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Why do Johannes Rosmer and Rebecca West die at the end of Rosmersholm?

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Portrait of Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian dramatist and poet, with glasses, prominent sideburns, and formal attire, photographed in 1901. — Henrik Ibsen Norwegian dramatist and poet Henrik Ibsen.

In Henrik Ibsen's play Rosmersholm, the double suicide of Johannes Rosmer and Rebecca West serves as a final act of self-judgment.12

The characters are haunted by the memory of Rosmer’s late wife, who drowned herself in the millpond after being influenced by Rebecca’s manipulation and suffering from Rosmer’s emotional detachment. As the play progresses, Rosmer and Rebecca find themselves "contaminated" by one another: Rosmer is drawn toward Rebecca’s vision of unrestricted freedom, while Rebecca is influenced by Rosmer’s traditional, decorous view of life.12

Ultimately, they are driven to the millpond by a complex interplay of guilt and mutual influence. They choose to end their lives together, with each character performing "justice on themselves" for the reasons of the other, effectively resolving the conflict between their clashing moral worlds.12