In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," why does the Albatross finally fall from the Mariner's neck? The Mariner has finished telling his story to the Wedding Guest. The Mariner is free from the judgment of his shipmates, after they all die. The Mariner has learned to love creatures besides humans. The Mariner drops it into the water as bait while hunting water snakes.