How Does 'Behind Closed Doors' End?

The ending of ‘Behind Closed Doors’ is so good it will haunt you long after you finish the book. The story culminates to a dramatic and profound moment when the heroine, Grace, finally defeats her husband Jack to the abuse she suffered at his hands. Instead of just escaping from him however, she secures her freedom in a way that is not only brilliant but also deeply satisfying in that she outwits him at his own game. Her revenge is methodical and in many ways perfect in that she uses his own twisted games to ensnare him in the very trap he had designed for her and which he was so convinced would prove to be her downfall. The final scenes of the book are gripping and there is a sense of cinematic drama in each of the telling details that unfold in the house where the majority of the abuse took place. There is the smashed glass, the locked doors, and the resultant escape of Grace from the sinister clutches of her husband, left to face the full force of the consequences of his evil deeds.

What is particularly effective in terms of the victim’s journey is that the book subverts the typical way in which a victim is saved from their abuser – here it is not luck or some outside intervention that saves Grace, but rather her cleverness in outsmarting her partner. The façade of the ‘perfect couple’ collapses dramatically – the shock of the neighbors, the police discovery of the hidden room, even Millie’s presence as a sort of catalyst for Grace’s freedom (after being threatened by Jack in order to control Grace). However, it is also acknowledged that trauma affects people in different ways and that Grace is left with certain fears and her newly found ability to trust others negatively impacted. The final scene of the book with Grace and Millie safe and sound and Jack’s fate left tantalizingly to the reader’s imagination is extremely effective and provides the reader with a sense of hope and a sense of the ways in which a victim can reclaim power over their abuser.

It’s clever to note the logistical arrangements that have been made by Grace to manipulate Jack. Timed letters, prepaid phones, even Jack’s own predictable selfishness are all utilized by Grace in her planned attack on the narcissistic Jack. Her strategy relies on her knowledge that the biggest threat to her would be from the man who wants to be seen as the victim/tragic hero. Therefore she brings that to fruition and allows him to have his moment of sympathy, all the while knowing that he will be at his weakest point when he is being lauded as a hero. A clever psychological battle is waged here, with the end result being that Grace outmaneuvers Jack at his own game. Every little detail is worked out in full by her, from his luggage to his potential alibi via witness statements. It makes for a rather grim puzzle, but in the end a very satisfying one as all the pieces fall into place.

It is also left to the reader’s imagination what becomes of Jack after his arrest. We don’t need to read about his court case and subsequent prison sentence. The real victory for Jack’s victims is their exposure and the collapse of their façade of respectability. Seeing Jack being led away in handcuffs, his powerful image reduced to nothing, is sufficient. Any development after that would be anticlimactic. For most of the book, we are reading Grace’s struggle for freedom and so her departure, driving off into freedom, is the perfect ending to her story. The rest can be left to the law to deal with Jack. It is a clean ending to her story and respects the core conflict of her struggle for freedom.