'The Blunderer' ending explained: Did Walter really kill his wife with Kimmel's help?

The Blunderer is a book by Patricia Highsmith which is a suspense and psychological thriller. It revolves around the motives of guilt and obsession. It shows how an ordinary man might be compelled to commit even a heinous crime like murder if pushed too far. However, the plot is so complicated leaving readers confused, that one often ends up wondering what happened finally in The Blunderer. Here's an explanation of the ending of The Blunderer. 

The Blunderer ending explained 

A man named Walter Stackhouse gets convicted with the murder of his wife, Clara. However, his actions and words constantly throw the reader from thinking whether he actually committed the murder or not. What happens at the end of The Blunderer is that neither Walter nor the readers are even sure if the events that Walter recalls have actually happened. However, it seems that it was his growing obsession with another character Kimmel that made him believe he murdered his wife.

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The Blunderer plot

The Blunderer shows a mild-mannered lawyer, Walter Stackhouse's growing hatred for his neurotic wife, Clara. She has made him isolated from his friends by deliberately humiliating him and also accuses him of having an affair with the music teacher, Ellie Briess with no proof whatsoever. All these, however, drive Walter to start an affair with the said woman before a horrified and jealous Clara almost commits suicide. Although Walter initially goes back to her, he soon finds her resorting back to her old ways and demands a divorce. 

Things take an awful turn as suddenly Clara is found dead at the foot of a cliff while she was on her way to see her dying mother. The death initially seems to be a suicide. However, as the investigation progresses, the readers are told that Walter was into some questionable activities like stalking Clara's bus and daydreaming about killing his wife.

The matter goes further out of hand when the authorities find that Walter has been meeting Melchior J. Kimmel, a bookshop owner who was accused of killing his own domineering wife but escaped scot-free due to lack of evidence. 

Walter's obsession with Kimmel rises and it begins to look that the men were in cahoots in the murder of Clara. They are soon plagued by Corby, a police officer obsessed with proving both men guilty. As details about their personal lives and possible crimes start going around, Walter finds himself more and more unsure as to what actually happened to Clara and if he really did murder her in an angry trance. 

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