The ending of this movie is like an emotional Rorschach test for me. Every time I see it, I understand it in a different way.
When I saw the movie for the first time, it was clear: she didn't love the Tramp, she only pitied him. It was a brutally sad ending. The second time I saw it, my opinion changed completely. I saw her holding his hand against her heart, gazing at him, remembering of all the things he'd done for her when she was blind. I decided she really did love him after all. It didn't matter about his social standing or lack of money. She saw through all of that and loved him anyway.
After seeing it just now for a third time, I have a new opinion. For me it hinges on her line: "Yes, I can see now."
I think she says "Yes I can see now" because the situation is so much more complicated than just "she loves me, she loves me not", and she finally understands the full implications of who the Tramp is, who she is, and what happened while she was blind. She sees that the Tramp is a very sweet person who's clearly in love with her, but she also sees him for who he is: a homely, goofy, lower-class citizen. She sees that there really isn't a hope of them getting together, in the social climate of the day. But she still feels gratitude toward the Tramp and wants him to understand that she accepts his generosity and kindness. She really does love him, in a sense, because of what he did for her; their time together while she was blind is always going to be a treasure to her, but it will probably end there. I also think the Tramp realizes this, and he's just happy that she could finally see his face and understand.
It really is amazing the amount of depth this ending achieves with only a few simple lines, a gesture, and some beautifully understated acting.
When I saw the movie for the first time, it was clear: she didn't love the Tramp, she only pitied him. It was a brutally sad ending. The second time I saw it, my opinion changed completely. I saw her holding his hand against her heart, gazing at him, remembering of all the things he'd done for her when she was blind. I decided she really did love him after all. It didn't matter about his social standing or lack of money. She saw through all of that and loved him anyway.
After seeing it just now for a third time, I have a new opinion. For me it hinges on her line: "Yes, I can see now."
I think she says "Yes I can see now" because the situation is so much more complicated than just "she loves me, she loves me not", and she finally understands the full implications of who the Tramp is, who she is, and what happened while she was blind. She sees that the Tramp is a very sweet person who's clearly in love with her, but she also sees him for who he is: a homely, goofy, lower-class citizen. She sees that there really isn't a hope of them getting together, in the social climate of the day. But she still feels gratitude toward the Tramp and wants him to understand that she accepts his generosity and kindness. She really does love him, in a sense, because of what he did for her; their time together while she was blind is always going to be a treasure to her, but it will probably end there. I also think the Tramp realizes this, and he's just happy that she could finally see his face and understand.
It really is amazing the amount of depth this ending achieves with only a few simple lines, a gesture, and some beautifully understated acting.