Through a Glass Darkly - Ending Explained

The film’s critical turns involve the discovery of David's diary, where he admits to wishing for Karin's death to see how it affects his writing. This betrayal triggers Karin's final collapse. The shocking incestuous encounter between Karin and Minus in the shipwreck serves as the ultimate breakdown of familial order, leading directly to Karin’s vision of the spider-god. The ending reveals that Karin will likely never recover; she puts on sunglasses as she is taken away, choosing to 'see through a glass darkly' (insanity) rather than face the harsh 'light' of her family's reality. The final line, 'Papa spoke to me,' suggests that the only salvation available is a brief moment of paternal recognition, however fragile it may be.

While many see the ending as a hopeful affirmation of human love, critics have often argued that David's 'God is love' speech is a desperate, unconvincing lie meant to comfort a son he has already failed. This reading suggests that David is still 'using words' to evade reality. Another interpretation posits that Karin's 'madness' is actually a true spiritual awakening that the men, blinded by their rationalism and narcissism, are unable to grasp—making the 'spider-god' not a hallucination, but the terrifying truth of a universe that consumes its subjects.