How Is The Bishop S Wife Ending Explained?

The ending of the Bishop’s Wife movie still makes me feel warm and fuzzy. It’s gentle magic that gets to explore the space between the bishop’s faith and his everyday life. The angel Dudley is sent to help Bishop Henry see that his singular focus on the new cathedral is a hurt to his marriage to Julia and to the needs of his parishioners. In the end, Bishop Henry comes to realize that he has been making the cathedral an idol and that his true focus should be on Julia and the people of his parish.

It makes sense that Dudley would leave because his mission had been to nudge the Bishop to realize that he needed to get his priorities straight. All along, the clues to the Bishop’s transformation had been right in front of us. The calm, knowing omniscience of Dudley, his lack of desire for normal things, the miracles big and small that he wrought without explanation, and the chemistry between Dudley and Julia that ran along deeply profound lines of compassion, all of these things were clues to the Bishop’s transformation. He had become a better man through his interactions with Dudley. In the end, it was up to the Bishop to work out his relationships with Julia and with the rest of the parish, and that is how it should be. Angels, at least in this story, embody love perfectly in that they uplift without becoming consuming. It’s a very comforting film, preferring human resolution of problems to a ceiling of stars towish upon. Comforting because it shows that true, profound love and compassion can exist among the human population and be enough to change people in very real ways.

At the end of The Bishop's Wife, Dudley doesn't stay with the Bishops because he's not human. He is not meant to become part of their domestic life. He comes to remind Henry of something very important and then leaves when he's made his point. I think the movie presents the angels as catalysts - not to be brought in as permanent solutions to the problems of mortal partners of the angels. They are to have a life-changing affect on someone and then they are to move on.

This is also achieved through cinematic short-hand: warm lighting, knowing smiles, scenes that are outside of normal time with Dudley. From these scenes it is clear to the audience that Dudley is not a rival to Henry for Carol’s affections. And thus when Dudley leaves it is not a sad goodbye, it is the end of a job well done and a fitting ending to their time together. Rather than leaving Henry and Carol to struggle along with only their ownWeaknesses and imperfections, Dudley helps them to return to each other, which is the core of the film. I think this is a very honest ending to the film, and indeed rather bittersweet.

One of my favorite aspects of the ending of ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ is that it manages to resolve the many themes of the movie in a very subtle and unондful way. While Cary Grant’s character Dudley is an angel that has been sent to the Bishop Henry Brougham in order to assist him with a variety of things including household chores and the crisis of the cathedral fund that is eating the Bishop alive, the real change that occurs by the end of the movie is that Dudley’s work with Henry has reminded him of several very important things. First and foremost, Henry must remember that his job as a Bishop is to serve people, not to become consumed by a project for a new cathedral in order to prove a point. Secondly, he must love his wife, Julia, with true devotion and, finally, he must not allow his faith to become a source of pride. In the end, it is Dudley’s realization that he has successfully completed his mission to Henry and that he can now leave the Bishop to his own devices that marks the end of the movie.

It is also fitting in a moral and metaphysical sense. Angels are not meant to become human or get tied up in human affairs. So while Dudley may have shown great warmth to Julia at times, there is almost a temptation there of something more for him with her, but it is never explored. The film remains true to its premise that the characters must come to their own decision about their love of each other. Dudley can’t stay and make things easy for Henry and Julia, because that would be to take away from them the opportunity for growth that they had. Dudley leaves because he is a honorable angel, he came to help the Bishop to remember what was important, and now he is off doing his angel work. The final scenes between Dudley and Henry are lovely and provide great insight into Dudley’s character. We get the sense that he hasn’t gone for good, that he’ll be there when he is needed. A guardian angel who respects the human.

I see this bittersweet quality in the ending of The Bishop’s Wife. There is closure for the immediate crisis of the cathedral, and the couple is back in a good relationship. The film ends by reinforcing the core of the movie’s miracle: that it is to come in the form of human connection. Hugs. Reconciliation. The intimate details of a couple’s life together. It is wonderful to experience wonder and to have it respected. And to have the movie end on a positive note without feeling too ‘sweet’ or having to be solved in some easy or unsatisfying way. The resolution is dignified and it feels right. I always leave the theater feeling happy and also a little wistful.

The ending of ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ works well on two levels. Firstly there is the plot resolution of Dudley’s mission on earth to steer the bishop back to his calling and family. He cannot remain on earth as he was sent as a means to awaken the bishop to return to his family and the people of the parish, not to replace human love. Symbolically Dudley is the embodiment of grace. He brings awake the recognition of what is truly important to people. And Dudley departs as he arrived, with the matter-of-factness of the supernatural as it is portrayed in the film being presented in a relaxed and straightforward manner with excellent performances from the cast and gentle yet effective music. Inevitability as opposed to shock is key here. The film ends on a hopeful note with the bishop having learned his lesson, marriage restored to its proper place and Dudley’s impact still felt long after he has ascended. I find this far more moving than a neat and tidy ‘fairy tale’ ending.