Unforgiven is full of characters who can't escape their past, and Will Munny is right at the top of the list. Various tales about his past misdeeds surface throughout the film, and he tries and tries to escape that life, but ultimately goes back to it.
English Bob arrives in Big Whiskey only to run into a ghost from his past: Little Bill Daggett. The persistence of tales about Will, and the very fact that he ultimately does what he's always done (kill people) suggest a very profound point: the past always manages to come back, however hard people try to escape it, forget, bury it, etc.
Questions about Memory and the Past
- How does Will feel about his past? Is he okay with it? Haunted by it?
- How about Ned? Does he seem at peace with his past as an outlaw?
- What does the Kid find so appealing about Will's past? Does his opinion obviously change at any one point?
- What does this film suggest about the past history of the United States Frontier, if anything?
Chew on This
The past is hard to pin down. We think we know all about Will's until near the end of the film, when it turns out that his past is much worse (it includes the killing of women and children).
We can try all we want to escape the past but it always finds a way to catch up with us. Will suffers immensely, and Ned dies, in part because Fate is punishing them for their past.