Posted by Glenda Glamazon at acaec017.ipt.aol.com on March 05, 2001 at 01:18:39:
In Reply to: bartleby's death posted by mwm on March 04, 2001 at 16:37:04:
: ok, so, maybe im being dumb, but i dont understand why when bartleby is killed in 'dogma' he says thank you? i mean, he's going to hell, right? thats not all that exciting. if the plan were to go accordingly the world would cease to exist, but it wouldnt be hell.
: is he saying thank you for stopping him from fucking with all of existance?? or, i just dont know.
: thoughts??
: --maggie
I think, and this could be completely wrong, as we are told, "the ending is open to interpretation"...
I think that Bartleby loved God very much. As he says in the movie, he'd been "cast aside" for another, so he was jealous and angry. When I saw him at the end, to me, it seemed that he was thanking God either for forgiving him (meaning he could go back to Heaven), or simply for acknowledging him and talking to him. It didn't much matter what became of Bartleby after his head exploded, because he got what he really wanted--acknowledgement from God.