***Film Ending Spoilers***
The Woman in Black film ending can be interpreted many different ways. However, the film ending is rather ambiguous with explaining the woman in black's true intentions. Is the woman in black trying to help Arthur reach the afterlife to reunite with his wife? Or does the woman in black want to claim Joseph's soul? The Woman in Black film ending has multiple meanings.
The Woman in Black film ending captures the essence of the metaphysical film. We watch Arthur reunite the woman in black with her son. Nonetheless, the son's spirit mentions "you're not my mother" to confuse the moviegoer. What does this dialogue suggest?
It is quite possible the woman in black is not the deceased boy's mother? Could the boy's spirit sense the woman in black is no longer his mother since she is evil? We can interpret this dialogue with reviewing the curse. Why did the woman in black curse the small town?
The woman in black put a curse on the children to make the parents feel grief. Her son died in a carriage accident along the marsh. She blames the son's caretakers for allowing him to die. Maybe the son doesn't consider the woman in black his mother because his guardians took care of him.
Remember, the woman in black experienced a mental breakdown of some sort that resulted in her losing her son. She eventually experienced depression and hate immediately after her son died in the carriage accident. As a result of the loss, the woman in black hung herself.
Most ghost movies covering spirits who commit suicide revisit the source. The woman in black killed three girls to open the film. She didn't kill another child until Arthur disturbed her home. The "you're not my mother" reference is possibly the boy's spirit indicating his mother has transformed into a malevolent spirit.
On the opposing side, the boy's spirit rejects the woman in black since she experienced a mental breakdown that resulted in the boy living with new caretakers. In a way, the woman in black is only his biological mother while the female caretaker is identified as his adopted mother.
The Woman in Black film ending reveals the woman in black will never forgive. She makes it known that Arthur reuniting her with her son is not enough to heal past wounds. The son's spirit told the woman in black that "you're not my mother" right at the time she swooped down to take him.
The woman in black probably realized that she could never reunite with her son. Hence, the son probably felt abandoned during his death. Nobody was there to save him from dying. The mother committed suicide, and then put an evil curse on children in the town. The boy doesn't recognize his mother that failed to protect him.
At the train station, the woman in black hypnotizes Joseph to walk on the tracks. Her intentions are to take Joseph's soul, causing Arthur to experience further anguish. She wants every parent to feel her pain and grief. Arthur rushed on the train tracks to save Joseph, although the train kills both of them.
The darkness smothering the train station revealed that Arthur and Joseph reached the afterlife. In a spiritual sense, the dark world resembling the physical world is conveyed as the astral plane.
Down the train tracks, a glowing female Angel draws closer. Joseph asks his father whose that woman? Arthur tells Joseph the woman is your mother. Joseph smiles happily. Arthur and Joseph reunite with Stella. Joseph meets his mother for the first time since she died giving birth to him. The film ending solves Arthur's internal motivation that mourning for his deceased wife after four long year will finally end.
The woman in black watches the family bond together. She seems to show slight emotion. We recognize that the woman in black can never make the proper transition to Heaven because her hate is too strong. Therefore, the woman in black is stuck between the physical and the astral plane. She shows that she can move between the two worlds to inflict harm on the living.
Stella leads her husband and son to Heaven. It is one of those film endings that create a good emotional response. We're happy the film ended in this way.
The woman in black looks at the movie audience with a creepy stare. Will the woman in black continue to curse the children in the local town? The initial reaction to the woman in black's stare is that she will continue cursing children to seek revenge. Her son no longer recognizes her as his mother. The son probably reached Heaven, while the woman in black is stuck in-between the living and spiritual worlds.
The Woman in Black film ending conveys that allowing resentment, hatred, regret, pain, and a multitude of emotions all channeling at once will trap evil spirits. The woman in black failed to claim Joseph's soul because Arthur sacrificed his life to save his son's soul. Hence, the woman in black realized that she could never experience family bonding again.
The preceding analysis of The Woman in Black film ending is derived from movie facts. It is our personal perception of what the film ending conveys to us. What do you think about The Woman in Black film ending? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Get your DVD copy today of The Woman in Black
