What Does The Ending Of mother! Really Mean?

7. It's An Ecological Nightmare

As Jennifer Lawrence has already publicly stated (via The Telegraph) that the film “depicts the rape and torment of Mother Earth. It’s not for everybody."

“It’s a hard film to watch. But it’s important for people to understand the allegory we intended. That they know I represent Mother Earth; Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of God, a creator..."

Basically, unpicking that a little more, mother! is about man's over-zealous responsibility for the rape and pillage of the Earth. Lawrence's Mother is an embodiment of Mother Earth, and the house is an extension of her - it is her creation and a part of her (hence her connection to it). And that connection was pushed heavily (which is why she is barefoot all the time, and why she reacts so viscerally when the house is damaged).

At one point, she demands to know why Him's followers are destroying the house - when all she wanted was to create something to be proud of and comfortable in - and one angrily offers an answer: they want to make a mark to "prove" they were there. It's a fairly pertinent reflection of humanity's arrogant, occasionally spiteful treatment of the Earth.