wasn't my impression of the scene (Herrmann saying "No!!!") Also they say Maria kills Bill when he tries to rape her, which is just about the complete opposite of how the scene goes down.

[–] thepalestfire 14 years ago

Maria does kill Bill, and her husband takes the blame for it. That would be why he spends most of the flm in jail. The ending was presented as an accident. Evidence: the shots of Maria lighting her cigarette on the stove before hand. Before the house blows up, when Maria arrives home, we see her put her purse (?) in the flower vase instead of the rose. She even says something along the lines "where is my head". She then goes light her cigarette on the stove. When she goes to shut the gas off, we can see she isn't paying attention, and she doesn't turn it all the way off. She does this before she even knows her husband is back. Hermann yelling "no" in my opinion was just him smelling the gas.

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[–] kerkmanick 15 years ago

ok heres my answer take it or leave it but im pretty sure its right. The death was not accidental. Maria realizes that all of her hard work and plans are for nothing because the two men in her life made a secret pact where Hermann after being released from prison would not come back until oswald was dead ( oswald had the terminal disease so hermann knew it wouldnt be long) so when Maria hears this after hearing Oswald's will she decides that she has to have some sort of control over her life and kills herself and Hermann. And if you notice earlier in the film Maria uses that same technique to calm herself down after willi comes back. I hope that helps would discuss this idea if anyone wants too. great movie by the way

[–] rover-johnson 13 years ago

But as has been pointed out several times already this fails to take into account that she leaves the gas on prior to even knowing Herman has returned. Herman's reaction is likely a response to the door to the kitchen being opened and the smell of gas entering the room he is in.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] johnmuir76 11 years ago

My feeling was that their marriage was just ill-fated to begin with - it began with an explosion and ended with one. I actually found the ending to be almost somewhat humorous. I guess if I were looking for a larger meaning, I'd say that despite her hope against hope that things could one day be normal, things would never be normal.

[–] Bree_33 10 years ago

Fassbinder's heroines... they all accepted their own fate somehow.

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[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

Having thought about the ending in response to some of the answers here,I conclude that Maria intended to kill herself and her husband. I found Fiona-39's post persuaded me to this point of view. IF the film's characters and events are a metaphor for Germany post-WW2, which given the number of symbols and remarks throughout they must be, then any consciousness thrown on behaviour and motivation would lead to suicide because consciousness would show the corruption. I think Maria had just about realised what she had done at the point she left the gas on; an action that showed her reality lagged behind her consciousness; she 'knows' at some level what she's doing but because she hasn't acknowledged it, the action isn't real yet. She has surfaced and become fully aware of what she has done in when she asks Hermann for a light. Her habit had been to light her cigarette via the stove. She continues this habit when Hermann arrives at her house. Her request for a light rather than going straight to her stove is a significant departure and to me shows she recalls leaving on the gas and has made a choice to die taking Hermann with her.

I had mixed feelings throughout the film. I liked the look of it and the acting was good. During the middle I started to switch off a bit and I think that my reaction might have been in response to Maria and her emotional switch off. She became an object of study for me from then on rather than a character I was following and relating.

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[–] sunheadbowed 8 years ago

The water running over her wrist is a reference to the moment earlier in the film when she learned (incorrectly, of course) that her husband was dead. It could be a realisation that she herself was now dead; she mourned her husband once, now she mourns herself. It adds fuel to the fire (pardon the pun) for those who suspect that the gas explosion was an intentional suicide.