I feel that the ending of the novel was very satisfying. I
liked the twist. It was a little unclear at the very end but left it up to our
imaginations. The two deserved the punishment that they received. As things were coming to
close, I thought that Huff was going to get away with everything because
Phyllis had screwed over so many people throughout her life. It seemed like
Keyes had given him a pass. He was going to get away and have a fresh start.
Then it talks about him being on the boat and finding a seat up on the deck. He
heard a little gasp next to him and as he turned, he saw her. This was the last person I expected to see on the boat with him. It kept me drawn
in all the way to the end. We assume that the two of them jumped overboard to
the shark once the moon came up but it doesn’t say that.
The details given in their final
conversation were great. They talk about Lola and Nino getting married and that
Keyes gave away Lola being the father figure since her dad was dead. And then
she says that they could get married, but what for? There was nothing ahead of them. She says that her time has
come. That it is time “For me to meet my bridegroom”. The only one she has ever
loved. She talks about feeling his icy fingers creeping into her heart little
by little as she goes down. I’m not sure if this is a reference to death and
the devil or if she is referring to the ocean.
Later
as Huff is writing his final statement in the stateroom, it talks about her
changing into her “outfit for death”. She puts on her makeup as if she is
already dead. Her face is white, black circle under her eyes and blood red
lipstick. This makes me picture a ghost or a dead person. She is wrapped in her
blood red silk sheet with only her head and stumps of hands sticking out. She
moves silently. It describes her as the thing that came aboard to shoot dice
for souls of the people. She is like the grim-reaper. She hovers over Huff in
the end while he is writing his statement. She is silent in her entry and he
can feel her presence. She is the angel of darkness that has come to take him.
Although I found the ending of the novel to be rather unsatisfying, your descriptions of the events leading to it’s conclusion, particularly your comments on Phyllis dressing for death, reminded me of a passage from early on in the narrative that perhaps made the ending apropos. On page 18 Phyllis says, “...But there’s something in me, I don’t know what. Maybe I’m crazy. But something in me loves death. I think of myself as Death, sometimes. In a scarlet shroud, floating through the night.” Perhaps Cain was foreshadowing the ending by slipping in this piece of Phyllis’ psyche in the early parts of the book. When I think of the ending now, which was a complete letdown in the first moments I read it, I feel a little more resolved than I originally had. Thank you for bringing that reference of death to my attention.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you liked the ending. It looks like it really took you for a spin. Your appreciation of it has made me see some of it’s good qualities that I had dismissed.
I thought Huff was going to get away with it too. I was a bit surprised with Phyllis being on the boat and in no way thought they were going to commit suicide. I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending but really don't care for endings that don't really say what happened, haha.
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