Why does David blind himself in the film's final scenes?

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Why David tries to blind himself

1. Shared physical trait as compatibility Earlier in the film, people are paired based on physical quirks—nosebleeds, lameness, etc. David falls in love with the Short-Sighted Woman (later blinded by others), and with her now blind, he believes they’ve lost the one thing “allowed” to bond them. He takes a knife, ostensibly to make himself blind, restoring their “similarity.”

2. Symbol of sacrifice under oppression The act represents David’s desperation under the oppressive systems (the Hotel and the Loners) that demand conformity—even in intimate relationships. Blinding himself is a drastic sacrifice to align with her under these arbitrary rules. It questions whether love must involve self-harm to be valid.

3. Ambiguity forces audience reflection The film never shows whether he actually does it. As he raises the knife in the restaurant bathroom, it cuts to black before we see the outcome. This ambiguity pushes viewers to decide if David goes through with the blinding—and what that means for love, authenticity, and identity.

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Themes this moment underscores

• Surface vs. substance: Love as defined by external traits versus emotional truth.
• Conformity vs. individuality: David’s inner conflict over whether to resist or submit to absurd norms.
• Desperation of human connection: How far someone might go to avoid isolation or rejection.

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In short: David’s act is less about self-punishment and more about proving, to himself and the social order, that he can maintain closeness. Whether he succeeds—or whether closeness measured by shared faults is any closeness at all—is left to us to ponder.

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Sources 𐁂 The Lobster Explained (This Is Barry) — detailed breakdown of how superficial similarity is central to relationships in the film. 𐁂 Plot Explained — discussion of David’s attempt to blind himself at the end and its symbolic meaning.