"This is the love every woman lives for…the love every man would die for!"
Letter from an Unknown Woman - Ending Explained
⚠️ Spoiler Analysis
The film is circular. It begins with the end: Stefan is about to skip a duel. The letter reveals that the duel is with Johann Stauffer, Lisa's husband. Lisa details her life: her teenage obsession, their one night of passion before he left for Milan (and never wrote), the birth of their son Stefan Jr., and her marriage to Johann. Years later, she sees Stefan again at the opera. Despite Johann's warning, she visits Stefan, hoping he will finally recognize her. He does not; he treats her as a fresh conquest. Devastated, she leaves. Both she and her son subsequently die of typhus. Reading this, Stefan is shattered. He realizes he wasted his life and ignored a profound love. The butler confirms her name. Stefan, now seeing a vision of young Lisa holding the door, walks out to the carriage to meet Johann for the duel, effectively choosing suicide to honor her memory.
Alternative Interpretations
The Feminist Reading: Some critics view Lisa not as a passive victim, but as the active creator of her own destiny. She rejects a conventional, safe marriage to pursue her desire, effectively choosing her own tragic ending rather than living a lie.
The Psychoanalytic Reading: Lisa's obsession is projected entirely onto a fantasy version of Stefan. The real Stefan is irrelevant; he is merely a vessel for her desire. Her refusal to identify herself to him in later years proves she prefers the fantasy of unrequited love to the reality of a relationship.
The Ghost Story: The film can be read as a ghost story where the letter haunts Stefan, forcing him to acknowledge the dead, leading him inevitably to his own death as penance.