‘Poor Things’ Ending Explained: What happens to Bella in the end?

Summary

• Poor Things has a happy ending, where Bella escapes Alfie’s clutches and returns to Godwin’s estate. She decides to become a doctor.
• Bella performs surgery on Alfie and swaps his brain with that of a goat.
• It is unclear whether Bella and Max will marry in the future, but as of now the two remain friends.

Based on Alasdair Gray’s surrealist novel of the same name, Poor Things is a unique, feminist reading of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. The film is darkly funny and sexually explicit, but all of it comes together in a tight-knit story.

Although the film’s ending is quite straightforward, it deals with a barrage of different themes. There’s a lot to discuss and delve deeper into while analyzing one of the most complex films of 2023.

Lanthimos’ film and its ending explore various themes, such as female sexuality, the idea of ‘normal’, sexual freedom, and the changing norms of society.

Poor Things tells the story of Bella, a creation similar to the monster in Frankenstein, and her journey through life while learning the changing social norms of her time.

The film ends with Bella escaping from Alfie Blessington’s mansion. She shoots him in the foot and returns to Godwin’s manor with an injured Alfie. She swaps Alfie’s brain with that of a goat and starts her life afresh in Godwin’s estate with Max and the others. Bella also decides to become a doctor.

1. How does Bella escape Alfie Blessington?

Bella shoots Alfie in the foot and escapes his clutches, after growing tired of his controlling nature. However, she does not kill Alfie and brings his body back to Duncan’s estate.

Although Bella willingly leaves Max to go to Alfie, she grows tired of Alfie’s sexist ideas and the need to confine her to his house. Alfie wants his wife not to leave the house and to focus on producing more children.

Moreover, Alfie even has a doctor ready to cut off his wife’s clitoris. Bella feels suffocated by his deeds and says he would rather die than continue to live like this. Not to anyone’s surprise, Alfie agrees and offers her poison while he stands with a gun.

But Bella does not want to die, so she tricks Alfie by spitting the poison on his face and taking away his gun. She finally shoots him in the feet and drags his body back to London in Godwin’s house.

Later, she performs surgery on Alfie and swaps his brain with a goat’s brain to punish him for his deeds. The film ends on a happy note, with Bella living in Godwin’s manor after his death.

2. Does Bella marry Max in the end?

Poor Things ends with Bella and Max living happily in Godwin’s manor as friends. However, it is not clear whether they decide to get married. After what she experienced with Duncan and Alfie, Bella might want to stay away from relationships for a while.

Earlier in the film, Bella leaves Max at the altar to go with Alfie Blessington, her former husband, when she was Victoria. After Bella realizes her mistake, she shoots Alfie and brings his body back to Godwin’s house.

In the end, we see Bella and Max living on Duncan’s estate, and they seem to share a good relationship. But it is not clear whether they will marry or decide to marry in the future. Maybe Bella can think of giving Max a chance after she gets over her horrible experience with Duncan and Alfie.

As of now, Bella and Alfie decide to remain just friends while Bella focuses on her next goal of becoming a doctor.

3. Why Bella Chooses to be a Doctor

Bella decides to become a doctor at the end of Poor Things as she wants to help humanity on her own after seeing the worst in some people. She wanted to use Godwin’s knowledge to help others and follow in his footsteps.

After her experience with Duncan and Alfie, Bella realizes what life offers to some people. Having spent a lot of time with Duncan, she also understands more about science and medicine. Bella performs surgery on Alfie and swaps his brain with that of a goat, which proves that she has a knack for surgery.

Therefore, Bella works on her strengths and decides to become a doctor to help people. Medicine would also open up avenues for her experiment in the future and carry forward Godwin’s legacy. In every way, it is the best profession for Bella.

4. How Poor Things is Different from the Book

The ending of Poor Things is completely different from the ending of Alasdair Gray’s book of the same name. The book’s premise is also completely different, as it is a first-person account of the events from the perspective of Archibald McCandless (loosely equivalent to Max in the film).

The narrator talks about his wife, who’s an equivalent to Frankenstein’s monster. In the end, the perspective shifts to Bella, who reveals that she was pretending to be a monster only to be with her true love, Godwin.

In contrast, Poor Things is a feminist reading of its source material and a spin on Shelley’s Frankenstein. It does not leave its protagonist’s fate open-ended but traces her journey from a lost creation to a woman who chooses to write her own destiny.

Moreover, there is no romantic or sexual relationship between Godwin and Bella in the film. Instead, the scientist shares a paternal relationship with Bella. The film explores Bella’s sexuality through a feminist lens, depicting how upper-class, rich men torment women.

In the book, General Blessington (equivalent to Alfie Blessington) dies, as opposed to his brain being swapped with a goat’s brain. The ending is a unique touch by Lanthimos to hint at Bella’s upcoming career as a doctor and the perils of experimentation.

5. About Poor Things

Poor Things is a 2023 black comedy fantasy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. Starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott and Jerrod Carmichael, it is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray.

The plot focuses on Bella Baxter, a young Victorian woman who, after being crudely resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation. The film released on December 8, 2023.