Now didn't that ending leave you with the warm fuzzies? No? More like the heebie-jeebies, you say? Well, to each their own.
Let's break things down before we go any further:
- After being diagnosed with several neurological diseases, Alfred is sent to an assisted care center. He dies two years later after refusing food for two weeks.
- Gary is still Gary—but he ends up losing a hefty chunk o' change on his Axon stocks.
- Chip gets married to Alfred's doctor, has twins, and moves to Chicago. He teaches at a private school and is on the "fourth or fifth" (7.16) revision of his screenplay.
- Denise loves life, and she now lives in Brooklyn, where she works at a swanky restaurant. It's implied that Enid is aware—and accepting—of Denise's sexuality.
- Since Alfred's death, Enid has been less critical of her children and more open-minded in general. Better yet—she's actually happy.
Now that certainly looks like a happy ending on paper, and in many ways it is. Chip and Denise have stopped denying their true selves and are finally comfortable in their own skin, and Gary—the least loveable Lambert by our estimation—gets comeuppance for his unethical investment in the Axon Corporation.
Then, of course, there are the parents. We find Enid in a seemingly transformed state: calm, open-minded, and empathetic. That is, she's empathetic toward everyone except Alfred. Enid practically taunts him in his final days, pointing out all the ways that he's disappointed her and taken her for granted.
So don't blame us if we take Enid's commitment to "make some changes in her life" (7.22) with a grain of salt. It's not that Enid doesn't seem sincere or capable—it's that the novel has taught us that you simply can't control the corrections (more on that over in "What's Up With the Title?"). Maybe Enid will finally become her true self. Maybe she won't end up liking what she discovers. That, ultimately, is the nature of the corrections.