Nothing will die...
Does anyone know what his mother means by this? It's such a heartbreaking and interesting quote.
Thanks.
See I take it more as: don't think this is a happy ending or an ending at all really. It's not as if the existence of someone like John is a one-time thing and now it's over with. No, his story is universal and will always be with us, human nature being as it is. There will always be those who wish to cruelly exploit for profit and for entertainment, the victims of both fate and of exploitation, those who show compassion, etc. And it answers why he did it. There's this duality throughout the movie and this eastern idea that there are endless cycles of suffering and rebirth(these are important themes to Lynch and occur throughout his work). Merrick experiences both terrible suffering and great joy and he choses to exit on an upswing, knowing that the night may again bring the people it did before. I find it curious that the head nurse said John was dying before this happened. So my first read on this - and i have watched all of Lynch's other stuff- is that it's a comment on the human tragedy and the endless cycle of life. There are fair number of sexual metaphors in it as well. I often detect a hint of anti-natalism in Lynch or at least again this idea of the endless cycle of samsara.
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