Near the Bone Ending Explained: Mattie's Final Escape and the Monster's True Fate

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

The Literal Ending: What Actually Happens

In the final chapters, Mattie—who we learn is actually Samantha Hunter, a woman abducted twelve years earlier—makes her escape from the mountain where William has held her captive. After discovering William's hidden stash of money, heroin, and newspaper clippings that confirm her true identity, she cuts off the long hair William forced her to keep, takes the keys to his truck, and loads the injured Jen onto a sled. The group—Mattie, C.P., and the unconscious Jen—sets off down the mountain, but the creature attacks, snatching Jen from the sled. They flee to a stream, where C.P. insists on retrieving Griffin's camera and pack. A rifle shot rings out, and C.P. falls.

William then ambushes Mattie. He is severely wounded from a previous encounter with the creature—his leg, torso, and face are torn, and one eye is sealed shut. He insists she is his wife and must submit, but Mattie denies this, asserting her real name is Samantha. She backs toward a cliff edge, dodges his grab, and pushes him over the cliff, killing him. She finds C.P. alive with a shoulder wound and bandages it. They take William's rifle and head toward the stream, where they discover Jen's mutilated body hanging from a tree. The creature attacks again, severing C.P.'s hand and taking the rifle. Mattie binds the wound and helps him walk. They reach a road, find William's truck, and drive down the mountain. During the drive, Mattie realizes there are two creatures—a parent and offspring. They arrive at a state troopers' barracks, where C.P. collapses. Mattie enters and gives her name as Samantha.

The Climax: William's Last Stand and Mattie's Reclamation

The confrontation with William is the emotional and physical climax of the novel. William, despite his horrific injuries, is driven by his belief that God made Mattie his wife and that she must obey him. In the chapter 18 evidence, Mattie's internal voice shifts: “Move, Samantha! Yes, I am Samantha, I am brave and strong, I am not little Martha mouse and he’s not going to take me back to that place, not again, not ever.” She verbally rejects his claims, stating, “You stole me. You killed my mother. You never married me.” When William tries to grab her, she pushes him off the cliff. This act is both literal and symbolic: she kills her abuser and reclaims her identity.

The scene also highlights the theme of coercive control through religious justification. William uses God's will to justify his ownership of Mattie, but she finally sees through the manipulation. Her declaration “My name isn’t Martha” is a direct rejection of the identity he imposed on her, tying into identity erasure and reclamation.

Major Character Outcomes

Resolved and Unresolved Threads

Resolved:

• Mattie's physical captivity ends with William's death.

• She reclaims her identity as Samantha Hunter, a missing person whose case was famous.

• She and C.P. reach help, and C.P. will receive medical attention.

• She has access to William's money and keys, giving her practical means to start a new life.

Unresolved:

• The fate of the creature(s) is left open. They are not killed or captured, and their true nature remains ambiguous.

• Mattie's sister Heather is mentioned, but C.P. recalls nothing about her. Whether Mattie will find her is unknown.

• The heroin and cash found in William's trunk are left behind; their legal and personal implications are not explored.

• Mattie's psychological recovery is only beginning. The novel ends before we see how she copes with twelve years of trauma.

Theme Resolution

The ending directly resolves the novel's central themes:

• Coercive control through religious justification: William's death and Mattie's rejection of his religious framing break the cycle of control. She no longer believes his lies about God's will.

• Identity erasure and reclamation: By giving her name as Samantha, Mattie publicly reclaims her true identity, undoing William's renaming of her as “Martha.”

• Memory suppression and recovery: Throughout the novel, Mattie recovers memories of her mother and sister, and in the end she acts on that recovered knowledge.

• The wilderness as prison and refuge: The mountain was both a prison (for Mattie) and a refuge (for the creature). Mattie leaves it behind, but the creature remains, suggesting the wilderness is not fully tamed.

• Predation as a mirror of human control: The creature's predation parallels William's abuse. Mattie escapes both, but the creature's survival hints that predation is a natural force that cannot be eliminated.

Reasonable Interpretations of the Ending

The novel leaves several elements ambiguous, and readers may interpret them differently:

• The creature's nature: It is never fully explained whether the creature is supernatural, an unknown animal, or a metaphor for William's abuse. The fact that it writes symbols in the snow (as seen in Chapter Five) suggests intelligence beyond a normal animal.

• The two creatures: Mattie's realization that there are two—a parent and offspring—explains why the creature chased them even when they were no threat: it was protecting its child. This adds a tragic dimension, as the creature is also a parent.

• William's death: Mattie pushes him off a cliff, but it is not shown whether he dies on impact. The narrative implies he is dead, but the ambiguity leaves room for doubt.

• Mattie's future: The ending is hopeful but not triumphant. Mattie has escaped, but she has lost Jen and Griffin, and she carries deep trauma. The final line, “Samantha. My name is Samantha,” is a declaration of selfhood, but it does not promise a happy life.

Six Reader Questions and Answers

1. Why does Mattie push William off the cliff instead of shooting him?

Mattie is unarmed at that moment—William has the rifle. She uses the only advantage she has: the cliff edge. She backs toward it, and when he lunges, she dodges and pushes him. This act is also symbolic: she refuses to become a killer like him, instead letting the mountain claim him.

2. What happens to the creature after Mattie and C.P. escape?

The creature is not killed. Mattie sees two creatures—a parent and offspring—and they remain on the mountain. The novel does not show them following the truck, suggesting they are content to stay in their territory.

3. Is the creature real or a metaphor?

The novel presents the creature as physically real—it kills and maims characters. However, its intelligence (writing symbols, understanding human behavior) and its role as a mirror to William's predation invite metaphorical readings. The text does not resolve this ambiguity.

4. Why did the creature spare Mattie earlier in the novel?

In Chapter Five, the creature follows Mattie to the outhouse but does not attack. It leaves claw marks in the snow that Mattie interprets as a warning to stay away from its lair. This suggests the creature is territorial rather than purely predatory, and it may have recognized Mattie as a fellow victim of William.

5. Does Mattie ever find her sister Heather?

No. The novel ends before Mattie can search for Heather. C.P. recalls nothing about her, and the final scene is at the barracks. The reader is left to imagine whether Mattie will reunite with her sister.

6. What is the significance of Mattie cutting her hair?

William had insisted she keep her hair long as part of his control over her appearance. Cutting it off is a physical act of rebellion and a rejection of his ownership. It also marks her transition from “Mattie” to “Samantha.”

Final Thoughts

Near the Bone ends with a hard-won escape, but it does not offer easy closure. Mattie survives, but the cost is high—she loses two friends, kills her abuser, and faces an uncertain future. The creature remains a mystery, and the mountain keeps its secrets. The final image of Mattie walking into the barracks and speaking her true name is a powerful testament to the novel's themes of identity and survival. For more on the characters and themes, see our character guide and theme analysis.