Maybe not 100% accurate, better said, but there was some cowardice in his behavior. He was afraid practically all his life - that sure is cowardice, right?
Loreen - I can understand why you would view Ennis' actions as cowardice. When viewing the movie in 2009, it's hard to remember what America was like in 1975 when Ennis got divorced.
According to the BBM short story, Ennis was 19 years of age in 1963, which means he was born in 1944. In America in the 1940s through the 1960s homosexuality was considered to be a
mental disorder. It was considered a perversion and a sin against God. It wasn't until
1973 that the American Psychiatric Association de-listed homosexuality as a mental disorder in their diagnostic nomenclature.
Not only was homosexuality considered a perversion, but homosexuals were often beaten and even killed for being gay. Homosexuals moved away from rural areas and went to live in large cities for some measure of safety. In large cities, gays were also beaten and ridiculed and received no protection under the law. It wasn't until the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City when gays began to protest in large numbers and fight for their rights that they began to be protected under the law. The Gay Rights movement mirrored the Civil Rights movements in the 1960s and the Feminists movement of the 1970s.
Today in 2009 it is still dangerous to be openly
'out' in rural America. Hollywood is making it hip to be gay, but that acceptance is still slow to reach some places.
Ennis lived in a small, rural town. There were no openly 'out' men around him. There was no one he could talk to about his feelings. He was alone and isolated. Like most everyone, Ennis did the best that he could in the time and place he lived with the knowledge that he had. If he had known better, he would have done better.
