The ending of The Witch (2015) is tragic in many respects—but it also carries a dark, liberating edge that blurs the line between defeat and transformation.
Plot & Final Moments
By the end, Thomasin’s family has disintegrated under supernatural horror, religious zeal, grief, and suspicion: her infant brother is stolen by a witch; her brother Caleb dies after a strange episode; the twins vanish; her father is killed by Black Phillip (the goat who is revealed to be Satan); and her mother, in a frenzy, attacks Thomasin, who kills her in self-defense. Thomasin is utterly alone. A moment later, she is tempted by Black Phillip and ultimately signs his book. She then walks naked into the woods, joining a coven of witches dancing around a fire. Finally, she rises—floating into the air with them—leaving her old life behind.
Is It Happy or Tragic?
Here’s how the ending splits:
Tragic Aspects
- Thomasin loses everyone she knows: her siblings, her father, her mother. - Her life of faith, community, and identity within her family collapses completely. - From a traditional (Puritanical or moralistic) viewpoint, making a pact with Satan is a damning, despairing turn—a descent into darkness.
Liberating or Ambiguous Aspects
- The old order—rigid family expectations, oppressive religious norms, isolation—has finally broken down, leaving Thomasin with a stark choice. - Joining the coven gives her autonomy and power she never had before; she transcends literal and metaphorical bounds. - The visual and thematic imagery at the end—letting go of clothes, entering the forest, embracing chaos—suggest rebirth, defiance, and freedom rather than comfort.
Verdict
The ending is neither purely happy nor purely tragic; it’s bittersweet. From many vantage points it’s devastating, but from Thomasin’s perspective it’s also the birth of something new—freedom, identity, power, though born of horror and loss. Whether one sees it as a mere tragedy or a dark liberation depends largely on how one values community, faith, and autonomy. In narrative terms, though, it leans more to a tragic transformation with an unsettling but somewhat empowering twist.
Ultimately: it’s tragic with shades of freedom—and unsettling because the price paid is so enormous.
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