Posted: 9/6/15 at 10:46pm
Finally saw Hamilton on Friday, and it was lovely. I had a question about the very end, and feel I must have missed something. When Eliza is talking about what all she does with her life, the show ends with her going to the end of the stage, looking up and out, and gasping. What does that mean? I feel like I must have missed a line or a gesture to explain it...
Thanks!
Posted: 9/6/15 at 11:53pm
The opening chapter of the book (which LMM read at Ham4Ham on opening night is devoted to this. If you don't want to read it, you can find LMM reading it on youtube.
Posted: 9/6/15 at 11:55pm
Well the spotlight is on her, she's just finished talking about her own achievements and there's the refrain of 'Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?' I kind of saw the gasp as her being overwhelmed that she gets to take the spotlight at the end, rather than Hamilton himself, especially due to the way women were overlooked in her time. As well as her being emotional about Alexander. It's down to interpretation though I guess.
Updated On: 9/6/15 at 11:55 PM
Posted: 9/7/15 at 12:55am
Oh, I get that she outlived him, and the amazing things she did. I just wondered about that final gesture - where she gasps into the light almost like "oh!" I wasn't sure what that precise moment meant.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 12:58am
I was expecting the ghost of Hamilton to show up à la Jesus in Spelling Bee.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 1:09am
I always took it to mean that is when she eventually dies, and she is looking to heaven in awe.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 1:25am
I took it to mean that Eliza has been the one telling Alexander's story. Not like a literal narrator, but the fact that she's the reason historians today know so much about his life. She preserved his legacy so now it's time for her story to be told? Like the story is in her hands now. Who tells your story? In this case it was Eliza.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 1:28am
Isn't that kind of a ret-con? I can see it being interpreted that way, but then why not have her actually narrate it rather than surprising us?
I liked Hamilton, but part of what kept me from loving it was that ending. It's too much of a turn.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 5:20am
I took the ending as she is dying. I felt she gasped because she "sees" Hamilton and is so overwhelmed by the sight of finally seeing him up close and personal again. It also made me think maybe it was supposed to be her last breath before going over to the other side.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 6:34am
That's the way I interpreted it too. She's finally at the moment of her death, and she sees Hamilton and is reunited with him. Throughout the show various characters have been singing, "See you on the other side," so I guess this is one of the meanings of that. It's a good question.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 8:06am
I also thought it to mean that she's finally taken her last breath and been reunited with her love.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 9:15am
That's what I thought, too - like she's dying and she sees Hamilton at her last second.
It was just an odd gesture in a show full of perfect gestures.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 9:56am
She took her final breath. Hamilton was there to take her with him.
I read a little about her after and she lived a very long time after his death. I know she never remarried but can't find any info on any companions she might have had. I would think she had a male friend to at least escort her to events? I wish I could find out more about the true nature of Hamilton's relationship with Anjelica. I did find that she was already married by the time Alexander and Eliza wed. There's no real info that the 2 had an affair. I wonder if any historians wrote a fact vs artistic license post. I'll have to look.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 12:28pm
Hellob said: "She took her final breath. Hamilton was there to take her with him.
I read a little about her after and she lived a very long time after his death. I know she never remarried but can't find any info on any companions she might have had. I would think she had a male friend to at least escort her to events? I wish I could find out more about the true nature of Hamilton's relationship with Anjelica. I did find that she was already married by the time Alexander and Eliza wed. There's no real info that the 2 had an affair. I wonder if any historians wrote a fact vs artistic license post. I'll have to look. "
Eliza basically remained in mourning for the rest of her life. She undoubtedly had men escorting her but they probably were not anything more.
Her letters reveal a very strong bond with Hamilton but Chernow leaves the "facts" as that some assume it was more than platonic. FWIW, she also had strong bonds with Franklin, Jefferson, Lafayette and half the social elite of Europe while she and her husband lived in Paris. Her husband was a Brit who supported the revolution (and became immensely rich by it), and his other claim to fame is that he was the owner of the dueling pistols used in both duels.
Posted: 9/7/15 at 4:25pm
@hoganshero thank you so much for that great info. After seeing any "true" story, I immediately research to see what's real and what's storytelling. So many watch a true story and then that becomes their truth. I'm going to look up more stuff. I keep looking for a historian to post a definitive fact vs fiction article about the show. I know a group of historians saw it a couple weeks ago and I have found tidbits of historical error but not a comprehensive guide. Thanks again :)
Posted: 2/24/17 at 6:45pm
I always thought it was Eliza breaking the fourth wall and seeing the audience, finally reassured that she successfully told the story. Personally that's the more heartbreaking conclusion...
Posted: 2/24/17 at 6:57pm
Thats what I assumed too. I also thought of the "going to the other side" one.
Posted: 2/24/17 at 8:22pm
showtimeshowtime said: "I always thought it was Eliza breaking the fourth wall and seeing the audience, finally reassured that she successfully told the story. Personally that's the more heartbreaking conclusion..."
Yeah, that's been the most popular interpretation. She's clearly died at that point - Hamilton gestures her towards the audience, she looks at the impact she made by telling his story, and she gasps.
Posted: 2/24/17 at 9:37pm
I think Eliza dies the moment she reaches the top of the stage and holds her husband's hand once again. Then, as Hamilton leads her to the foot of the stage, she looks out and is able to break the fourth wall, see the audience at an actual performance of Hamilton, and realize that the 50 years of work she put into preserving and upholding his legacy ultimately paid off. Soo's gasp (or Lawson's reaching out and upward) is, in my opinion, Eliza being both overwhelmed and profoundly content that her life's work at last paid off. It's of course totally subjective, though, and remains one of the most stunning endings I've ever seen on a stage.
Posted: 2/25/17 at 5:35am
I love this tbought...but this (Weds)is the first time that I ever noticed the gesturing from Hamilton.....was that ALWAYS there? Ive seen the show approx every 6 months since it previews - and always thought of her passing over to Hamilton as the reason.
Posted: 2/25/17 at 10:04am
I love Broadway Concierge's interpretation of it.
Updated On: 2/25/17 at 10:04 AM
Posted: 2/25/17 at 11:06am
Y'all crazy, it's UNAMBIGUOUSLY sexual.
