Ennis Del Mar
Ennis Del Mar as portrayed by Heath Ledger in the 2005 film adaptation of the short story.
First appearance	Brokeback Mountain
Created by	Annie Proulx
Portrayed by	Heath Ledger
Information
Gender	Male
Date of birth	1944
Occupation	Sheep herder, ranch hand
Spouse(s)	Alma Beers, Cassie Cartwright, Jack Twist
Children	2 daughters

Ennis Del Mar (del Mar in the short story) (c. 1944 – unknown) is the fictional main character of the short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx and the 2005 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the same name directed by Ang Lee. In the film, Ennis was portrayed by Australian actor Heath Ledger. Ennis' story is depicted by the complex, sexual, and romantic relationship he had with Jack Twist in the American West from 1963 to 1983. Because of their situation, Ennis and Jack can be considered "star-crossed" lovers. Image File history File links Brokebackmountainheathledger. ... Brokeback Mountain is a short story by American author Annie Proulx. ... E. Annie Proulx (born August 22, 1935) is an author who is best known for her second novel, The Shipping News (1993), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994. ... Heath Andrew Ledger (born April 4, 1979) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actor. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Brokeback Mountain is a short story by American author Annie Proulx. ... E. Annie Proulx (born August 22, 1935) is an author who is best known for her second novel, The Shipping News (1993), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Brokeback Mountain is an Academy Award-winning 2005 film that depicts the relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983. ... Ang Lee (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (born October 23, 1954) is an Academy-Award winning film director from the Republic of China (Taiwan). ... Heath Andrew Ledger (born April 4, 1979) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actor. ... Jack Twist (born around 1944; died in 1983) is a fictional character of the short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx and the 2005 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the same name directed by Ang Lee, where he was portrayed by American actor Jake Gyllenhaal. ... The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Star-crossed or star-crossed lovers is a reference to those who fight against (or cross) their fate, which is written in the stars. ...

Fictional character history

While on a 1963 shepherding job on the fictional Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming, ranch hand Ennis meets and falls in love with rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (portrayed in the film by Jake Gyllenhaal). Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... For other uses, see Cowboy (disambiguation). ... Jack Twist (born around 1944; died in 1983) is a fictional character of the short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx and the 2005 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the same name directed by Ang Lee, where he was portrayed by American actor Jake Gyllenhaal. ... Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal[1] (born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. ...

Jack (front) and Ennis (back)

When the two 19-year-old men first begin work on Brokeback Mountain, Ennis is stationed at the base camp while Jack watches after the sheep higher on the mountain. They initially meet only for meals at the base camp, where they gradually become friends. After a time they switch roles, with Jack taking over duties at base camp and Ennis tending the flock. One night, after the two share a bottle of whiskey, Ennis decides to remain at the base camp overnight instead of returning up the mountain. Ennis is at first reluctant to even sleep in the same tent as Jack, but later that night the men share a brief, intense sexual encounter. Over the remainder of the summer their sexual and emotional relationship deepens further. Image File history File links Brokeback_2601_wideweb_470x314,0. ... Image File history File links Brokeback_2601_wideweb_470x314,0. ...

After the job is finished, the two part ways. Ennis marries his long-term fiancée Alma Beers (portrayed in the film by Michelle Williams), and starts a family, having two daughters. Jack moves to Texas, where he marries a former rodeo performer named Lureen (portrayed by Anne Hathaway) and fathers a son. Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... This article is about the actress. ...

Allma and Ennis

Four years later, Ennis receives a postcard from Jack asking if he wants to meet when Jack passes through the area. The men reunite, and their passion immediately rekindles. Jack broaches the subject of creating a life together on a small ranch. Ennis, unwilling to leave his family and haunted by a childhood memory of the torture and murder of a suspected homosexual couple in his hometown, fears that such an arrangement can only end in tragedy. Unable to be open about their relationship, Ennis and Jack settle for infrequent meetings on camping trips in the mountains. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

As the years pass, Ennis' marriage deteriorates. Unknown to him, the relationship was discovered by Alma, who earlier saw the two men passionately kissing. Alma eventually divorces Ennis, takes custody of their two daughters, and marries her former employer. Jack hopes that Ennis' divorce will allow them to live together, but Ennis still refuses to move away from his children and remains uncomfortable with the idea of men living together. Meanwhile, his oldest daughter, Alma Junior, now in her teens, visits Ennis on a periodic basis, and Ennis meets and dates waitress Cassie Cartwright (portrayed in the film by Linda Cardellini). On a 1983 trip with Jack to the mountains, Ennis insists that to keep his job, he cannot meet with Jack again before November. Ennis and Jack's frustrations finally erupt into a bitter argument, the struggle becoming a desperate embrace. However, the two men part upset. Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975), is an American television and film actress. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

Months later, a postcard Ennis sent to Jack, about meeting in November, has returned to the post office, stamped deceased. In a strained telephone conversation, Jack's wife Lureen tells Ennis that Jack died in an accident while changing a tire. While she explains what happened, images of Jack being beaten to death by three men flashes through Ennis' mind, illustrating his fears that Jack's death was not accidental. During the strained conversation, it is implied that Jack had become an alcoholic. Lureen tells Ennis that Jack wished to have his ashes scattered on Brokeback Mountain. She suggests that Ennis contact Jack's parents about this. King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ...

Ennis visits Jack's parents and offers to take Jack's ashes to Brokeback Mountain. Jack's father refuses, insisting that Jack's remains be buried in the family plot. Jack's mother is more welcoming, and allows Ennis to see Jack's boyhood bedroom. While in the room, Ennis discovers two old shirts hidden in the back of the closet. The shirts, hung one inside the other on the same hanger, are the ones the two men were wearing on their last day on Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Ennis takes the now rolled-up shirts with him; Jack's mother silently offers him a paper sack to put them in.

Some time after Ennis meets Jack's parents, Alma Jr. visits him at his home, a ramshackle trailer by the highway. Now 19 years old, she's getting ready to marry, and asks for her father's consent in giving her away at the wedding. Ennis seems initially reluctant, citing that he might have to work, but decides, over a whiskey with his daughter, that he will do it. Ennis asks if her fiance, Curt, loves her, and she affirms that he does.

At the end of the story, Ennis opens his own closet to reveal that he has hung the two shirts reversed, with his plaid shirt hugging Jack's blue shirt, inside the door beneath a postcard of Brokeback Mountain. Ennis carefully fastens the top button of Jack's shirt. With tears in his eyes, Ennis mutters, "Jack, I swear...".

Sexual orientation

One mystery surrounding Ennis Del Mar (as well as Jack Twist) is his correct sexual orientation, if any specific one at all. He has sexual and emotional relationships, of varying and fluctuating degrees, with Alma, Cassie and Jack. Sexual orientation refers to the direction of an individuals sexuality, normally conceived of as falling into several significant categories based around the sex or gender that the individual finds attractive. ...

Some film critics said Ennis was bisexual rather than strictly homosexual. Sex researcher Fritz Klein stated he felt Ennis to be "a bit more toward the straight side of being bisexual."^[1] Ledger himself was quoted as stating in Time: "I don't think Ennis could be labeled as gay. Without Jack Twist, I don't know that he ever would have come out... I think the whole point was that it was two souls that fell in love with each other." The film's producer, James Schamus, and LGBT non-fiction author Eric Marcus opined that the characters were both gay.^[2] “Bisexual” redirects here. ... This article is about the sex researcher; for other people named Fritz Klein, see Fritz Klein (disambiguation). ... Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ... Eric Marcus is an American non-fiction writer. ...

Proulx's comments

In an interview about her work, and Brokeback Mountain in particular, Proulx stated Ennis Del Mar was a "confused Wyoming ranch [kid]" who finds himself in a personal sexual situation he did not foresee, nor can understand. She said both men were "beguiled by the cowboy myth," and "Ennis tries to be one but never gets beyond ranch hand work."^[3][4]

References