'The Searchers' Scene Analysis

'The Searchers' Final Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoDigplUtKU

The final scene of this film conveys many messages and implied meanings. The conflicted protagonist Ethan Edwards finally brings his niece back "home" and watches as the rest of his acquaintances celebrate. It begins with the Jorgensen family noticing the impending arrival. This reinforces an already established theme in this movie, as well as Westerns in general: that family and home is the safe haven and the place in which the heroes retire to upon completing their objective, a place where prejudice and alienation do not belong, as evident here by the acceptance of a mentally challenged Mose and the return of the now Comanche assimilated Debbie, so too was Martin "adopted" into the Edwards family. This representation of the homestead is typical of Westerns, as a place that will remain safe, however it is also a place that comes into conflict with the wilderness. 'The Searchers' shows this when the Comanches (a representation of nature) destroy the Edwards' home, and the fact that Ethan, Martin and Debbie are coming in from the wild to the home. However Ethan does not partake in this fully. 

In the scene, this theme of conflict is also evident. Ethan does not cross the threshold into the house, where as everyone else does whilst the song "Ride Away" plays. Ethan is the problematic hero. It is implied that he has roamed the wilderness mysteriously years previous to the film, and has done so with Martin to find Debbie, it's the only thing he's ever known and understood fully. He is the wilderness, formerly displaying savage actions such as shooting the already dead Comanche to stop him from reaching their equivalent of the afterlife and to wander "between the winds". This can be strongly linked to Ethan himself as he actually does wander around the lands. This link extends to Scar as well, both of them are similar in terms of behaviour and attitude as they both act to avenge family, Ethan even scalps Scar in the end, something the Comanches do. In the end he knows he cannot enter the home because he has that rage in him and knows that it will not change, instead deciding it's better to stay out of there. The film begain with the door opening, allowing Ethan to enter but it end with the door closing on him. This is a trope of the western as the hero must decide whether to "settle down into or reject and leave" (Pumphrey, The Movie Book of the Western p.52). As Pumphrey also mentions "the wilderness is a sphere for masculine action" and Ethan is very much a manly man that does manly things, as opposed to the feminine idea of the home.

Overall, this scene reinforces many of the expected tropes of the western genre, however also subverts it slightly. The happy ending is there concerning Debbie coming home and Martin and Laurie finally being together. But, there can be arguments made that Debbie was seemingly happy living her life with the Comanche, being treated equally among them and that the only thing she was really saved from was Ethan. The major subversion comes from Ethan in this scene as he chooses not to be involved in the happy ending with the others. This rejection of the home is very ambiguous and still to this day not fully explained. Does Ethan ever come back? Does he now wander aimlessly among the west? This both questions and reinforces myths. It questions as you would expect him to finally embrace family after completing his quest instead of just leaving as he knows he hasn't developed fully as a character. It too reinforces the idea of the 'lone wanderer', a man who doesn't change for anyone, focusing solely on his goal and the whole idea of a gun-toting cowboy.