MovieChat Forums > The Heiress (1949) Discussion > I think she will be just fine

I think she will be just fine

posted 13 years ago by maharani78
40 replies | jump to latest

As you see her walking up those stairs at the end, the expression on her face is like, yep, I'm going to be ok and I did the right thing.
She's rich, she's free of her oppressive father and she got closure with Morris. She'll probably take a trip somewhere and who knows she might meet an independently wealthy older man.
Now she's older and wiser and has the confidence to live her life the way she wants to. That's my take on it anyway.

[–] JPLogan54 9 years ago

You are right and by the end of the film I was totally hot for Catherine. Smart, shrewd, level headed and strong woman.
Morris was a con man. He got what he deserved. Austin was right about him.
Yea Catherine!

[–] cadeaux 9 years ago

I, too, thought that the look she gave at the end going up the stairs was knowing she was not the shy timid little creature she once was.

While, she does say that she is never going to do another needlepoint, I took that as a way to cut the thread which remained in her head after what her father said earlier...that it was the only thing she could do. She is cutting herself free from just sitting on her butt all day long doing needlepoint...she is now going to venture forth as a woman who doesn't need a man or her Aunt...to make her feel complete.

I feel that bolting the door on him that way - was also heard by her Aunt...and, if you ask me...the old biddy had the hots for him and she certainly knew that leaving Catherine without a chaperone would lead to touching and kissing and canoodling. I think she had done a lot of canoodling in her own day -- anyway I got the feeling his trips to the house whilst Catherine had been in Europe might have been a little bit more than just having a swig of brandy and a cigar. I think that's even perhaps why the father makes that comment about him being in his bedroom while he was gone.

C'mon...read my blog already: http://www.mariannsimms.blogspot.com

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

cadeaux says > I, too, thought that the look she gave at the end going up the stairs was knowing she was not the shy timid little creature she once was.

There are obviously many ways to interpret this movie; what it all means; who was right; who was wrong; where they'll go from there; etc.

In each of the scenarios I envision, I see the final scene pretty much the same way. The look on Catherine's face as she ascends the stairs seems to be one of self-satisfaction. It's as if she feels she's won; she's content. She has managed to literally 'shut the door' on everyone and everything. She probably feels no one can hurt her anymore because she now understands people. She thinks they are cruel and now so is she.

It's evident by Catherine's comment to the maid about not needing to flatter her when she wants a favor that she is jaded and biased. If she read the maid wrong it's also possible she was reading Morris wrong too. She thinks everyone is manipulative and will say and do whatever is necessary to get what they want.

She thinks they're incapable of being honest; they have to do things in a covert or sneaky way. She can't take a compliment because she thinks there's no sincerity in it but also because she doesn't feel worthy of it. I'm sure she feels she's a rich woman so she doesn't need anyone in her life; including her family. When they stop by she sees them but she avoids extended contact which would require her to leave her safety zone. Besides, she probably assumes they're just being polite when they invite her to visit; they couldn't really mean it.

I feel sorry for Catherine because at the end of the movie she's as clueless as she was when it started; except now she's about a hundred times worse. She just doesn't get it and never will. She needs to be around people to understand them and to feel comfortable around them but she shuts herself off. Early on she did it in other ways but at the end she literally shuts the world out.

Let's not forget Morris is part of her extended family (cousin to her cousin's husband) so he's part of their social circle. She would want to avoid him even prior to their final encounter.

It's not just Morris on the other side of that bolted door, it's the whole world. She now limits herself to her home and perhaps the square outside, which she says she loves, but what does she know of love? Like a child she can't see how her father might stand in her way out of love for her. It wasn't his fault she was ill-equipped to deal with the world and with life. He had done all he could to help her but was realistic. He had to make the decision for the daughter he knew; not the one he might have hoped to have. If she now believes Morris was after her money and never loved her she should have forgiven her father but she's still as angry with him as ever; long after he's dead. She can't have it both ways. Either dad was right and did the right thing or he was wrong and Morris really did love her.

Catherine inhabits and has confined herself to the world she's always known. To grow we need to expose ourselves to new and different things, new people, new experiences, and we need to take chances. We have to risk getting hurt. We have to accept we may sometimes be wrong about the motives of some people and people can change. It's ridiculous to expect perfection in others since we are unable to offer the same. Catherine changed; she became bitter and cruel as a result of her experiences but she doesn't seem to think it possible for anyone else to change due to what they've been through; in their case, for the better. It's so sad.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] slc2466 8 years ago

Well, I think the intention is to show Catherine has lost out by casting off her chance at true love, but the wonderful thing about time is it just keeps moving forward, and things change. She might see Morris again somewhere down the road years later and have a different perspective, or meet someone else she could (with time) learn to trust, thereby filling the void created by the outcome of her relationship with Morris. She is displaying the strength to carry on and live at the end of the film, in any case.

[–] ScaryMary123 8 years ago

Did you people actually watch The Heiress? There's NO way the ending is tragic. Catherine is triumphant. The scene contrasts the part where she climbs the stairs after Morris abandons her. Then, she's ruined, which is clear by the expression on her face. In the end, she's triumphed over the world of men, throwing off the yoke of oppression from both an unfeeling father and a treacherous lover. Where she goes from there is anyone's guess, but it'll be a better place, for sure.

The ending represents closure. That's why Catherine waits for the last lock to be bolted before snipping the thread on her embroidery. She's finished with that part of her life.

[–] jobseeker95479 8 years ago

> She's finished with that part of her life

By shutting the outside world and retreated into the house, the land she has triumphed over her deceased father.

[–] scarlettide (108) 7 years ago

I agree. Her going up the stairs was victory. She will live happy and healthy life.

[–] ElizabethJoestar (946) 3 years ago

It's great that she locked that rat Morris out, but her nasty comment towards Maria and her cynical demeanor suggest she's also created a wall around herself emotionally. Catherine might eventually be fine, but the ending mostly suggests she won't let anyone in anymore, whether that person is a potential romantic partner or not. However, she also puts aside her embroidery, suggesting a sense of finality that could also be seen as victorious-- she's moving on from the past and who she once was. In that sense, the ending possesses an ambivalence there that makes the ending so haunting and powerful.