What Does The Mask On The Pillow In ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Mean?

In a film that’s about marital commitment and loyalty, Stanley Kubrick surely uses a lot of masks in his visuals in Eyes Wide Shut. Is he hinting at what we’re all thinking of? That, in the real world, most relationships, especially marriages, are built on white lies, with two people wearing masks 24/7. Now, that necessarily doesn’t mean that one doesn't mean well for the other, but is intimacy even possible without secrets?

And what happens when one of the two masks is ripped off? Does one tear it down to come out clean, or just put on a new one over it?

These are a few of the many questions, rather thoughts, that race through my mind anytime I watch Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut, a psychological drama about a simple couple with complex desires.

Coming back to masks, the greatest scene with a mask in Eyes Wide Shut is the one where Dr. Harford’s wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), lies fast asleep on their bed, with her husband’s Venetian mask lying on his side of the bed, right next to her. Not going to lie, but the shot leaves me with an eerie feeling.

In this article, we analyze the iconic shot of Alice with the mask to uncover how that one image was actually a verdict on their relationship.

To Give You a Little Context

Dr. William Harford (Tom Cruise), AKA Bill, was a devoted husband and father, who was happily married, with a six year old daughter, until one night, when during an intimate conversation with his wife (that soon escalated into an argument), his wife blatantly confesses to him that she had had adulterous thoughts about another man, a naval officer, who was also staying at the same hotel they were vacationing at, the previous year. She goes on to explicitly describe how she felt about the other man and even confessed how she was ready to throw away her marriage and her kid, the entire family that they built together over the years, just for one night of passion with him.

Before he can react, he gets a call from one of his patients and is forced to leave for a house call. But the conversation sticks with him, like a dagger on his back, with his mind playing different scenarios of intimacy between his wife and the other man, anytime he was left alone. To take his mind off (and to clearly get back at her), he tries to go on a sex spree, only to fail miserably. Not because he couldn’t pick up a girl, but because he got interrupted each time. Although he doesn’t have sex with any of the two women he meets, he does kiss them. So that is cheating, right? You let me know.

Meanwhile, the night progresses only to get wilder. As he tries to explore sex further, fate takes him to a mysterious, eerie, and blasphemous place, where he finds an entire crowd of people involved in strange sexual practices that almost seem like cult rituals. The men are wearing formals with their faces completely hidden behind Venetian masks, while women are roaming around wearing nothing but similar Venetian masks. After what seemed like a prayer gathering, as Bill explores the mansion, he is shocked to see how these people have turned sex into a community affair. People are having sex with anyone, anywhere, while others go about their business, or just stand, watching.

Before he can process much, he is approached by an unknown woman in a mask, who pleads with him to leave before he is caught.

Bill is caught soon after and is presented before the cult leader, who is about to wreak havoc on him, when the masked woman who had warned him earlier saves him just in time, sacrificing herself for his freedom and safety.

Bill is forced to leave, with a warning to never speak of this place to anyone ever, but he never learns what happens to the woman. At the same time, the friend who had told him of this place goes missing. That night, he hugs his wife to sleep, traumatized by his experience, desperately trying to mask his paranoia, ashamed of being a part of such dirt.

The breaking point for Bill comes when he realizes that the woman who had set him free that night is now dead.

The Scene

Bill’s long-time elderly patient tells him everything about the place, confessing that he is a part of the sex cult, too. He assures Bill that the strange woman from the sex-gathering was not dead because the cult killed her, but because she was a junkie who met her eventual death.

Not sure whether to believe everything that he said, he returns home with a promise to himself to never turn in that direction ever again, only to find the Venetian mask from that cursed night lying on his pillow, next to his wife, who is sound asleep.

What Does The Mask On The Pillow Mean?

Here’s what I think it means:

1. Alice Knows What Happened That Night

Okay, I agree, this is an obvious interpretation, so moving on to the next.

2. Was Alice There That Night?

Okay, sounds totally insane, but hear me out. Perhaps she was not there that night, because we see her call Bill from home when she interrupts his sex with the escort. But she might know of the cult? Maybe she is a part, but didn’t go that night? Or returned home after she saw her husband there? I don’t know, a woman like Alice (not showing her down in any way here because I love women who know what they want) can most certainly be there, if she wanted to be there. Or else, how does that last scene make sense, when she tells Bill to put the past aside to concentrate on the future?

It sounds like she knows about everything that went on with Bill that night, but we didn’t see Bill telling her anything. Also, not that he would have told everything he saw, as is. So, considering he hasn’t told her everything, what was she talking about? I’m really not sure; let me know what you think?

3. The Mask Signifies Alice Has Forgiven And Accepted Bill

Turning back from such a truth is hard. Forgiving someone who wronged you is harder. But, unlike Bill, who, despite preaching loyalty in a relationship, couldn’t prove it in action, I like to believe Alice upholds her side of the bargain (hoping that my previous point isn’t right).

Cheating on your spouse is a temptation, just like the poisonous apple offered to Snow White by the Evil Witch. Even a single bite will set your relationship back by years, but can love heal a distrusting heart to trust again? Is it possible to mend a relationship that was broken by a breach of trust?

Alice chooses love over her heartbreak. The fact that she chooses their relationship showcases her deep trust in Bill, despite the setback, although she is fully aware that Bill might never reciprocate in the same way if she were in his shoes. Her sleeping with the mask next to her proves how she has accepted the fate of their relationship and decided to embrace life as it is.

The peace on her face is probably the relief of realizing that she is not an anomaly; rather, most people are like her, only they would never accept the truth about themselves, unlike her.

Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut poses a lot of important questions about marital relationships, so let me ask you a question too. Who do you think was more in the wrong? Bill, who spiralled in grief and jealousy, and then tried to go on a sexual rendezvous after learning about his wife’s fantasy involving another man, or his wife, for having such thoughts?