I'm going to focus on some moments in which Fern reflects on the marriage she had with her now deceased husband Beau. This is the first time she talk about him:
A cloudy and breezy morning. Fern is shaving Swankie’s head. Swankie sits in a chair, a towel wrapped around her neck.
FERN
Can I tell you something, Swankie?
SWANKIE
What?
FERN
I keep thinking a lot about my
husband Beau. Did I ever tell you
about him?
SWANKIE
No. Bo, like b,o?
FERN
No, B,e,a,u. It’s a nickname. It
means boyfriend. My mom called him,
“your beau”, and it stuck.
Anyway... When it got real bad at
the end, they had him in the
hospital with the morphine drips. I
would sit there at night and I
would want to put my thumb down on
that morphine drip just a little
longer... so I could let him go.
Her description of Beau's last days in the hospital before he died is a kind of metaphor for one of Fern's most basic psychological issues: She can't find closure about the death of her husband Beau. When she says, "So I could let him go," she might just as well be talking about how she can't let him go now, even in death.
Here's the second time she talks about Beau:
Fern sits with GRANDMA, a camper in her late seventies, thick rimmed glasses, two rings on each finger. She is giving words of wisdom while Fern listens politely.
GRANDMA
You are one of those lucky people
who is from the Unites States.
FERN
Yes ma’am. The U.S. Of A.
GRANDMA
And you can travel anywhere. And
they sometimes call you ‘nomads’ or
‘people who don’t have a home’. I
see that you have this ring. Are
you married?
FERN
I am. But my husband died.
GRANDMA
That ring is a circle and it never
ends. That means that your love
never ends. His love for you never
ends. And you may not be able to
take it off if you tried.
FERN
I don’t think I could.
This exchange occurs about halfway through the script and it again voices how Fern is stuck.
Then there is a final time when Fern confides her feelings about Beau:
EXT. DESERT - NEXT DAWN
The first light of the morning sky. Fern and Bob Wells sit together beside his van.
FERN
I’ve been thinking a lot in the
past year about why I didn’t just
leave Empire when my husband Beau
died. I could’ve left and started a
new life sooner. But... I think I
somehow made up my mind that if I
just packed up and left, it would
be as if Beau never existed. You
see... Beau never knew his parents
and we never had kids. But he loved
Empire. He loved being there. He
loved his work. Everybody loved
him. So I stayed. Same town, same
house. It’s like my dad used to say
‘what’s remembered, lives’.
(beat)
I might’ve spent too much of my
life just... remembering. Know what
I mean, Bob?
BOB WELLS
I can relate... I rarely talk about
my son, but he took his own life
five years ago... Like you, I think
I’ve made up my mind that I’m going
to be his rememberer. I carry him
everywhere I go. I realized I could
honor him by helping people. It
gives me a reason to go through the
day. Some days that's all I’ve got.
They share an understanding smile.
BOB WELLS
Out here there’s a lot of people
our age carrying grief and loss
with them. Most of them don’t get
over it, and that’s OK. That’s OK.
(beat)
One of the things I love most about
this life is that there’s no final
goodbye. I’ve met hundreds of
people out here and we don’t ever
say a final goodbye. We just say
‘I’ll see you down the road’. And I
do. Whether it’s a month or a year
or sometimes years, I see them
again. I can look down the road and
I feel certain in my heart that
I’ll see my son again. You’ll see
Beau again and you can remember
your life together then.
Fern smiles through her tears. She cherishes Bob’s words. They’re a gift.
When I saw the movie, I thought that Fern had managed to say "good-bye" to Beau. After all, at the end, she returned to Empire, got rid of her storage unit, visited the house where she and Beau had lived, now deserted, walked out the back door, and left.
But after the discussion this week, I think it's more subtle than that. Yes, she *is* able to head on down the road to begin a new life... but I don't think it's one which leaves Beau behind, rather one in which she carries her memories of him with, only now instead of sorrow and grief, they bring her a sense of contentment... and maybe even hope that someday she see him again "down the road."
