This article talks about sexual violence, kidnap, and murder. Reader's discretion is advised.
The origin of the severed ear that Jeffrey Beaumont finds at the beginning of Blue Velvet is one of the most intriguing mysteries in the David Lynch canon. Played by frequent Lynch collaborator Kyle MacLachlan, Jeffrey is a college student who returns to his hometown to tend to his ailing father. Before long, he finds himself drawn into the seedy underbelly of his quaint all-American suburb, where he crosses paths with lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and sadistic sex trafficker Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). The question of whose ear Jeffrey found takes a backseat once Frank arrives on the scene.
After visiting his father in the hospital, Jeffrey walks home through a vacant land plot and discovers a severed human ear. He takes it to John Williams, a detective and family friend, whose daughter, Sandy, tells him that the ear is somehow connected to Dorothy (one of Lynch’s most lovable characters). Once Jeffrey encounters Dorothy and quickly falls for her, the movie focuses on their deeply dysfunctional love story. The mystery of the severed ear becomes part of a much larger mystery about why Dorothy is so subservient to Frank in spite of his constant abuse and violent treatment of her.
Blue Velvet's Severed Ear Belonged To Dorothy's Husband
Following Sandy’s lead that the ear has something to do with Dorothy, Jeffrey accompanies her to see Dorothy’s nightclub act. They leave early so that Jeffrey can snoop around Dorothy’s apartment before she comes home. When she arrives, he hides in her closet and witnesses shocking brutality inflicted upon her by Frank (one of the most iconic ‘80s horror villains). Jeffrey concludes that Frank has kidnapped Dorothy’s husband, Don, and her son, Donnie, and is holding them hostage to force her into a life of sexual exploitation. He deduces that the ear is Don’s, and that Frank cut it off in his twisted quest to enslave Dorothy.
Frank Booth Abducted Dorothy's Husband And Son
When Frank spots Jeffrey leaving Dorothy’s apartment, he abducts them both and takes them on a joyride. They go to the hideout of Frank’s criminal cohort Ben, where Don and Donnie are being held hostage. Frank shows a rare glimmer of fairness when he allows Dorothy to see her family. With Dorothy’s testimony, Detective Williams launches a police raid on Frank’s base of operations that brings down his criminal organization. Unfortunately, they’re too late to save Don. When Jeffrey goes back to Dorothy’s apartment, he finds her husband dead. At the end of Blue Velvet, one of Lynch’s best closing scenes, Dorothy is reunited with her son.
Don’s severed ear is one of the most significant symbols in Blue Velvet. The ear prop was so important that Lynch and the film’s makeup supervisor Jeff Goodwin gave it the nickname “Mr. Ear” (via IndieWire), with Goodwin saying that the filmmakers “approached [the ear] like a character in the film.” The discovery of Don’s ear is what draws Jeffrey into the criminal underworld. Blue Velvet, as a whole, is an exploration of the darkness hiding beneath the glamorous facade of suburbia. A severed body part sitting in the middle of a land plot upon which a suburban home will be built is the perfect visual representation of that theme.
