Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English Language and Literature
Michaela Pšenková
Representation of Authenticity: The Depiction of Women in Films about the Titanic Master’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D.
2018
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the Works Cited.
…………………………………………….. Author’s signature
Acknowledgement
I wish to thank my supervisor, Paul Stephen Hardy, Ph.D., for his help and valuable advice during my period of research. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their love, support and encouragement.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ...... 5
2 Chapter One: From the ʻAngel in the Houseʼ to the ʻNew Womanʼ ...... 12
2.1 Mothers, Wives, Lovers: The Shifting Lives ...... 12
2.2 Silencing ʻThe Cult of Domesticityʼ ...... 18
2.3 The Last Age of Elegance ...... 24
3 Chapter Two: Atlantic (1929) ...... 30
3.1 Introduction to Atlantic (1929) ...... 30
3.2 Affirmation of the Conventional ...... 32
4 Chapter Three: Titanic (1953) ...... 38
4.1 Introduction to Titanic (1953) ...... 38
4.2 Volatile Gender Roles and Matrimonial Devotion ...... 40
5 Chapter Four: S. O. S. Titanic (1979) ...... 48
5.1 Introduction to S. O. S. Titanic (1979) ...... 48
5.2 Conflicting Conception ...... 50
6 Chapter Five: Titanic (1997) ...... 57
6.1 Introduction to Titanic (1997) ...... 57
6.2 Empowered Womanhood ...... 59
7 Conclusion ...... 69
8 Works Cited ...... 77
9 Résumé ...... 84
10 Resumé ...... 85
1 Introduction
The beginning of the twentieth century will always be remembered as the period when the sinking of RMS Titanic, one of the most unfortunate maritime tragedies, took place. More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster that has turned into a phenomenon of the modern world shortly after the ship’s sinking on the ill-fated night of April 14, 1912. The Titanic accident has become an inspiration for all aspects of popular culture ever since the news about the ship that sank on its maiden voyage spread worldwide. For decades after the incident, the Titanic theme has reappeared in a number of songs and poems, been commemorated in literature and art, and become the motivation for the production of more than a dozen documentaries and film retellings of the disaster.
Nowadays, there are not many people unfamiliar with an iconic 1997 movie representation of the tragedy, which has helped to boost scholars’ interest in the Titanic case and at the same time increased historical awareness of the public. The love story of the main protagonists backgrounded by a detailed historical fiction narrative of the event has ensured its popularity with the audience by presenting substantial information about the tragic night of 1912 along with a romanticized relationship. Yet, in spite of being a blockbuster, James Cameron’s Titanic is not the only successful film representation of the sinking. A Night to Remember has managed to attract masses by depicting the catastrophic moments that preceded and followed the sinking of the supposedly unsinkable ship. In a rather even-handed fashion, the movie focuses on the sinking as described in the 1955 book of the same name. Apart from the above-listed two, there have been multiple other movies filmed that more or less deal with the theme of Titanic’s maiden voyage, but have not acquired serious popularity. For instance,
Atlantic is the first full-length film on the fate of the Titanic released as early as in 1929.
5
A propaganda film Titanic covers the final hours of the ship whose sinking was, according to the movie, caused by the ignorance of the British. A 1953 human drama
Titanic is a typical Hollywood production concerned with melodramatic effects and matters of public and private morality. An American musical film Unsinkable Molly
Brown apprises its audience of the life and heroic experience of one of the most recognizable passengers aboard. S. O. S. Titanic attempts to show the authentic story of the seemingly unsinkable vessel by means of covering the entire voyage and revealing the personal experience of passengers on the ship. An international production The
Legend of the Titanic is an animated family-friendly reconstruction of the incident.
Titanic miniseries, the last one to mention, is a television dramatization of the disaster revolving around a First Class love romance.
Much as these films vary in the plotline focus and approach to displaying the tragedy, each of these productions is to a certain extent based on the disastrous event and attempts to visualize incidents and people aboard the Titanic. Whether fictional or not, these movies are abundant with characters that are meant to typify people and their values at the beginning of the twentieth century. Representatives of the aristocratic upper class, bourgeois middle class and impoverished working class are comfortably recognizable on screen due to strictly defined social barriers and customs connected with them. With a purpose to outline the state of Victorian and Edwardian societies in
Great Britain and the United States, the Titanic films are considerably gender-concerned too. Human norms, roles and ways of conduct are divided into separate spheres of women and men, the former being noticeably disadvantaged due to their inferior position in public’s perception.
Drawing upon a large number of books, essays and articles dealing with the
Titanic disaster and its interpretations, this master’s thesis intends to study the historical
6 accuracy of the depiction of female characters in four films on the sinking of the
Titanic. The choice was made to exclude TV episodes, documentaries and miniseries, and examine only full-length television films and cinema dramas of British and
American productions that focus solely on the depiction of the voyage and sinking. To meet these criteria, the list of the previously presented movies was narrowed down to the 1929 Atlantic, 1953 Titanic, 1979 S. O. S. Titanic, and 1997 Titanic. The research question of this thesis debates to what point these four films provide an accurate portrayal of women of the period in their manners and physical appearance. The principal focus is to observe both the provoking characteristics of the female personas resulting from the changing perspectives on women along with the conventional gender portrayal of the fair sex. The diploma thesis argues that the examined film representations of the disaster reflect the changing status of women at the beginning of the twentieth century, while sticking to some stereotypical features and traits regarding class and gender distinctions. The thesis also intends to prove the theory that the degree of authenticity with which female characters are displayed in the films as well as the preference of either the provocative characteristics or the traditional traits in each movie are affected by the state of British and American societies in the 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s.
To avoid any misconceptions caused by a lack of information regarding the gender and class conditions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the first issues examined in this thesis are the traditional gender roles and rising status of British and American women of the period. Throughout most of history, the position of women had been defined by the norms and values of the society that was overwhelmingly male- dominated. As a result, women were put in an inferior position to men, whether it was in the matter of their social roles, legal status, power, or opportunities. Traditionally, a
7 woman’s place was at home, bringing up children, taking care of a household, and simply complying with the ideal of the ʻAngel in the Houseʼ. A glimmer of hope for women’s equality arose at the turn of the twentieth century when some profound changes in the status of women occurred. This and the long-standing values and stereotypes related to women are the centers of interest in Chapter One of this thesis.
With the intention to follow the chronological order of the Titanic productions,
Chapter Two will dissect Atlantic, a markedly fictionalized version of the sinking of the
Titanic. Considering that Atlantic was produced no more than twenty years after the actual disaster, the depiction of female characters that appear in the movie, namely
Alice Rool, Monica and Betty Tate-Hughes, is reasonably thought-provoking.
Irrespective of these female characters not being based on real people, the film offers its audience a portrayal of values and behavior of nineteenth-century women as seen in the
1920s. The study focus of this chapter is put on the attributes of Alice, Monica and
Betty, their stereotypical behavioral traits and the clearly defined feminine roles.
Chapter Three is dedicated to the study of the female characters of 1953 Titanic, namely Julia Sturges, Annette Sturges and Maude Young. All three being First Class passengers, these women are supposed to act as well-behaved ladies abundant with etiquette and morals adequate to their status. The chapter provides an analysis of their characteristics, manners and looks as a means to inspect the accuracy of their depiction in terms of their gender and social position. The turbulent relationships of these female characters are carefully scrutinized too, for they might serve as potential demonstrations of how family and love issues were treated at the beginning of the twentieth century.
S. O. S. Titanic offers various perspectives of the voyage as experienced by groups of passengers in individual classes. The main characters of interest in Chapter
Four are Madeleine Astor and Leigh Goodwin, each representing a different social class
8 together with its etiquette, values, attitudes, and visuals. The chapter also looks at the personality and behavioral traits of Third Class female characters studied as a whole rather than separately. Since the film claims to have based its characters on actual persons, it is a relevant object of examination with regards to the degree of authenticity concerning the depiction of women of the era. Owing to the fact that the movie allows its audience to have a look at lives and roles of women from opposite ends of the social spectrum, it brings up the subject of class differences both in manners and appearance.
The most acclaimed Titanic movie looked at and examined in detail in Chapter
Five is Cameron’s blockbuster Titanic. Although the film presents several female characters that can be studied in terms of their behavior that either does or does not provide an authentic image of women of the era, characters put under examination in this chapter are Rose DeWitt Bukater, Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Margaret ʻMollyʼ
Brown. Chapter Five deals with the study of these characters and their temperaments presented in the movie. It analyses their relationships with others, their physical and personality traits, and the authenticity of their portrayal.
In order to reach a conclusion about the authenticity of the depiction of women in popular film representations of the sinking of the Titanic, some useful information had to be acquired from various sources debating the status and roles of women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as well as their cultural representations on screen.
One of the most important sources for the purposes of this thesis is the book The
Victorian Home by Jenni Calder. In her well-researched book focused specifically on
Victorian middle- and working-class families, Calder offers a detailed picture of the class and gender roles, social customs, sex, and family structure of the period. The book presents a clear yet detailed picture of the social conditions in a typical Victorian home and clarifies the significance of a family unit as such. Even though Calder pays attention
9 to the examination of roles of all members of a family, the book provides a considerable amount of information devoted to women’s issues exclusively.
American Women in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920 by Dorothy and Carl
Schneider sums up all the movements and milestones of the era as experienced by
American women. It describes their domestic and social lives via both text and pictures.
Since the book is based solely on the testimony of women living in the discussed period, it provides details about the first-hand involvement in reconstructions of the status of mothers and wives. Pioneer female revolutionaries had paved the way for women who afterward successfully adopted a more active role in the public sphere. The book serves as a thorough overview of women’s lifestyle at the beginning of the twentieth century, fairly balanced in private and public sphere.
The last source to list that deals with the status of women of the examined period is The Edwardian Woman by Duncan Crow. Covering almost fifteen years of British history, the book looks at the lives of women of all classes and statuses. Even though the book deals principally with women of British nationality, it also digs into studies of women across the world, in particular American, German and French. The focus is set on the entertainment, education, fashion, and work, but the author dedicates some thoughts to the changing attitude to sex as well. The inclusion of pictures offers a visual image of the period that rejected the old habits, conservative style of living and stereotypical social perception.
Linda Koldau’s The Titanic on Film: Myth Versus Truth is the closest study of the matters that are going to be dealt with in this thesis, therefore is seen as a key source of information as well as a challenging piece of work examining different perspectives of the movie adaptations of the Titanic tragedy. The Titanic on Film: Myth Versus Truth focuses on the fixed pattern of the disaster representation and provides a step-by-step
10 analysis of various interpretations of the historical event on screen. The book is divided into ten chapters, seven of which are analytical and focus on the examination of the major Titanic movies. The purpose of the book is to demonstrate a fixed pattern of presenting the Titanic on screen by means of a so-called Titanic myth that keeps encouraging a production of new movies.
Tim Bergfelder and Sarah Street’s The Titanic in Myth and Memory:
Representations in Visual and Literary Culture provides a complex study of literary and cinematic representations of the Titanic tragedy. The book consists of essays by various authors and debates the way in which the modern representations of the event raise awareness and interest in the disaster. At the same time, it looks at how the Titanic myth, culture and cinema are related and influence one another. The significance of this book lays not only in the analysis of how particular movies portray the tragedy, but also in how it is connected with the cultural context regarding the countries of production.
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2 Chapter One: From the ʻAngel in the Houseʼ to the ʻNew
Womanʼ
The status of women at the turn of the twentieth century is a complex and extensive area of study, but awareness of social conditions of the period is crucial for the analytical part of this thesis. Chapter One provides its reader with the matter of the status of women in the Victorian and Edwardian1 eras, the period of interest due to the correspondence between the year span of both eras and age range of women aboard the
Titanic. Chapter One is divided into three subchapters, each dealing with a different aspect of women’s lives. Starting with general information about social norms in Great
Britain and the United States throughout the Victorian period, each subchapter sequentially moves on to the revolutionary elements and changes that occurred within the individual social classes towards the end of the nineteenth century. The first subchapter explores concepts regarding the domestic life of women, namely marriage, child-rearing and female sexuality. The second one looks at female engagement in education, work and free-time activities. The third subchapter lays emphasis on a scrutiny of women’s etiquette, physical appearance and, above all, typical fashion style of both eras, for “women used clothing as a form of communication, resistance, and political statement in their struggle for equality” (Rabinovitch-Fox 17).
2.1 Mothers, Wives, Lovers: The Shifting Lives
Throughout the nineteenth century, the British and American societies shared similar opinions on women as they both considered them but a mere possession of men, socially inferior and subordinate in rights. British women of the Victorian era were not
1 In the United States also known as the Progressive era. 12 allowed to own property, make decisions regarding themselves or their children, file a legal claim, or vote. At the time when Victoria came to the throne, “a woman’s legal existence was suspended on marriage and became incorporated into that of her husband so that she became, in fact, legally dead” (Crow 13). Since the structure of the Victorian family was solidly patriarchal, “her [woman’s] only identity lay in the man whose wife she was and in her domestic role” (Calder 41). American society was similarly
“characterized in large part by rigid gender-role differentiation within the family and within society as a whole” (Smith-Rosenberg, “The Female World of Love and Rituals”
9). A dichotomy of domestic and public prescribed separate spheres for men and women, the latter being assigned a life of “privacy, family, and morality” (Warder).
Women were considered inferior to men, thus were required to comply with a set of rules determined by the male-dominated society. With little or no rights, all the wealth, political power, religious matters, and the question of child-rearing were solely controlled by men (Warder). A woman once married automatically lost not only the entitlement to her property, slaves and family money brought into the newly-emerged relationship, but also the guardianship of her children (Calder 41).
Victorian women of all classes were believed to belong to the domestic sphere, and thus were given a limited time of civil life. Roles of British women were restricted to that of a wife or mother, and the place of American women was strictly set in the household too. Calder puts forward a claim that “home and the female were inevitably intimately associated” (9). Whether their own or someone else’s, a home was “a topic to be discussed and an ideal to be lauded” (Warder). Home, Warder continues, was identified as a place where “women nurtured men and children into becoming morally elevated beings”, therefore to ensure their first-rate performance, women responsible for households had to match certain patriarchal quality expectations, or rather, ideals.
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The ideal Victorian (house)wife/woman is depicted in an 1854 poem The Angel in the House. The excerpt from the poem describing an apt woman goes as follows:
Man must be pleased; but him to please
Is woman’s pleasure; down the gulf
Of his condoled necessities
She casts her best, she flings herself.
[…]
While she, too gentle even to force
His penitence by kind replies,
Waits by, expecting his remorse,
With pardon in her pitying eyes;
[…]
And whilst his love has any life,
Or any eye to see her charms,
At any time, she’s still his wife,
Dearly devoted to his arms; (Patmore bk1, Canto 9, Prelude 1, 1-20).
As the poem above suggests, the angel was, among others, expected to be passive, submissive, innocent, caring, motherly, and, most importantly, a sacrificing homemaker whose life revolved around her husband and children. Maitzen sums up the sphere of interests enforced on women as “private life, the domestic realm, personal experience, matrimony and maternity” (37). Those who failed to either prioritize these or conform to the rules of domestic life were considered too dangerous for the stable society
(Calder 145). Anything beyond the deep-rooted standards put a woman in the position of an outsider, the worst scenario being an involvement in a pre- or extramarital affair.
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While it was generally accepted that the sexual life of British men had hardly any limitations, women were taught that “there was no greater sin than to be with a man who was not their husband and if they were exposed their reputation was ruined” (Kühl
176). To be labeled a failure, however, as little as staying unmarried was enough. If the family was seen as the foundation of society, then, to succeed in life, “the essential female contribution to the Victorian society” was to get married and create the ideal place to pamper their husbands and bring up offspring (Calder 44). As clarified by
Abrams, while “marriage signified a woman’s maturity and respectability, […] motherhood was confirmation that she had entered the world of womanly virtue and female fulfillment”. Women in the United States were identically seen as “the protectors of morality and ʻcivilizedʼ behavior” (Boethel 32), thus “[t]he mere discussion of
[adultery] shocked most Americans” (Smith-Rosenberg, Disorderly Conduct 110).
Similarly to the British Victorians, “[i]f [American] women were guilty of adultery or some other fault, then this stain would follow them” (Cahn 21).
With the nineteenth century approaching its end, Great Britain and the United
States were at the peak of social developments and industrialization (D. Schneider and
A. Schneider 5). Influencing various spheres of everyday existence, both evolutionary processes came to have a tremendous impact on women across the social spectrum.
With the society finding itself in upheaval, “certain norms and traditions, roles within society, expectations and duties had to be redefined or confirmed” (Kühl 171). As a result, the Progressive era faced a rejection of old habits and boosted up women’s strive for emancipation. By no means all women of the Edwardian era enjoyed a household life rapidly different from that of their mothers, but with the urbanization, social developments and industrialization, the standards improved and so did the position of women in society (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 29).
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Money was ruling society at the beginning of the twentieth century; “[b]oth the making and spending of millions was an Edwardian trait” (Crow 31). Nobility and aristocratic women of the upper class were living in the world of unprecedented luxury.
Unlike the early part of Victoria’s reign, money became a sufficient tool to ensure admittance to the nobility, as a result of which the aristocracy no longer consisted of ladies and gentlemen by “birth, intellect or aptitude” only (25). Brains were what upper- class disliked (49), but the ʻNew Richʼ was what they loathed (26). Nevertheless, since the industrialization opened new ways for people to acquire wealth, the nobility had to deal with the ʻNew Richʼ all too often. Marrying up into the nobility and gaining the title in exchange for inheritance also became a common practice of bringing ʻNew
Moneyʼ into the society, especially in case of American heiresses (MacColl and McD.
Wallace 73). This shift in marriage patterns had an effect on the approaches of gender inequality as more women of diverse backgrounds married up in class rank and brought to their households an innovative perception of women’s position in society. The arrival of the concept of the ʻNew Womanʼ brought up a refusal to accept the old convictions of a submissive, dependent and powerless figure even among some women of nobility.
Even though still treated as delicate domestic flowers, women were no longer without civil rights as they had been when Victoria accessed the throne2. The alternation of civil rights, however, was not the only improvement of the lives of upper-class women.
Political rights of women advanced too. Affluent female advocates of the ʻNew
Womanʼ approach “considered it [their] duty to influence the political system” (D.
Schneider and A. Schneider 16). By virtue of this stance, women of wealth managed to gain a right to vote in local or state government, which paved the way for further changes in their political rights (“The Emancipation of Women”).
2 e. g. The Custody of Infants Acts of 1839 and 1873; The Married Womenʼs Property Acts of 1870, 1882, and 1893; The Matrimonial Causes Acts of 1857 and 1907; etc (Doepke and Tertilt 1548). 16
Changing social order and notions of femininity reflected the most in the lives of middle-class housewives. Even though “the industrialization of the household did not entail, as that of the market had [...] and housewives continued to be the workers who were principally responsible”, the new middle-class woman rejected the idea of ʻtrue womanhoodʼ by having fewer children and less frequently commenced marriage (D.
Schneider and A. Schneider 32). In spite of a marriage still being perceived as the most advantageous choice for young women, thanks to the industrial revolution and urbanization, it was no longer inescapable destiny as it once had used to be (145-46).
The ʻNew Womanʼ had alternative ideas about her marriage and family. Her partner preference began to change from the one of a superior companion to that of a companionate husband (17). Similarly, men had brand new expectations too. As further explained by Dorothy and Carl Schneider,
[t]he idea of the ʻNew Womanʼ provided advanced young men with the image of
a woman companion, bright, athletic, undaunted, well-informed, ready to share
in fun and work – and the pleasures of marital sex (148); […] a free spirit and
equal companion, not a subordinate saint (151).
As women turned away from the prospect of staying submissive and husband- dependent, “the rising divorce rate and the falling birthrate” became the dangers of society (51). The Schneiders’ note that “divorce was proliferating” and “more and more women were indeed using birth control devices3” (146, 153).
Although changing expectations demonstrated mostly among the prosperous, lower-class women were likewise affected by the sexual and marriage revolution. A fair amount of working women began to accept premarital sex providing that the man was
3 Aside from the women’s changing attitude, another reason for the limited birthrate was also the increasing prices of goods that granted a family its middle-class rank. It was more beneficial for a middle- class family to invest money in preserving a certain status rather than providing for more children (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 152). 17 steady (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 145). In addition, following the example of the
ʻNew Womanʼ advocates, impoverished women worked on developing companionate relationships with their spouses. Other than that, the roles of working-class housewives did not deviate much from the typical husband-dedicated ones, regardless of the
Progressive era making headway in social development when compared to its forerunner.
2.2 Silencing ʻThe Cult of Domesticityʼ
Work and educational possibilities of Victorian women were limited. British and
American women of the era were inherently domestic beings treated as too delicate to work. The Victorians believed that whereas labor in some way “adulterated life and involved one in a world that was dirty”, the home was an alternative that “preserved and emphasized the values that work seemed to destroy4”, thus women were highly encouraged to stay at home and preserve purity (Calder 14). Unless “the tide of financial fortune […] turned against them”, well-off British and American women could practice idle lifestyles in which the main job was giving commands regarding the household chores (Crow 148). As argued by Harrison and Ford, “[l]adies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it” (226). If they could be afforded, servants performed the household duties. In such case, the main job of the lady of the house was to provide instruction and training to the servants (Calder 20). If servants could not be afforded, housewives had to perform all the household duties themselves, but working for money outside of their homes was still unacceptable (23). An occupational life, however, had an exception seen as a matter of practicality rather than inevitable necessity or desired action. While young and
4 Later on in her book, Calder states that keeping a woman out of ʻthe big worldʼ was a way of asserting her usefulness within the home (103). 18 unmarried, chiefly bourgeois women could work in order to gain knowledge and experience that would pay off once they became wives and homemakers. An argument in favor of this practice runs as follows:
The management of large households, including the supervision of many
servants and the care, education and guidance of numerous children, required
knowledge and labor and skill, but women were not being trained for this. […]
Work outside the home was an excellent preparation for marriage, a means of
education, […] [because] any sort of steady womanly work would be a better
preparation for married life than mere dull vacancy (Halcombe 8).
To obtain domestic knowledge and not to be perceived as the permanent workforce, women were restricted to occupy professions regarded as feminine. Most commonly, they ended up working as governesses, teachers and nurses, all of which met the requirements of femininity (198). Even though carried out just for a short period of time, these positions prepared women for a married life. Once married, middle-class women were not allowed to work anymore, because the employment of women “was seen as an offence to feminine decency, as a threat to the family and as leading directly to immorality” (Calder 67). A need to financially support their families was the only factor that could compel women to work. This was the case of plebian women who executed manual and exhausting labor predominantly in domestic service5, but, occasionally, in millinery or local factories (69). Sometimes the only way out from penury was prostitution (Broad).
A small number of daily tasks enabled unemployed middle- and upper-middle- class women to dedicate more of their time to activities such as needlework, playing the
5 “For many married women, some form of domestic service was the only option: It was what they knew how to do” (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 24). 19 piano, reading books, writing letters, singing, and painting6 (Calder 22, 117, 134).
Social lifestyle consisted of accepting visitors, returning the visits, and organizing/participating at various social occasions (31). Outside the comfort of one’s home, wealthy women were often going for walks, shopping, playing tennis, and archery (22). Social outdoor activities comprised civic duties, charity work and family sponsoring, and it mostly concerned (upper-)middle-class women (46). Underprivileged families had to rely on income from multiple providers, thus the only activities performed by a large number of working-class women were work-related. Leisure and education were inaccessible for the majority of lower-middle-class and working-class women during the reign of Victoria (66).
Industrialization in the later years of the nineteenth century created an effect
“equal to that of urbanization” (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 5). As new job opportunities opened for women in “offices, department stores and professions7”, lives of British and American housewives formerly encouraged to abstain from work transformed (5). In spite of the myth that married women should not work, more and more women did (49). The statistics say that “the working women of Edward’s reign were employed in some four hundred different trades and occupations […], [and] the employment openings ran from accountants and actresses to worsted workers and writers, taking in a remarkable range on the way” (Crow 137). Numerous activities previously unthought-of or seen as inappropriate emerged with the arrival of technical revolution. The world of opportunity expanded and women got a chance to participate in it too.
6 In order to avoid risking that practicing any of these activities could lead to gaining money-earning skills, “it was important to preserve amateurishness” (Calder 23). 7 Crow puts forward the view that there were four inventions with an enormous effect on women’s employment: the sewing machine, the telegraph, the telephone, and the typewriter (143). 20
Thanks to their wealth and status, women of the ʻTop Nationʼ could, at the beginning of the twentieth century, preserve the free-from-hardship lives that did not require them to work, but their attitude towards education altered. Whereas the
Victorian upper class was generally suspicious of new democratic influences (such as education) in the worry that they might undermine their power (Kent 72), the
Edwardians encouraged women to seek employment and become educated, the latter prevailing in interest (Crow 150). Indisputably, young elite ladies were at the end of the nineteenth century still schooled at home by their mothers, governesses or ʻleaders of thoughtʼ8, but fine public boarding schools for women and private women’s colleges9 also began to emerge for upper- and (upper-)middle-class girls (184-85). A follow-up professional education gave a number of women, typically wealthy (upper-)middle- class, an opportunity to study for doctors, lawyers or professors in regional metropolises
(Holland, Edwardian England 156-57). Along with the opportunity to study outside of their homes and towns came the tendency to spend more time practicing outdoor activities or socializing with other women, for example in clubs designed “for ladies of certain social or education sets to reconnect” (Holland, “The Bridge Mania”). Serious music and opera became a hobby for noble urban women of a certain age, but young ladies preferred proactive entertainment like “bicycling, golfing, playing tennis, and boating” (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 43). Visiting each other, getting together for tea and leading idle talks remained popular in the Edwardian age.
Unlike middle-class women of the early Victorian period who perceived work and education only as a temporary form of gaining experience while hoping to marry into the upper-class and settle down in their new homes, Progressive/Edwardian middle-
8 A personal acquaintance with leaders of thought was believed to give women education and training equal to that of a university (Crow 149). 9 Public boarding schools came into existence in Great Britain, while private women’s colleges were the newly formed type of education in the United States. 21 class women “turned away from the prospect of staying submissively at home as good daughters until they moved to other homes as good wives” (D. Schneider and A.
Schneider 52). Bourgeois women wanted to work and opportunities started increasing simultaneously. As the century approached its end, governessing, nursing and teaching were not anymore the only positions accepting middle-class female workers. Domestic service was unbeatable when it came to numbers (Crow 141), but several other occupations grew to be accessible for women, especially for those of a higher social status. At the turn of the century, middle-class women were able to find a job as accountants, actresses, journalists, doctors, lawyers10, and clerical employees11 (D.
Schneider and A. Schneider 51). In essence, women for the first time promoted the idea of building careers instead of working for experience. It was generally female students attending colleges that ended up adopting this ʻNew Womanʼ approach that rejected the old customs and believes of “being a happy little home-maker in favor of education, independence and personal development” (Williams). When the ladies’ seminaries, private and boarding schools offering music and sewing classes were replaced by endowed schools12 in which girls were taught mathematics, natural sciences and classics, young ladies became more interested in further education (Dowdall 50-51). As a result, a number of middle-class women obtained a college education and took up a more active role in the public sphere by becoming members of the workforce and community. Besides work and household duties, a substantial portion of their time centered around leisure activities such as horseback riding, reading novels, dancing, cards (Crow 182), but also swimming, bicycling, golfing, and playing tennis (D.
10 Women in Britain “were not admitted to the legal profession […] until after the WWI., whereas in the United States there were a large number practicing by the turn of the century” (Crow 138). In fact, as opposed to opportunities of women in the United States, choosing a career in Edwardian Britain was a matter of elimination rather than selection (138). 11 Clerical jobs were in a way considered “natural extension[s] of women's position in the home” due to its serving characteristics (Helmbold and Schofield 503). 12 The Girls’ Public Day School Company established in 1873 founded the newly emerged high schools for girls (Crow 185). 22
Schneider and A. Schneider 143). To fight off the loneliness created by the departure of working husbands and children, middle-class housewives began to “spen[d] more of their time away from home” (13). Following the set standards of the upper class, middle-class women “turned naturally to their networks of women friends, which, by
1900, they had often formalized into organizations” known as ladies’ clubs (13, 14).
The club’s purpose was primarily social, but with time grew out to be a center for strong-minded and intellectual ʻNew Womanʼ thinkers and activists. Soon, “club membership had become commonplace” (98).
In contrast with women of higher status, mostly single working-class women worked, because they were in need of money. Serving and dress-manufacturing jobs maintained its supremacy on the labor market, but working their way out into the pink- collar positions or the professional class seemed closer for lower-middle- and working- class women towards the end of the century. Former mill and mine workers could improve their salaries and status prospects in shop positions, dress manufacture positions and office positions, all three immensely popular in the Progressive era (Crow
141-42). The office was one of a few places where lower- and middle-class women happened to mingle as common female laborers were given a chance to boost up their social positions in respectable jobs (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 76). According to
Crow, “an office was the Mecca of most young ladies who were going out to work,
[because] [t]he office had a social cachet that was lacking in factory work or domestic service” (142). The Schneiders contend that the predominantly young and single elite of working-class women occupied clerical jobs, thus it is reasonable to claim that the need to gain a specific cachet might have resulted from a more sustained and accessible education granted to the young generation of working-class women (74). Being young and single in such a progressive era as the Edwardian age also cleared the way for some
23 free-time possibilities. Unlike their mothers who were occupied almost exclusively with their jobs, girls of the Progressive era had wider access to entertainments such as music halls and dancing in the late nineteenth century (Mitchell 227).
2.3 The Last Age of Elegance
The term ʻVictorianʼ is connected to a broad spectrum of class and gender- related qualities and morals that define the period itself. Seeing that Great Britain’s lifestyle used to be markedly mirrored in the United States during the Victorian period, both the British and American Victorians are known to have been modest, virtuous, prudish, polite, and with a strictly established set of formal rules and moral standards divided between the separate spheres of women and men. Irrespective of the wealth, age or rank, women were prescribed to possess submissiveness, dependence, passivity, chastity, and dedication to their husbands and households. Manners and style of life as such were not so much a matter of personal convenience, but of following a set of rules, often meaningless: “The demands of polite society were positively inconvenient to all concerned, and involved a degree of pretense and hypocrisy which the Victorians themselves were aware of” (Calder 31). An example of such demands is that women were instructed to say less in order to keep their conversation consistent with their age and sex (True Politeness 20). In addition, they were encouraged not to be seen in public too often (Varle 295), after all, a household was their essential place of existence and the society had to prevent the circumstances from becoming the opposite. Furthermore, women were constantly advised to “package their intellects in such a way as to smooth male egos rather than challenge them”, which implies not displaying their intellect and opinion (Calder 44).
24
These and other instructions that structured the lives in communities were published in books and manuals on etiquette that gave guidance on daily matters to middle-class women particularly (Langland, 293). Due to unnecessity to conduct the lives of poorer women who were barely recognized by Victorian society, manuals of this kind generally excluded the working class. Apart from not designating the books on etiquette for women without a higher social status, the publications often encouraged the endurance of class barriers (293). Langlad comments on it as follows:
Prescribed social practices were widely published in the manuals of etiquette.
[...] Even if we are skeptical about the possibility of anyone’s observing such
rules in daily life, the very popularity of the etiquette manuals reveals a
pervasive awareness of and commitment to the class distinctions they reinforce
(293).
Maunder’s findings correspond to those of Langlad as he observes:
[T]he fundamental purpose of manners is to ensure inequalities and to
distinguish (in an orderly fashion) people into classes or groupings as a proof
that some individuals are more socially useful and valuable than others. When
manners become esoteric as they do in displays of etiquette, then, they
themselves function as instruments in the promotion of inequalities and the
maintenance of the status quo (63).
It was not just manners that operated in this way, clothes fulfilled the same function (Maunder 63). Conservative, strict and class-differentiated Victorian practices were manifested in the way society dressed as well. The general look of women varied more or less every decade, but the framework of the Victorian dressing can be outlined as “a fitted bodice that came at least to the base of the neck, long sleeves and a small waist” (Mitchell 137). From enormously full skirts supported by hoops or crinolines, to
25 the padded skirts requiring the support of a bustle13, the elaborateness of the clothing served as a declaration of one’s status, regardless of its discomfort. The elaborate clothing was rather restrictive and consisted of such components as petticoats and a corset, the fundamental clothing article (137-39). To style up the visual appearance, gloves, which experienced the zenith of wearing around 1900 (Vincent 190), and shawls, popular ever since the Regency era (Matthews), were added. A decent yet still affordable look was achieved by less extravagant decorations and a plainer garment designed for daywear of the middle class (Mitchell 139). Poverty-stricken women did not bother to wear tight corsets and could not afford opulent garments. Their most common wear was a loose comfortable rag and cheap clothes appropriate for working
(Broad).
Edward VII. would give his name to an era of unprecedented sumptuousness, grandeur and elegance all accompanied by alteration. British and American societies of
Edwardian era followed a series of rules and formalities known for their firmly defined class and gender relationships, nevertheless, changing social conditions14 and the emergence of the ʻNew Womanʼ somewhat reflected in both the code of conduct and the advanced taste of women in fashion. Edwardian women “thought [their] opinions worth listening to”, and thus the fight for social and gender equality progressively gathered momentum (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 16). Influenced by the ʻNew
Womanʼ approach, the idea of a freer spirit became apparent in the way women dressed as well. In Rabinovitch-Foxeʼs opinion, “fashion and appearance became an important factor in the construction of the ʻNew Womanʼ image and an integral part of feminist ideology in that period” (14). Whether it was a modification of moral standards, set of
13 Bustles replaced hoop skirts as a result of promoting skirts with gathered-up sides and back to form a large puff rather than the circular volume (Thieme 16). 14 A reference to the social advancement regarding the domestic and public life of women. 26 values or a form of expression as simple as clothing style, the slightest divergence from traditionally held etiquette was part of “the breaking-up of Victorianism, the revolt of the arts, rejection of the old leaders” (Crow 132).
In the Victorian period, “upper-class women were bound by marriage vows, corsets and a strict inescapable etiquette [...], [but] by the end of the century a breath of fresh air head into the lives of more fortunate women” (“The Emancipation of
Women”). Injustices in all spheres of life lead towards women’s strive for emancipation. Taking advantage of the fact that for many years women had been
“imaged as the guardians of virtue and morality”, women of the time started to believe in progress emerging from their effort to change the environment and thus change people and their attitudes (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 12). The ʻNew Womanʼ resisted against social restrictions and prude etiquette and succeeded e. g. in earning the right to smoke and drink in public and enjoy “comradeship with young men, without the benefit of chaperones” (16). “The less puritan standards” were adopted, at first mainly by the higher society, also as a result of the lifestyle led by King Edward (Crow 78). In conformity with the behavior of the king, gambling and mistresses were set as the standards of the upper-class code of conduct in which husbands and wives took lovers while ignoring the affairs of one another (78). More so than anything else, a freer spirit and alternation of standards reflected in women’s fashion. As far as the dress code was concerned, well-off women had an outfit for every setting and social event, whether in the Victorian or Edwardian period (Mitchell 140). However, because of upper-class women engaging in outdoor activities, society was in need of implementing a more flexible style of clothing. Although corsets remained popular articles of the period until around 1906 (Crow 133), their shape gradually evolved to such that enabled women to
27 breathe more easily15 (Thieme 22). Tops were enriched with medium to high collars and fitting or leg-of-mutton sleeves, “a fashion symbol of women’s aggressive attitude by their emphasis on muscular strength”, just to be later on replaced by Magyar sleeves that gave women unquestionable freedom (Crow 133). Skirts also underwent a gradual change from the gigantic hoop ones, through the bustle skirts16 curved outwards to maintain the ʻSʼ shape of the body, all the way to the very narrow hobble skirts that did not serve the purpose of comfortable and active clothing, but complemented the corset- free bust (133). Hats, popular accessories often worn with the hobble skirt outfits, were considered the more fashionable the larger they were (Thieme 27).
Even though the majority of Victorian attitudes and rules of conduct continued to have an enduring influence in the higher society throughout the Edwardian era, the emergence of the ʻNew Womanʼ, represented mostly by bourgeois members of the fair sex, caused a perceptible change in etiquette and traditional behavioral patterns of middle-class women. As reported by Ledger, “the putting-on of ʻmasculineʼ attributes
(having straight talks to young men) was thoroughly characteristic of the textual ʻNew
Womanʼ” (13). As mentioned repeatedly, unlike the customs in favor of restricted conversations and hidden intellects held by the Victorian society, the ʻNew Womanʼ was committed to the idea of independence ensured by her ability to express herself and her opinion. One form of expression being the way women dressed, simple but feminine clothing became favored by the middle class. Since a predominance of women still considered full curves the ideal of beauty, in the case of a more formal attire the aim was to show off a feminine rounded shape while “breaking away from the elaborately
15 The pressure on the diaphragm and waist was, however, relieved at the expense of a back pain. 16 A more youthful vertical line to emphasize a natural restatement of the female figure replaced S-curve silhouette that had passed from fashion by 1910 (Thieme 24). 28 ornate” Victorian style (Crow 132). As a result, a new ʻGibson Girlʼ17 image that stressed the hourglass figure of women made an appearance at the turn of the twentieth century (126). The ʻGibson Girlʼ shirtwaist and skirt were suitable for both work and sport, but since it demanded tight corseting which young middle-class women gradually discarded, by the time the First World War broke out, “the hour-glass figure was out and the long-lean look was the fashionable one” (133). This look was achieved by a kimono-style dress or tunic that “freed feminists from tight corsets, gave them a greater freedom of movement” and represented “an escape from the constraints of Victorian culture by making women more exotic and enhancing their sexual allure” (Rabinovitch-
Fox 26, 22).
For being excluded from society as such, Edwardian working-class women did not need to acquire any proper practices or patterns of behavior typical of their gender as they were not actively participating in social relations within distinct groups, organizations, clubs, or workplaces. As for their clothing, following the example of their well-off counterparts, poorer women fancied “simple patterns and loose-fitting styles that were more amenable for mass production” (Rabinovitch-Fox 20). The exception was the hobble skirt that, as Rabinovitch-Fox explains, “gained much popularity among working-class and young professional women who saw it as a symbol of their freedom” (24).
17 The ʻGibson Girlʼ was “a type created by the American illustrator Charles Dana Gibson” (Crow 126). 29
3 Chapter Two: Atlantic (1929)
In Chapter Two, attention is paid to a picture of women as presented in the movie Atlantic nearly two decades after the reign of Edward VII., at the time when gender-biased norms in some form continued to reverberate through the British societies. The study of the depiction of women in this film is concentrated on the diverse gender roles and qualities they represent. The characters under scrutiny are
Alice Rool, Monica and Betty Tate-Hughes. Chapter Two is divided into two subchapters; the first one, being a short summary of the film, gives a complete synopsis of the storyline, whereas the second one focuses on the characters’ analysis as such.
3.1 Introduction to Atlantic (1929)
Atlantic, one of the most successful movies of its period, revolves around the sinking of a ship of the same name after it hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage in April 1912. Based on the dooming experience of RMS Titanic, the film tells personal stories of fictional couples aboard, each facing a different relationship phase than the other.
The film opens up with a small number of First Class passengers playing cards at a bar table, oblivious to any potential threat coming from outside. Enjoying calmness of the smoking room, John and Alice Rool, an elderly couple aboard, are interrupted by newlyweds Monica and Lawrence who would like to be joined in the celebration of their anniversary by the company of publicly known Mr. Rool and his wife. While
Monica and Lawrence urge the elderly couple to supper with them on the ship, Freddie
Tate-Hughes, one of the table attendees, quietly abandons the group to secretly see his lover. After noticing his departure, the table group speculates the appropriateness of his
30 action. Not coming into a clear conclusion, First Class elite is joined by a Second Class ship officer whose presence instigates but another speculative subject for discussion, the one of the ship being in danger of a collision with icebergs. After an elaborate explanation, the officer leaves the room and the camera focus switches first to Mr. Tate-
Hughes caught in a disturbing situation with his lover, and then to Mrs. Tate-Hughes and her daughter vainly asking around for their husband and father. Both of these unpleasant occurrences are in the subsequent scene depicted to Mr. Rool.
In the meantime, Miss Betty Hughes shares her worries and anger with a priest aboard, while her mother sits down at a table in tears. As more people gather in the room with the Tate-Hughes ladies, the ship strikes an iceberg. The scenes following this unfortunate incident deal principally with emergency measures and rising chaos among the passengers.
After that, the focus is once again placed on the room now full of prominent passengers who are impatiently awaiting information about what caused the ship’s alarm go off. Instead of telling the truth, the officer fools passengers in order to avoid disarray. Only two people are in confidence acquainted with the real state of affairs, namely the priest and Mr. Rool who subsequently comes to the center of attention of the movie. Various upper-class people come to Mr. Rool to disclose their worries and get an advice from him in return. Lawrence is advised to get his wife into a lifeboat as fast as possible, and so he does. Mr. Tate-Hughes and his daughter are also talked sense into, thus manage to solve their dispute. The only one who refuses to listen to Mr. Rool is his wife who decides to stay on the ship in spite of her husband’s wish.
All the relationship quandaries being solved, the attention turns to the ship sinking and passengers running around in confusion. The final minutes of the film focus on people of all classes coming together to sing and pray in face of their destiny.
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3.2 Affirmation of the Conventional
In the opening scenes of Atlantic, there is a group of people entertaining themselves with cards at a bar. All but one person are men, because at the time it was still quite unusual for women of the upper and middle classes to group together with the opposite sex for free-time activities (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 13). In this case, the exception is Alice Rool, a middle-aged wealthy lady who accompanies her disabled husband in playing cards. Cards were one of the newly emerging activities popular among better-off women in the Edwardian era, therefore the first moments of Alice’s appearance in the movie may suggest her progressive nature and awareness of the up-to- date trends.
The negation of the presupposition that Alice has a progressive attitude arises a couple of minutes into the film, when Alice utters her first sentence. John asks his wife to pass him a card, to which Alice’s immediate answer is “[o]h, I am sorry”, and does as she is asked (Atlantic). Alice submissively responds to her husband’s request, which is the kind of action a good Victorian wife would take. Alice’s reaction is an example of the obsolete Victorian values and code of conduct still noticeable in society in 1912.
Her character, possibly old-fashioned due to her age and period in which she grew up, serves its purpose of a passive and submissive social inferior all at the same time.
As can be seen throughout the movie, Alice does not talk much, which is another example of the old standards for which she stands. Women were traditionally advised to not talk excessively in the company of men. By avoiding superfluous talking, Alice allows more space for John to shine. Alice functions as a decorative article of her husband as she is willingly overshadowed by his glory. After all, John is the main character in the film that makes men stand out while women are used as the means of asserting male heroic qualities. The only time Alice is invited to talk is when John asks 32 her to comfort Lawrence after Monica is gone. This is an authentic instance of the male- female dichotomy of the Victorian period that dictated that women were traditionally associated with the qualities of being sympathetic while men are expected to remain strong and firm. In accordance with this belief, John refuses to comfort Lawrence and instead expects such deed from his wife. The film’s display of the traditional Victorian roles can be likewise seen in women’s inclination towards crying and worrying and men’s duty to escort crying and worried women off the sinking ship and ensure their own acclaim in the audience’s eyes. Peck in his essay confirms:
[I]t is the heroism of the men that is celebrated here. […] There are men who
are willing to die, have to die, so that the women can be saved. […] This would
certainly seem to be the message of the film, as much of the plot is concerned
with the rescue of the women (117).
John, however, fails to accomplish this final task of bravery as Alice refuses to abandon the ship unless John comes with her. Alice is such a dedicated wife and companion that she would rather die than leave her life partner behind. Actually, the idea of such sacrifice is based on real incidents aboard the Titanic. On various occasions, women turned down the idea of saving themselves at the expense of their husbands. One of the most proverbial examples of such action is the experience of elderly Ida Strauss who was heard saying to her husband: “We have been living together for many years. Where you go, I go” (Lord 58). Assumedly, Alice’s reaction is based on Ida’s demeanor, yet it is debatable whether both women’s decision should be considered an act of dedication or love. The era Ida was brought up in was typical for a gender-based ideology of devotion on women’s side. On the other hand, the obedience, too, was required of women and by following the principle of devotion both Alice and Ida violate the norm of obedience so often stressed by Victorian and Edwardian moral convictions.
33
Monica represents qualities similar to those of Alice. Monica, a newly wedded upper-class woman in her late 20s, is an example of an “innocent, helpless, eager to please” true woman whom American males dreamed of at the peak of the Victorian era
(D. Schneider and A. Schneider 16). The film first shows Monica dancing with her husband, which was once considered a common way of entertainment. Taking into consideration that what the film shows is a social dancing taking place in a ballroom, women are expected to be appropriately dressed. The audience can notice that Monica, just like all the women in the scene, is wearing a long loose sleeveless dress without a corset, which on the one hand complies with the Edwardian fashion advice to put on less restrictive clothes, but, on the other hand, more resembles the style of the roaring twenties. The defining large and often padded pompadour Edwardian hairstyle is neither manifested in the movie. Instead, the majority of ballroom women have a so-called
ʻfinger waveʼ hairstyle, also typical of the decade in which the film was produced.
In contrast with her visuals paralleling to the later years of the twentieth century, are her manners and personality traits characteristic of the majority of conservative women of high Victorian society. Regardless of her age that could indicate the opposite,
Monica is not an epitome of the ʻNew Womanʼ, because she lacks certain individuality, independence and strong will in favor of meekness, naivety and devotion to her husband. When she and Lawrence join the party at the card table with the intention to invite Mr. Rool for supper, Monica fulfills the role of a charming angel who is to compliment her partner and manhood in general. She is used as the medium through which John Rool can be praised as she calls attention to his importance when saying: “It is awfully difficult to believe that you are The Mr. Rool. I have heard such a lot about you, but I have never expected that I should ever meet you” (Atlantic). This is yet another precise portrayal of women’s roles as they were expected to stroke men’s egos.
34
During her conversation with Mr. Rool, Monica touches upon the subject of reading, which was a favored activity of women throughout the nineteenth century18.
Another well-liked activity of the period perceived as solely feminine was gossiping, welcomed e. g. in ladies’ clubs which, among others, served as places for socializing.
For they were excluded from the talk of business or social matters, in the company of one another women often discussed either family issues or rumors spreading around. A case in point is the scene in which Monica shows interest in the hearsay regarding an iceberg, or the one in which she engages in the chatter about Tate-Hughe’s affair, both of which are authentic depictions of the gender roles and behavior patterns stereotypically ascribed to the period women. Another accurate depiction of Victorian women with regards to their roles demonstrated in this scene is Monica’s defense of
Tate-Hughe’s reputation in spite of clear evidence of his infidelity. The fundamental role of Monica’s character is, after all, to admire men’s qualities while presenting herself as a little naïve and helpless individual women were considered to be.
After the ship starts sinking and panic is beginning to set in, Monica bursts into the room hysterically and seeks comfort in her husband’s arms. The dichotomy of men and women tells us that remaining calm was considered one of the men’s roles. In
Howells’s words, “tears, sobbing and hysterics were expected of women, not men” (The
Myth of the Titanic 127). By contrast, one of the women’s roles was to obey their husbands. In the scene in which Lawrence asks Monica to get in a boat, she submissively accepts his orders saying, “If I must go, I must” (Atlantic). Even though possibly based on real-life incidents, Monica’s reaction is not completely authentic.
Unlike female historical persons who are known to have agreed to disembark the
Titanic as a sign of respect of the captain’s order of women and children first (Lord 56),
18 Within her monologue, Monica also mentions her having attended school, which, however, suggests her parent’s advanced preference of institutional schooling as opposed to home education rather than hers. 35
Atlantic displays Monica’s act as one of many examples of the solidly patriarchal structure of the Victorian family (Calder 41). This claim is supported by Peck’s observation that Atlantic is built on “reaffirming ideals of courage and self-sacrifice
[and] traditional sex roles” (119).
A new wave of energy is brought to the film through the character of Betty Tate-
Hughes, a young, single and dynamic persona. Unlike her mother Clara, a typical upper- class figure, Betty rejects the old Victorian standards of staying quiet and in terms with the destiny that comes with simply being a woman. Even though everyone else prefers to knowingly ignore extramarital affairs considerably common (“generally accepted” almost) particularly among wealthy men, Betty refuses to put up with her father’s romance (Kühl 176), which authentically illustrates what the resistance of ʻthe New
Womanʼ could look like. Before she gets a chance to confront him in person, Betty hopes to get help regarding this matter from a priest with whom she seems to be an acquaintance. To his question of whether there is anything he could do for her, she answers demanding his aid in finding her father (Atlantic). Betty shows the active nature of rebelling Edwardian woman rather than a passive attitude of the traditional characteristics of the majority of Victorian women.
Betty is the first and only female character that makes efforts to take the initiative and act rather than just stand by, pity herself, ignore the situation, and let the men take advantage of their power and superiority of which they are well aware of. One of the references regarding male authority uttered worth mentioning is Mr. Rool’s remark during his conversation with Mr. Tate-Hughes. He is advising him on how to approach the subject of disembarking the ship saying: “Be quiet and easy with them
[Betty and Clara]. Use your influence to make them go” (Atlantic). Male characters of the film are aware of their influence and, correspondingly, female characters are aware
36 of their subordination that was overwhelmingly present in the pre-Progressive period.
Both male dominance and gender oppression are undeniably noticeable in the characters’ attitude, which is, in Koldau’s view, concerned with the conservative ideas of “courage and self-sacrifice, traditional gender roles, [and] a generally accepted social hierarchy” (56). Betty is the only character that seems to rebel against this attitude. She goes as far in her determination as to defy her father in person by saying “I’m not taking orders from anyone”, for the articulation of which she is immediately scolded (Atlantic).
Unlike Monica who does not dare to defy her husband, or Mrs. Rool whose decision to stay on the ship may or may not be considered an act of resistance, Betty is clear in her resolution not to take orders, thus seems to be an authentic ʻNew Womanʼ.
Nevertheless, Betty’s repudiation of the conservative approach might not be as constant as it seems. Driven by anger, Betty admits that her father makes her ill, because “no father in the world would behave like this” (Atlantic). On the one hand, such statement has seemingly derogatory remarks towards Mr. Tate-Hughes for whom
Betty has contempt. On the other hand, it demonstrates Betty’s naivety regarding men’s loyalty as well as the support of the theory that Atlantic is either way supposed to celebrate men and their qualities, because Mr. Tate-Hughes’ affair is approached just as an unpleasant exception. Even though Betty’s opinion on this matter is sufficient enough to indicate the inconsistency of her character, another example and the final rebuttal of her personality formerly depicted as rather progressive appears towards the end of the movie as she finds her way back to her father19, and thus confirms and authentically depicts the stereotypical tendencies of women resulting from their assigned roles.
19The same type of forgiveness and reunion can be seen in her mother’s case. The formerly troubled and disappointed woman whose good manners and subordinate position prevented her from making a public disturbance holds on to her husband in tears by the end of the movie. 37
4 Chapter Three: Titanic (1953)
Chapter Three focuses on the views on and display of gender conditions of 1912 in the period when the ideals of the ʻAmerican Dreamʼ were deeply rooted in the
American national consciousness. The female characters of the 1953 Titanic, namely
Julia Sturges, Annette Sturges and Maude Young, are dissected based on their conduct, manners and reversed personality traits. While the first part of this chapter provides a brief outline of the main events of the film, the core of the chapter examines the female characters as such.
4.1 Introduction to Titanic (1953)
An estranged married couple who struggles to deal with their family problems is the center of attention of the 1953 movie Titanic. The plot takes place on the prominent
White Star Line ship and introduces several characters whose original attitudes and behavior are shaken by the unforeseen circumstances shortly after the Titanic sets off to its journey across the Atlantic.
Minutes before the Titanic leaves its last stop on the way to New York, Richard
Sturges manages to convince a steerage family to give up one of their tickets in exchange for a sum of money large enough to ensure their future prosperity. With an intention to join his wife Julia who fled from him with their kids Annette and Norman due to her conviction that the life they had lead was inappropriate for bringing up children, Richard embarks the Titanic resolved to talk Julia out of her course of action.
The first night on the ship Richard seeks out his wife in the dining room just to confront her and question her decision. To get his daughter on his side, Richard reveals
Julia’s plans to Annette who supports her father the moment she learns her mother’s
38 intention not to return to Europe. Not knowing what other action to take against
Richard, Julia comes out with her secret advantage, the fact that Norman is not
Richard’s son, but was illegitimately conceived at the time when Julia felt alienated. As a reaction to this information, Richard decides not to insist on keeping the custody of
Norman. Annette, however, is to return to France with her father, for she is considered old enough to be let make her own life choices. One of these choices of hers is spending time with her new acquaintance Gifford whom she meets on the ship. Even though at first Annette behaves coldly towards Giff, her initial contempt develops into affection.
Meanwhile, Julia hopes to have some time for herself, but meets a former priest suffering from alcohol addiction. She initiates a conversation with the priest and aids him in finding a way to his cabin. As for Richard, he continues to keep his distance from Norman who is hurt by his father’s indifference. While all this is going on, the
Titanic comes into a collision with an iceberg. Richard, learning about the situation quickly enough, calmly escorts his family to the lifeboats. As a gesture of goodwill,
Richard also descends to the steerage class and brings back to safety the family whose father he replaced on the ship.
The last discussion between Richard and Julia before they part ways reveals that they both are very much disappointed by the turn their marriage life has taken.
Emotionally reuniting and expressing love for each other, they are forced to say goodbye. While the women of the family are crying in a lifeboat that is being slowly lowered down to the water surface, Norman courageously leaves his place in the boat to an elderly lady in order to join his father aboard the Titanic. Taking pride in Norman’s courageous decision, Richard reconciles with his son as the ship goes down at the end of the film.
39
4.2 Volatile Gender Roles and Matrimonial Devotion
Tailored suits, long flowing gowns with sleeves fairly fitted to arms, large hats, and gloves are initial and precisely accurate physical manifestations of the Edwardian period in the film. Julia Sturges, a main female character and First Class passenger, is herself in the opening scene wearing a suit typically used for traveling or outdoor activities, and a hat of considerable size fashionable towards the end of the nineteenth century (C. Bishop). Unlike her First Class co-passengers, she does not change her clothes for a supper, which is not a precise depiction of women of her status. Upper- class women of the Victorian and Progressive eras used to change their clothes constantly, depending on the occasion. The reason why Julia may not behave correspondingly is her revolt against the luxurious yet empty existence of her class counterparts.
Although a marriage outside one’s social status was discouraged by the
Victorians, it became more acceptable towards the end of the nineteenth century
(Thompson 92). Julia was not born into a high society, but like many other Edwardian women she married up the social ladder, which is a trait of her character that corresponds with the Edwardian standards. During her dinner argument with Richard, he mentions that “I [Richard] made the pardonable mistake of thinking I could civilize a girl [Julia] who bought her hats out of a Sears Roebuck catalog”, by the reference of which he points out to Julia’s subordinate status (Titanic 1953). Finlayson and Taylor label this statement as the determinative point that identifies Julia as the ʻaverage womanʼ, a representative of the film’s intended audience (136). The average woman of the 1950s is the ʻNew Womanʼ of the 1910s, and Julia appears to be the ʻNew Womanʼ in its true sense. She is an entertaining middle-class lady abundant with grace, style and, above all, her own opinion. On numerous occasions, she is presented as a quick-witted
40 woman in fond of reading poetry, joking around and engaging in conversations with various people such as Annette’s suitor Giff, a family friend Sandy and the priest20. This behavior of hers is in agreement with the qualities of the Progressive ʻNew Womanʼ who was known to have favored reading and also wanted to be heard.
All the moves Julia takes throughout the movie challenge the old Victorian conventions of the old-fashioned, obedient and dependent housewife. The first and foremost compelling evidence in favor of this claim is Julia’s decision to separate from her husband. In the Victorian period, marriages were not very romanticized and divorces did occur, but such a practice contradicted the popular notion of a dedicated wife. Another key point in favor of perceiving Julia as the ʻNew Womanʼ is her sexual unfaithfulness to her husband. In the movie, Julia refers to her infidelity as an “offence against common decency” (Titanic 1953). In the Edwardian era, adultery was a reality increasing in number even if no one talked about it in polite society (Kühl 174). A strictly confidential infidelity became more common among both genders of the upper- class circle and neither were women punished nor held in contempt for it. As compared to the long-lasting Victorian perception of adultery as a sin, or Richard’s view on it as an “inexcusable breach of etiquette”, both the act of adultery as such as well as Julia’s attitude towards it are authentic displays of the changing notions regarding sexuality
(Titanic 1953). More striking and questionable, in terms of its authenticity, is Julia’s decision to run away from her spouse and take the children with her. It is true that during Edward VII.’s reign the laws that prohibited mothers from keeping custody over their children were no longer in effect, especially in case of American women, but taking away kids without the consent of the other parent was under no circumstances a permissible thing to do with no further consequences. In case of a mother, such act
20 A secondary scene in which Julia escorts the priest to his room where they lead a brief personal discussion exemplifies Julia’s unconventional nature too, for she is not hesitant to talk to him in private. 41 could lessen her chances of getting the custody of her children, because “the preference
[of a mother] only applied if she was not at fault” (Cahn 28). Taking this information into account, Julia’s action seems little exaggerated, dramatic even, and does not conform to the standards of either the Victorian or Edwardian society.
Julia in various instances acts rather as a father of the family; this male spirit might be the source of her reversed deeds and opinions. Finlayson and Taylor explain
Julia’s masculine and active behavior as shown below:
The father of the family acts too much like a woman, the daughter has
surrendered her nurturing characteristics to the vapidity of social grace, and the
young man is kept in a state of emasculated pre-adulthood. As a result, the
woman has been forced to take charge (141).
Julia is in charge of the family matters throughout the entire film. One example occurs in the scene where Julia and Richard dine at the table and Richard attempts to give orders to his wife by commanding her to finish the coffee and join him for a discussion, something she immediately spurns by saying: “I’m in no hurry to finish my coffee and not too interested in your opinion” (Titanic 1953). After this daring response, Julia sets the rules in the matter of upbringing of Annette and Norman and takes “a dominant role maintaining the upper hand until almost the end of the film” (Finlayson and Taylor
135). Another conversation in which Julia takes an active part in her marriage and displays exceptional determination and strength occurs in her cabin when she discloses to Richard Norman’s true parentage. Julia confronts Richard with the words: “Before you go down and drink and eat you’d better know how things are going to be. […] He
[Norman] stays with me. And if you try to interfere, I’ll be as common as you think I am. I’ll fight you tooth and nail. I’ll take you to the courts” (Titanic 1953). Despite the continuous gender bias in the legislation of both the Victorian and Edwardian periods,
42
“the child custody law during the nineteenth century developed a tender years preference for mothers” (Cahn 28). Both Julia’s assertion of her authority and the awareness of the newly improved women’s rights authentically serve as manifestations of the early twentieth-century reality for the ʻNew Womanʼ.
Julia’s authoritative position is manifested in her treatment of Annette too. In order to prevent society from imposing the Victorian values on her daughter, Julia dictates an alternative future for her child when ordering: “I’m taking you [Annette] home […] I won’t see an arranged marriage, I won’t see you jumping from party to party, from title to title all the rest of your life” (Titanic 1953). Julia condemns the outmoded ideas on marriage and social status, and intends to raise her kids with a progressive approach to the wedlock, matrimony and social standing, which properly characterizes the would-have-been-taken stand in such matters by the ʻNew Womanʼ representative and a mother. For the duration of the movie, Julia proves to be a mother determined to ensure an appropriate upbringing for her children, a woman dedicated to her maternal roles. Koldau observes that Julia bases all her decisions on the ambition to do the best for her offspring, thus believes that her “determinate, ʻunfeminineʼ attitude
[demonstrated earlier on] is an exception only, necessitated by the urge to save her children from becoming spoiled and effeminate” (116).
At the point of the sinking, the ʻinvertedʼ order reverses back to the conventional one. Richard transforms into a strong and active character, while Julia exposes her vulnerability. Koldau believes that “the gender norm is never questioned, and the ship’s collision with the subsequent ʻchanceʼ to demonstrate masculine chivalry and feminine resignation into fate is the perfect means to reinstate the traditional gender roles” (116).
And just like that, “when the death confronts, things are made plain and it is time for women to cry and men to die” (Finlayson and Taylor 141). Julia turns into a true
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Victorian woman as her last appearances on screen show her dedication and admiration of Richard who heroically leads his family off the ship while he stays aboard. To such an act of bravery, Julia reacts with uncontrollable crying resulting from her distress. The last minutes of the film reveal Julia’s typically feminine nature and simultaneously make Richard a classic male hero. The movie finale transforms Julia from the
Progressive ʻNew Womanʼ into the traditional ʻAngelʼ, attributes of both are although stereotypically but rather authentically depicted on screen.
The second most conspicuous female character of the film is Annette Sturges,
Julia’s maturing daughter. Coming from an upper-class family and being pampered by her father, Annette, to the disapproval of her mother, grows up to be an “arrogant little prig” (Titanic 1953). She looks down on Giff who, although showing interest in her, is not a beneficial match. When Giff approaches Annette in order to help her carry the bags, she rebuffs his offer with a simple: “Shouldn’t you be in the school somewhere?”, by the utterance of which she diminishes his status (Titanic 1953). Similarly, in the initial scene Annette greets a family friend in perfect French, by which she shows her educational superiority as well as her inclination towards European culture. Annette’s behavior is in harmony with the snobbish attitudes of the Victorian upper class that all too often looked down on others and treated them with disdain.
In the Edwardian era, Paris dictated many aspects of the well-off people’s lives and its pompous lifestyle propagated in Great Britain by Edward VII. (Crow 128).
Annette, as a perfect embodiment of such manner of living, is enthusiastic about the
European loftiness and everything connected with it. During a bitter argument with Julia it emerges that Annette desires the “aristocratic life in a declining empire” along with its socially advantageous marriage, endless parties and sheer idleness (Titanic 1953).
Unlike her mother who takes interest in finding a proper husband-companion for her
44 daughter, Annette evaluates her potential partner in the matter of his eligibility, i. e. his status, name and wealth. When Richard comments on the suitability of Annette’s prospecting husband that “he is a highly eligible toad, [because] [n]ot many young men are related to both the Metternichs and the Rothschilds21”, Annette agrees and subsequently gets mad at Julia for canceling her engagement without letting her know
(Titanic 1953). Her reaction along with her life preferences are exemplary and authentic illustrations of the stereotypical features of Victorian women who also fancied idleness, parties and fine marriage prospects.
Annette’s haughtiness towards socially inferior conditions, activities and people changes after finding pleasure in spending time with Giff. Her new acquaintance introduces Annette to a more laid-back environment of the American Progressive era by teaching her a new Navajo Rag dance and a repertoire of popular songs to sing. Navajo
Rag, “the hottest jig the kids do”, was one of many dances that gained popularity in
Edward’s reign, thus provides an accurate portrayal of women’s entertainment of the
Progressive period (Titanic 1953). Crow explains the emergence of new dance styles:
[Dancing] was ceasing to be a formal social occasion encumbered by chaperones
and had become an expression of the new and freer attitude between the sexes.
The new generation wanted new dances and something new to dance to. A
plethora of new dances were created or adapted from American sources […]
(123).
Singing, the other form of newly popularized entertainment demonstrated in the film, was likewise considered one of the “useful things learned” in the Edwardian age (182).
In Koldau’s view, Annette’s introduction to these “American joy[s] of living” speeds up her character development in terms of the revelation of her identity and coming of age
21 The Metternichs and the Rothschilds were noble and wealthy interconnected European families (Dundes 136-37). 45
(121). During her transformation, Annette grows out of the obsolete and arrogant
Victorian manners to mature into the active and enlightened Edwardian ʻNew Womanʼ.
A mingling of dynamic approach and forthright views is displayed in the character of Maude Young, an upper-class passenger loosely based on the historical character of Margaret Brown. Representing the values and traits of the American socialite and feminist known as ʻThe Unsinkable Molly Brownʼ, Maude advocates the same gender approach as Julia does. Even though she is not seen in the film often, the audience gets hold of Maude’s feminist personality the moment she makes her first appearance. When one of the stewards approaches Maude in hope to find in her a maid of Mrs. Widener, she makes a sarcastic remark saying: “Well, don’t look at me! I’ve got so many maids, some of the maids are taking care of the maids” (Titanic 1953).
Afterward, Maude adds: “Can’t say I blame the poor fella. I just haven’t got the kind of a face that goes with a bankroll. I’ll flash my badge and blind a few people”, and unbuttons her coat to reveal a large gemstone brooch underneath (Titanic 1953). Maude is aware of lacking an aristocratic look, but does not take any offense in it. Instead, she uses her sharp-tongue qualities to take a stand on such circumstances. Even though
Maude’s rejoinder is to a certain degree theatrical22, it does fulfill the function of demonstrating the traits of the Edwardian ʻNew Womanʼ.
Mrs. Brown is not bothered by class-related issues as much as other members of the nobility displayed in the movie are. In fact, Maude casts “a jaundiced eye on the social pretensions of her fellow passengers”, which suggests that she despises the explicit dominance and disdain of the well-off elite (Erickson 83). She, for instance, humbles the snobbish behavior of Richard when he acts coldly towards Norman after finding out his illegitimacy by saying, “[i]t certainly clouded up. Well, word’ll do it
22 Iversen confirms that Brown’s “words and actions were [often] amplified and exaggerated” (52). 46 faster than a hickory stick any time” (Titanic 1953). Such a portrayal of Maude is in consonance with the personality traits typical of women with the ʻNew Womanʼ attitude, namely expressiveness and proactiveness, thus can be seen an authentic manifestation of the changing personalities of women. Moreover, it matches the description of Margaret Brown provided by Iversen who describes her as an energetic and forthright woman who “pushed the boundaries of appropriate behavior for women”
(52).
Maude’s critical manner of speaking together with her ability to engage in a random conversation without any difficulties makes her a challenging male companion at a card table where she is seen most of the time. Koldau, however, questions her “role of a persistent card player” (123). In the Edwardian era, cards had become a form of entertainment for women, but it was not appropriate for upper-class ladies to spend the day playing cards in a smoking room with married men. That is what women’s clubs were for. When cards, especially bridge, became “a major source of entertainment for societies on both sides of the Atlantic […], [and] an obsession with many women”, ladies’ clubs developed into a place where women “convened to gossip, drink tea and cocktails, gamble, and get away from men” (Holland, “The Bridge Mania”). The film’s display of Maude’s endless gambling in men’s company might serve as an attempt to demonstrate her ʻNew Womanʼ approach in relation to gender separation, but its manifestation crosses the line of what would have been acceptable back at the time.
Smoking room was designed for men and their business talk, thus excluded the presence of women. Showing Maude in the company of men all the time, therefore, does not provide a factual account of the twentieth-century women.
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5 Chapter Four: S. O. S. Titanic (1979)
The aim of Chapter Four is to examine the portrayal of women of various social classes in S. O. S. Titanic filmed in the 1970s, a decade that “mobilized in defense of
[… ] traditional family roles (“The 1970s”). The chapter contrasts the portrayal of individual class representatives, namely a First Class passenger, Madeleine Astor; a
Second Class passenger, Leigh Goodwin; and female steerage passengers as a whole.
Chapter Four is divided into two subchapters. The first subchapter presents the film to people unfamiliar with the production. The second subchapter provides a character analysis in which the study of the authenticity of the depiction of women’s visuals, manners and personality traits is put in the spotlight.
5.1 Introduction to S. O. S. Titanic (1979)
S. O. S. Titanic aims to depict the doomed 1912 voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers. Due to its focus on all three hierarchical class categories, S. O. S. Titanic is the movie in which “the social structure of the Titanic is reconstructed in more detail than in any other Titanic film” (Koldau 153).
As soon as the voyagers embark the ship, the focus starts switching back and forth from the upper-class personas to those not so much in a privileged position of luxury and comfort. Bruce Ismay, an English businessman and chairman of the White
Star Line, guides his wife around the Titanic in a sequence of scenes that familiarize the audience with a number of historical characters such as the American real estate investor John Jacob Astor and his spouse Madeleine, the ship designer Thomas
Andrews, the ʻNew Richʼ Margaret Brown, the captain of the Titanic Edward Smith, and the rescued English science teacher Lawrence Beesley.
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The first day on the ship everyone is shown to be acclimatizing in their cabins and ship facilities: J. J. Astor and Madeleine discuss their relationship while getting unpacked and ready for the supper, Thomas Andrews comes across one of the stewardesses he has been on a ship with before, Lawrence Beesley and Leigh Goodwin amuse themselves with reading, and female steerage roommates are getting to know one another while their male counterparts dance and drink heavily in the lower deck.
In the course of the voyage, the elite of the ship enjoys noble dinners, parties and entertainment activities like relaxing in the Turkish baths and working out in the gym.
While men are shown having a drink or playing cards in a smoking room, women spend time gossiping or dancing in the ballroom. Lawrence Beesley and Leigh Goodwin, the principal representatives of the Second Class, occupy themselves with walks on the promenade deck, book-reading and profound discussions on social and moral matters.
The common people while away the time by drinking and socializing in the Third Class lounge.
Halfway through the film, the Titanic strikes an iceberg. Until the moment of collision, everyone takes pleasure in sumptuousness the ship grants to those that sail it.
Shortly after, the mood of the film changes and the foregoing amusement is replaced by chaos. A total panic arising in the lower deck is put in contrast with the imprudent self- confidence of nobility unaware of the seriousness of the situation. With the ship filling up with water, the principal objective the steerage passengers attempt to achieve is to reach the boat deck. Meanwhile, First Class gentlemen are hesitant to see their spouses to the lifeboats. The final moments of S. O. S. Titanic show forcefully separated people saying goodbye to one another. The film ends with the rescue of the survivors and a state of shock they go into aboard RMS Carpathia.
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5.2 Conflicting Conception
The plot of S. O. S. Titanic sets a substantial focus on Madeleine Astor, a First
Class historical persona of nineteenth who sails the ship with her husband J. J. Astor and a maid. Before the Titanic sets off for its maiden voyage, the audience is not quite yet given the opportunity to form a thorough opinion on Madeleine’s personality traits, but her physical looks provide substantial information about her clothing preferences.
Madeleine is wearing a light-blue suit and a bodice with a medium-neck collar, which was a popular daywear of the Edwardian women. Gloves and a hat of a larger size, both recognizable on Mrs. Astor, were suitable for use during the day in the Edwardian period as well.
Madeleine has a passive and vastly feminine character demonstrated in two short scenes in which she accompanies her husband. In the first scene, Madeleine stands by
Mr. Astor’s side and, quite authentically, congratulates Mr. Ismay on the magnificence of the Titanic, since praising men for their accomplishments was expected to be a good housewife’s task back in the days when women could not achieve a work-related success themselves. Accurately is depicted also the Victorian ideology that if they shall not say something smart and of importance, women had better not say anything at all.
Therefore, while Mr. Astor opens a more elaborate discussion with Mr. Ismay,
Madeleine, just like Mr. Ismay’s wife, supportively and quietly remains near her husband and watches him lead a brief conversation with a smile on her face. The second scene points out Madeleine’s feminine delicateness and occurs shortly before the ship’s departure. In this scene, Madeleine and J. J. are walking on the deck and she, as the only woman in that particular scene, covers her ears as a form of protection from all the noise around. By acting like a subordinate delicate flower at the beginning of the movie, she establishes her position of a submissive character throughout the entire film.
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Madeleine appears to be a fragile, insecure, naïve, and overly pampered individual. During one of her small talks with J. J., Madeleine complains about the absence of a bidet in the bathroom stating: “There’s no bidet in the bathroom, of course.
But then it’s not a French ship, it’s British, one mustn’t expect miracles” (S. O. S.
Titanic). Madeleine is used to a certain French-oriented normative notion. Regardless of being the most luxurious ship of its time, in Madeleine’s view, the Titanic fails to comply with French standards at the time when the country’s cultural influence slowly spread around the English-speaking world. Madeleine admits that her opinion sources in her indulgent character, but J. J. corrects her saying: “You’re not half as spoiled as you’re going to be when I’m through with you” (S. O. S. Titanic). J. J. plans to edify
Madeleine’s nature as if she was some kind of a pupil or a child whose behavior he needs to alter. It is necessary to ʻtrainʼ her in order to create a perfectly presentable
ʼAngelʼ of her. Madeleine, on the other hand, with her innocence and helplessness seems to be in need of being taken care of. Due to their age difference, J. J.’s paternal attitude and Madeleine’s childishness, the couple sometimes seems to be tied by a father-daughter kinship instead of a marriage. On second thought, however, her relationship with J. J. might simply imply a highly romanticized bond, in which case the way Madeleine carries herself might be an exaggerated representation of the Victorian values of indolence, submissiveness and innocence rather than childishness.
According to Koldau, “John Jacob Astor and his young wife are the couple who most consistently represents the First Class in S. O. S. Titanic”, therefore, the likelihood of them portraying the traditional male/female characteristics is high (152). Since one of the traditional Victorian female characteristics was women’s interest in debates on family matters, Madeleine is realistically shown sharing with Margaret Brown her worries about the social contempt J. J. is exposed to owing to his divorce and
51 remarriage. By contrast, a typical male trait is presented in the scene where J. J. cuts one of the lifebelts open just to impress Madeleine, to which she reacts with well-founded doubts in terms of safety regulations. Although this particular act is based on a real incident when J. J. was “whiling away time by showing his wife what was inside [of a lifebelt]”, the way it is presented to the audience makes it look like an effort to picture
Madeleine as a likable character with rational thinking (Lord 40). Apart from this very occurrence, Madeleine is put into a positive light also in the scene where she walks in on her maid admiring her dress. Instead of scolding the maid down, Madeleine allows her to keep the dress once the Titanic reaches the docks of New York. The quite unlikely situation of a friendly atmosphere between the upper-class lady and her servant seems to suggest the filmmakers’ intention to create a likable character rather than an accurate one. Koldau uses as an example of Madeleine being turned into a “more rounded character than usual” the last moments of the film when Mrs. Astor steps out and climbs the ladder to the deck of Carpathia as the first of the survivors (152).
Although possibly passable for the audience, all three of these scenes diminish the authenticity of the depiction of women in the film.
Less typological and more conflicting is the character of Leigh Goodwin, an
American middle-class woman who shows a love interest in Second Class passenger
Lawrence Beesley. Even though unmarried, Leigh travels without the company of a chaperone, which, at first thought, might seem to be caused by the declining desire for chaperonage that “was on its way out” by 1910 (Wouters 51). The absence of a chaperone in Leigh’s case is, however, a result of her professional occupation. As clarified by Bradley, “[l]adies who [were] engaged in business (like school-teachers, artists, dressmakers, physicians, music teachers, or in other self-supporting occupations), [were] released from the necessity of having a chaperon” (qtd. in Wouters
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33). Besides, Leigh was not alone throughout the entire trip. Lawrence was keeping her company during the voyage23. In addition, Leigh mentions that on her tour to India she was accompanied by a group of co-workers, teachers, thus her portrayal as an unescorted woman is not an incorrect one. Touching upon the subject of Leigh’s employment, despite a wider range of occupational opportunities available for women from the twentieth century onwards, Leigh works as a teacher at a girls’ school.
Teaching was the traditional job acceptable for women throughout the nineteenth century, because “it closely duplicated the domestic sphere by placing women in a homelike environment with other women and with children” (Spain 145). In this sense, the Victorian employment standards are depicted precisely, but the fact that Leigh favors them is contradictory to her progressive Edwardian attitude towards male-female interaction.
Mutual interest brings Leigh together with Lawrence Beesley whom she does not hesitate to approach. Etiquette manuals, mainly designated for middle-class audience who “wished to blur the identification by learning the manners of their betters
[the upper class]”, taught women not to advance men in public24, but Leigh’s behavior contradicts this rule of conduct as she takes the initiative to start a straightforward conversation with Lawrence (Curtin 14). Although inappropriate for the Victorian
ʻAngelʼ, such behavior would have been encouraged in the ʻNew Womanʼ. According to Ledger, “having straight talks to young men was thoroughly characteristic of the textual New Woman”, thus Leigh’s action is an authentic representation of the changing attitudes of Edwardian women (13).
23 In a rather speculative point of view, Lawrence can be considered Leigh’s chaperone, for in that era “ gentlemen formally offered their services to ʻunprotected ladiesʼ at the start of an Atlantic voyage”, nevertheless, such proposal is not vocalized in the film (Lord 59). 24 The same kind of conventional mistake is demonstrated by the character of Margaret Brown who approaches a man with an appeal for a dance in one of the scenes. 53
Except for the nights apart, the newly emerged companions are seen spending the voyage together either reading in what appears to be a middle-class space of the library or conversing on the promenade deck. It is the subject of class that is often brought up into their discussions. On one occasion, Leigh expresses her strong belief that “the ship is the microcosm of the British social system” that intends to keep the classes separate on the basis of status (S. O. S. Titanic). Lawrence disagrees by giving an example of the recently expanding ʻNew Richʼ, a social stratum unknown-of until the beginning of the Edwardian era. A similar talk about the system between the two intellectuals takes place shortly before the collision and touches upon the idea of the restriction of leisure activities imposed on various classes. Observing First Class passenger dance, Lawrence points out: “If we were First Class we might have come dancing” (S. O. S. Titanic). This pronouncement truthfully suggests that ballroom dancing was one of the most exclusive activities of the time. Moreover, the conversation held between Leigh and Lawrence not only corresponds with the social matters of the period, but also points to Leigh’s assertiveness and wittiness, both of which are examples of authentic ʻNew Womanʼ qualities.
Apart from the social issues, Leigh and Lawrence happen to discuss their personal relationship too. In one of the Second Class scenes, Lawrence expresses his gratitude for being lucky to have met Leigh, to which she responds: “[lucky] that I was so forward, you mean” (S. O. S. Titanic). Lawrence admits that if it had not been for
Leigh’s initiative, he would not have attempted to speak with her. With Leigh’s confident attitude and Lawrence’s bashful character, the two seem to have reversed qualities. This becomes even more noticeable when Leigh insinuates interest in spending a night with her male companion. Upon finding out that a sexual encounter without a prospect of marriage might be the only thing she can expect from Lawrence,
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Leigh decides to return to her cabin with the words: “I’m looking for a better offer” (S.
O. S. Titanic). Leigh’s statement proposes the idea that she is looking for a prospective husband. Becoming a housewife was, after all, considered a responsibility of a well- bred Victorian woman. Leight’s inclination towards although authentic but typically
Victorian marriage views stands in opposition to her advanced Edwardian clothing style. Leigh’s plain evening attire consisting of a lean dress with raised waistline and
Magyar sleeves both emphasizes her femininity and epitomizes the period of transition from the ʻSʼ shape of the silhouette to the more natural loose look.
Assessed as largely accurate can be the depiction of Third Class women in S. O.
S. Titanic. Modest and astonished do they embark the ship whose mightiness and luxury have been unheard-of among the poor from the lowest rung of the social ladder. Even though the working-class women are accommodated in small cabins designated for up to four people, some of its dwellers consider the rooms “massive” (S. O. S. Titanic). As explained by a Third Class passenger Kate, this perception of the comfort the Titanic offers is caused by their habit to live cramped up with other family members in small rooms of their own houses. Kate mentions that she comes from a family of twelve, thus having a bed for herself is not what she is used to (S. O. S. Titanic). This statement is in agreement with Calder’s report that some of the features of Victorian working-class existence were “the presence of poverty and squalid living conditions” as well as
“sharing a makeshift bed with brothers and sisters” (63, 155).
Deprived conditions of the working class are suggested also in Kate’s bewilderment when informed that dinner is served aboard daily. Kate admits that she has “never had dinner in [her] life” (S. O. S. Titanic). An even bigger shock for the steerage passengers is the First Class furnishings. Since mingling of classes was in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries impossible, working-class women did not
55 have many chances to encounter the luxury of moneyed dwellings unless they served in one of such houses. Therefore, when a couple of Third Class women advance the First
Class area, they are astounded by lavish equipment of the dining room. It is very unlikely to suppose that in the real life event the steerage women would have had any other reaction to both the comfort of their own cabins and grandeur of the First Class section. These scenes thus arguably provide an authentic depiction of a life the working class led in both the Victorian and Progressive eras.
In Koldau’s view, “the Third Class passengers [in S. O. S. Titanic] appear much more as rounded, realistic personages than the stereotypes presented in other films”, on the other hand, she thinks, they possess some stereotypical features (155). Poor but cheerful is the manner in which the working class is presented in the film. Night after night, the steerage passengers gather in the lower deck to dance and sing to Irish music.
Koldau considers this portrayal stereotypical, it is, however, a precise one (155).
Regardless of one’s status, music was “a part of most social gatherings” in Victorian
England (Mitchell 225). Unlike the upper class who took lessons in social dancing, common people “danced to fiddle music in barns and open air, as well as at taverns”
(226). Talking about the dancing scene, it sets particular focus on a shy unknown woman whose visage serves as a valid and authentic example of working-class simplicity. The woman is dressed in a loose skirt and a simple-patterned shirt, her shoulders covered with a shawl. Noticeable is the fact that throughout the entire film neither she nor other Third Class women change clothes, for it was luxury common people could not afford.
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6 Chapter Five: Titanic (1997)
Cameron’s Titanic, a blockbuster with unprecedented theatrical success, is the center of interest in Chapter Five. The movie, filmed at the turn of the millennium when the emancipation of women was blooming thanks to the help of the third-wave feminism attracted masses and influenced people’s understanding of the disaster along with social conditions of the period. Chapter Five is divided into two subchapters: a film introductory subchapter and an analytical one. The focus of the analytical subchapter is laid on a dissection of demeanor and qualities of three female characters of the movie, namely Rose DeWitt Bukater, Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Margaret Brown.
6.1 Introduction to Titanic (1997)
The 1997 Titanic is a story within a story told from a perspective of an elderly lady who keeps the memories of her experience from the Titanic’s maiden voyage fresh in her mind more than eighty years after the ship’s sinking. The main character leads the audience not only through the tragic moments of April 14, 1912, but also through her identity struggle, problematic relationships and personal misery.
A team of treasure hunters submerges to the wreck of RMS Titanic in hope of finding a diamond necklace, yet instead happen to recover a drawing of an unknown young lady from a safe in one of the Titanic suits. Soon as the hunters find out the identity of the women in the picture, Rose DeWitt Bukater, her presence aboard the hunters’ ship becomes desirable. Upon her arrival, she begins to share her Titanic experience.
In 1912, Rose embarks the Titanic with her mother Ruth, and a fiancé Caledon
Hackley. Even though coming from a decent background, Rose and her mother suffer
57 from financial hardship, thus Ruth comes with an idea to marry Rose up the social ladder, a plan Rose disdains yet puts up with for the sake of her mother. Unhappy with the turn her life is taking, Rose faces a mental breakdown during which she considers committing a suicide by jumping over the side of the ship. Jack Dawson, a poor Third
Class bohemian, happens to be at the stern the very moment Rose climbs the railing, and manages to intervene and change her mind. Even though the reason why Rose leaned over the ship remains kept from Cal, he is informed that Jack prevented his fiancée from falling off the ship.
The next day, Rose and Jack spend hours discussing their lives and aspirations.
To the disproval of Caledon and Ruth, they develop a friendship that eventually leads to a romance. Within a time span of twenty-four hours, Rose reconsiders her life choices, returns to Cal, changes her opinion once again, reunites with Jack, and has an intercourse with the latter after succeeding in evading Cal’s bodyguard. Witnessing a collision with an iceberg, Rose and Jack attempt to inform Cal of the danger the passengers are facing. Driven by anger, Cal sets a trap for Jack that ensures his arrest.
Meanwhile, women and children start boarding lifeboats as the ship begins to fill with water. Unlike her mother, Rose refuses to disembark the ship. She flees Cal, says goodbye to her mother and sets out to free Jack. After reuniting with Jack and braving several obstacles, they reach the boat deck only to discover that all the lifeboats have departed. Rose and Jack decide to stay aboard until the ship sinks below the ocean surface. Afterward, they swim away to a potential safety, a wooden panel buoyant, on which Rose crawls up. Jack dies of hypothermia, but Rose is saved from the water. Her story finishes aboard RMS Carpathia, a ship that takes the survivors to America.
Back in the present, hearing Rose’s story, the hunters abandon their search for the diamond, not knowing the necklace has been in her possession the entire time.
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6.2 Empowered Womanhood
A truly enlightened individual tired of her repetitive lifestyle and eager to experience a change is the character of Rose DeWitt Bukater, a seventeen-year-old socialite and soon-to-be-married woman. Rose begins sharing her experiences from aboard the Titanic by an open confession of her inner conflict. She admits that even though outwardly she behaves according to an etiquette required from a well-brought- up girl, inside she feels like a prisoner. Rose complains about her social position revealing that it seems to her that she is “standing in the middle of a crowded room, screaming at the top of my [Rose’s] lungs, and no one even looks up” (Titanic 1997).
This statement is a remark about the ignorance of people she is surrounded with, the ignorance of Rose’s needs and preferences, with which many young women of the
Edwardian era could identify.
As a female member of the high society of 1912, Rose’s life choices are influenced by the notion of a patriarchal dominance. Just like the majority of women of the period, she is told what to think, what to say and what to do without having a right or power to influence any of it. Considering that the position Rose finds herself in is an authentic depiction of the position of most women in the first decade of the twentieth century, Koldau is convinced that Rose is “being used as representative of the general role of upper-class women in late Edwardian society” (186). In spite of her young age, she has to live up to the normative gender roles imposed on upper-class women by society at the turn of the twentieth century. In accord with the requirements of the period, Rose is expected to commence an economically advantageous marriage lacking affection or a mutual respect whatsoever. Cal, her fiancé, treats Rose as a subordinate and inept woman, a traditional wife, a commodity even. Not only does he diminish her status and dictate her how to behave, Cal goes as far as e. g. ordering dinner for Rose or
59 giving her a diamond necklace in hope of sexual advances. In one scene, Cal hits Rose in face demanding respect but offering none in return. Rose, as an intellectual freethinker, struggles to put up with such treatment. She is “repressed by this ossifying class position and is desperately looking for a way out” as many of the period women were (Redmond 199).
Despite her personal misery and her stance on the matter of inequality, Rose bears the manners and moral code required from a high-class woman. Her conduct is, especially in the initial part of the movie, conformable with the standards of the period, thus accurately displayed. Accordingly to her status, Rose takes on the responsibility of having an essentially arranged marriage, presents herself as a well-bred daughter and fiancée, talks respectfully and admirably to members of the opposite sex, and behaves in a presentable and controlled way in the company of other people. It is, although, only her manners that are depicted as a paragon of the Victorian gentlewoman; Rose’s spirit is of ʻNew Womanʼ nature. She is an independent, dynamic and sharp-tongued woman, whose true personality begins to surface only after meeting Jack. Looking back on her life before meeting Jack, Rose realizes that, as Chumo II puts it, her “future was already in her past” (161). Rose explains:
I saw my whole life as if I had already lived it. An endless parade of parties and
cotillions, yachts and polo matches. Always the same narrow people, the same
mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice, with no one to
pull me back, no one who cared or even noticed (Titanic 1997).
It is the free spirit artist who cares enough to bring out in her the transformation from a girl formerly “caught in a world of conventionally patriarchal men […] who ignore, patronize, control, and abuse her” (Lehman and Hunt 92), to a woman, “a traveler, a risk taker, an adventurer empowered to do and be these things” (Redmond 202).
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A marked change in Rose’s behavior takes place at the steerage impromptu party where she witnesses unrestrained freedom unknown in her circles. While Edwardian upper-class parties consisted predominantly of fancy and lavish dining social observances held more frequently than any other social occasions (Holland, “Dining and Dinners”), working-class parties were mostly dance-oriented events that cast off
Victorian morals in favor of dance crazes (J. Bishop 31). Working on J. Bishop’s assumption that dance functioned as “an avenue of rebellion and articulation where women could shape their opinions and dominance”, the steerage dancing scene serves the purpose of asserting Rose’s independence and progressive nature (2). In this scene
Rose also applies a newly achieved women’s right to drink and smoke in public25, thus manifests her pro-reformist attitude and serves as an accurate display of the changing moral code of women.
The modernity of her character is further conveyed by Rose’s interest in Freud’s work and admiration of Picasso’s paintings. Chumo II concludes that Rose “shows herself to be a true woman of the new century by her sympathies toward Picasso and
Freud even before they have achieved popular acceptance” (161). With the exception of
Margaret Brown and Mr. Andrews, no one seems to grasp or get entertained by Rose’s remark on Freud’s theory of male preoccupation with size. This suggests his low popularity in the late Victorian and Edwardian era and, at the same time, implies
Margaret’s and Mr. Andrews’ intellectualism and open-mindedness. Unlike other men in the film, Mr. Andrews appears to be the only male character (aside from Jack) that treats Rose beyond her gender standing. For example, Captain Smith acts towards Rose with a sense of protection. As a reaction to perceiving her as a delicate flower women were considered to be, Captain Smith ʻunburdensʼ Rose of potential concerns regarding
25 In the film, there is also a scene that shows Rose light up a cigarette at a table to the disapproval of her mother. 61 icebergs warnings by exclaiming “not to worry, quite normal for this time of year”
(Titanic 1997). Mr. Andrews, however, has a different approach. Rose is one of a few characters Mr. Andrews informs about the sinking of the Titanic. Besides, Mr. Andrews openly talks to Rose about the shortage of lifeboats or even aids her in finding Jack in lower deck notwithstanding the danger that comes with descending the flooded ship’s stairs. By not trying to avoid delicate subjects or mistreating her based on her gender,
Mr. Andrews acknowledges Rose’s strengths and equality. The juxtaposition of the two attitudes brings out the idea that even though the film chiefly shows the prevailing standpoint on the status of women of the period, it manages to recognize both the increasing emancipation of the fair sex and its recognition by others. In addition, the fact that it is the upper-class female representative that is able to achieve emancipation in some form is very much in conformity with the known reality that “the role of full- fledged New Woman was reserved for a relatively few women privileged by birth, education, luck, or their own endeavors” (D. Schneider and A. Schneider 18).
Sydney-Smith and Koldau offer a number of examples of female emancipation thoroughly expressed in the movie: the former lists Rose’s “lack of modesty, in posing nude for Jack” and “her escape from marriage” (187), while the latter mentions her transformation into a self-reliant survivor (204). Starting with Rose’s resolution to pose naked for a drawing, worth mentioning is Gerstner’s viewpoint that discusses the idea that it is the “American Realist sensibility” of Jack’s drawings that stimulates Rose’s wish to be captured in the same manner (8). After listing through his sketchbook, Rose expresses an admiration for Jack’s ability to “see people”, a quality people around her lack (Titanic 1997). No one seems to see, or rather, perceive Rose the way she is.
Instead, sexist and artificial assumptions influence public perception of Rose as the
ʻAngel in the Houseʼ. Therefore, “Jack’s sketchbook that illustrates real life for Rose
62 indeed serves as a catalog where Rose’s ideal woman-hood is inserted” (Gerstner 8). As a result, Rose desires to be portrayed embracing the same type of womanhood – pure and feminine yet true to her essence. By freeing herself from clothes, she is metaphorically freeing herself from the restraints of society.
Besides functioning as a way of displaying women’s emancipation in the twentieth century, the sketching scene also doubles as a foreplay to the Jack and Rose’s sexual encounter in a car. In the early twentieth century, the sexual Puritanism of the
Victorian period was no longer as influential as it used to be, thus the number of premarital intercourses slowly rose after the 1900s (Tebbutt 114). Taking into consideration that “younger [Edwardian] women were more frequently indulging in premarital and extramarital sex than their foremothers”, Rose’s act of infidelity is not as scandalous and rare as it might have been had it happened a decade or two before (D.
Schneider and A. Schneider 142). It is her intention to eschew her planned marriage that would have been considered an outrageous and extremely uncommon practice.
Although calling off the prestigious wedding and settling outside of her class is in the movie seen as an act of emancipation, its likelihood and authenticity with regards to the depiction of Edwardian women are significantly low. Presenting such deed, together with others like punching a steward, swinging an ax, telling off her mother, jumping off the lifeboat, or making obscene gestures, serve only as a tool of exaggeration of Rose’s dedication and rebelliousness. The 1997 Titanic is very emphatic about Rose’s revolutionary personality, thus uses various and often extreme means of asserting her rebellious and pro-innovative character, some of which, however, do not comply with a conduct of women even as progressive as the ʻNew Womanʼ representatives.
Aside from the conspicuous above-listed acts of rebellion, Rose’s clothing style attests to her resistant temperament as well. Within the duration of the movie, Rose
63 wears approximate dozen outfits, which is very much in accordance with the habit of the Victorian and Edwardian women to change clothes on every occasion. The number of Rose’s outfits, as well as their style and the accessories used, are elaborate and detailed representations of the Edwardian period on screen. Whether it is her traveling tailor-made suit with the enormous feathered hat and gloves from the initial scene, or her red evening gown decorated with exquisite hand beading, the dresses Rose wears take “advantage of the fashion revolution in progress”, the time when “[t]he Victorian hourglass ideal was giving way to a cleaner, straighter, girlish silhouette26” (Marsh 38).
Besides displaying revolution in clothing style, Rose’s dresses manifest her personal revolt too. A couple of Rose’s costumes are kimono-style dresses that gave women a greater freedom of movement and enhanced their sexuality. An outfit that stands out the most is a loose chiffon Sunday evening robe that is put in contrast with all the corset- bound dresses in the movie. This outfit not only supports the idea of liberty and boundlessness expressed by clothing in the Progressive era, but also enables Rose an unrestricted movement without which she would not be able to run or swim to safety.
Consumed by her aristocratic background, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, Rose’s widowed mother, is a self-absorbed and snobbish personification of vanishing Victorian values. Complying with the ideology of the ʻAngel in the Houseʼ, Ruth spends her time mostly socializing with her equals, i. e. women privileged by birth. Just like many members of the gentry of the late nineteenth century, Ruth despises what used to be referred to as the ʻNew Moneyʼ. According to the conventional Victorian rules, a place in high society could be acquired only by birthrights. Therefore, when Margaret Brown tries to join Ruth and other aristocratic ladies at tea, Ruth purposely encourages her companions to leave the table and go for a walk in order to avoid such a degrading
26 Marsh puts Rose’s clothing style in contrast with her mother’s, which is described by a term ʻthe old schoolʼ (38). 64 persona as the ʻNew Moneyʼ representative. In Ruth’s view, anything that goes beyond the normative standards of the period represents a threat to the stable high society. Upon meeting Jack, Ruth maintains the same attitude. Jack saves her daughter’s life, but Ruth
“look[s] at him like an insect, a dangerous insect which must be squashed quickly”
(Titanic 1997). Although Jack has not acquired wealth like Margaret has, he is a steerage passenger, thus cannot be treated as a member of the club either. In the dinner scene, Ruth attempts to humiliate Jack by means of reference to his poor background.
She boycotts his presence at a table, because Victorian society was most likely to associate with people who shared the same values and opinions, which could not be expected of a working-class individual (Mitchell 14). This class-consciousness does not leave Ruth even at times of extremely serious situations. During the ship’s evacuation, she asks whether “the lifeboats [will] be seated according to class” (Titanic 1997). The indifference demonstrated by this utterance once again manifests Ruth’s conventional manner of thinking. Apart from qualifying Ruth as the female antagonist of the movie, all of the listed instances provide an authentic picture of the stereotypical Victorian bearings of snobby and hypocritical upper-class women.
Even though Ruth leads a socially active life, her conversational topics are authentically depicted as strictly feminine, which means limited to either gossip or a talk concerning her family, both to be discussed only in the company of her fine female friends around whose she can boast about her personal achievements. As a representative of Victorian women whose “allotted goal in life was to marry, have children and raise them in an appropriate and respectful manner”, Ruth considers an achievement the fact that Rose has found a husband (Broad). Ruth puts forward her belief that “the purpose of a university is to find a suitable husband” and since Rose has already done that, there is no need for her to either continue in her studies or enroll in
65 college whatsoever27 (Titanic 1997). The idea that not the education but the attendance is the important factor in obtaining university schooling is awfully conventional and limited, and so is Ruth’s perception of a marriage. Disregarding Rose’s personal preference, Ruth demands her to commence a marriage referred to as a “fine match […]
[that] will ensure our survival” (Titanic 1997). Calder mentions that “[a]t times children seemed to be regarded as pieces of property, their worth dependent on their cash value and their marriage prospect”, thus in accordance with these old traditions Ruth perceives a marriage as an act of convenience rather than affection (164). By marrying
Rose up to the wealthiest circles, Ruth hopes to avoid losing a position in society that has been endangered ever since the family was left in debt after the death of Ruth’s husband. Ruth mentions that her husband’s “name is the only card we [Rose and Ruth] have to play”, which truthfully sums up the power of a good name in the Victorian society (Titanic 1997). The money situation of the ladies DeWitt Bukaters is precarious and could lead to their social downfall. In the nineteenth-century Britain and America, the financial struggle was the only motive that could have altered a formerly idle lifestyle of affluent women into an occupational one. Ruth is justifiably terrified that she might end up “working as a seamstress” if their financial situation is not dealt with fast enough. Nevertheless, as a well-bred gentlewoman, she maintains cool appearance at all costs and teaches Rose the same thing.
As a widowed mother of one28, Ruth dedicates most of her time to the fine upbringing of Rose. Even though she no longer fulfills the role of a chaperone due to its decreasing desirability at the beginning of the twentieth century, she does educate her daughter to the best of her knowledge in the matter of demeanor and ascribed women’s
27 It is not clearly stated in the film whether Rose has begun studies at university. 28 As a matter of fact, one child in a family was in the Victorian era quite an uncommon practice. It is not stated in the film whether it was due to the early death of Ruth’s husband or a different cause, but, considering her personality, it is highly unlikely that it is anyhow connected with Ruth’s preferences. 66 roles. When Rose’s behavior does not comply with the well-mannered standards of the society, her mother brings it to Rose’s attention either verbally or by using a body language. For instance, Ruth articulates her disapproval of Rose smoking, gives her an outraged look after seeing her spitting and expresses her anger originating from Rose’s disappearance by sipping a brandy in distress. In a memorable scene, Ruth laces up
Rose’s corset forbidding her from seeing Jack again. The corset serves as a metaphor for “her daughter’s gilded cage”, with the use of which Ruth hopes to bind Rose to follow the moral standards required of her position (Marsh 106). Rose is, however, not the only one who Ruth has a need to guide to moral perfection. On one instance, Ruth alerts Cal to his inappropriately expressive behavior. Evidently annoyed Cal curses in front of other people, to which Ruth reacts with calm: “There is no need for language,
Mr. Hockley” (Titanic 1997). Ruth is maybe the only movie character that under no circumstances exceeds the boundaries of acceptable behavior of Victorian women, thus serves as the ultimate and authentic representative of the traditional values typical of her time and class.
A considerably unconventional character, yet historically accurately depicted persona, is Margaret Brown, an American socialite and philanthropist. The depiction of
Margaret’s personality in movies about the Titanic remains significantly constant. With little to no variation, she is presented as a self-sufficient, talkative, straightforward, brave, and firm in most of her appearances. Neither in reality nor in the film is Margaret popular with the gentry. As Marsh explains, “Molly was a pariah to the upper class – the curse of ʻNew Moneyʼ29” (108). Cameron clarifies that as a result of coming from a humble family, Margaret “admired the social hierarchy, but she didn’t tolerate its snobbery”, the same way her movie parallel does not (qtd. in Marsh 108). Being the
29 The movie Molly Brown, just like her real-life counterpart Molly Brown, was married to a Montana miner who acquired great wealth in the late years of the nineteenth century (Iversen 88). 67
“embodiment of a classless America” as well as a “woman beyond gender norms”,
Margaret is one of a few characters that does not discriminate against Jack on account of his social background (Redmond 200; Koldau 226). Margaret was equally raised in a family of limited means, besides, she is considered an outcast just like Jack is, therefore allying with him instead of Ruth or Cal is understandable and in terms of accuracy even possible has it been for somebody like Jack on RMS Titanic.
Margaret is portrayed as a witty, active and feminist character that does not comply with the idea of capitalist patriarchy. When Cal orders food for Rose without asking her first, Margaret speaks up for Rose teasing her fiancé, “You’re gonna cut her meat for her too there, Cal?” (Titanic 1997). For voicing her thoughts bluntly, other noble women in the film regard Margaret as vulgar and try to stay away from her and what she represents. On the one hand, Margaret, just like Jack, is a threat to the stable and normative society that rejected the idea of anyone entering its circle. On the other hand, she is the change that boosts up women’s emancipation. The film makes a heroine of Margaret in the scene which demonstrates her persistence and a courage to defy a man who tries to block her initiative to pick up survivors from the water. The actual happening was an even more glamorous act of female liberation than its film portrayal.
Lord provides information that the real Margaret Brown took control over the lifeboat no. 6, shut up the man formerly in charge of the boat and the rest of the women in the boat started to row under her leadership (127). Due to this act of bravery, Margaret acquired a nickname ʻThe Unsinkable Molly Brownʼ, which is mentioned at the beginning of Rose’s storytelling and serves as one of many indications in support of the authentic depiction of the historical persona Margaret Brown.
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7 Conclusion
A combination of the conventional features representing Victorian values and the provocative characteristics of the ʻNew Womanʼ is recognizable in all of the Titanic films studied in this thesis. The analyses in the previous chapters show that the female characters dissected display a great range of characteristics that rather accurately demonstrate both the traditional gender roles as well as the changing status of women in
Great Britain and the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Building on the analytical part of the thesis, it is legitimate to deduce that the degree of accuracy and the tendency to side with either the clichéd display of women or the progressive one (to the exclusion of the other) is a matter of preference of individual films. Some films show mostly submissive demeanor, some prefer displaying activism and some exaggerate to the point of making the depiction less authentic. Taking into consideration Marwick’s belief that “[e]very film is a product of its own culture”, the decision to structure a film in a certain way carries a message that each and every
Titanic movie examined in this thesis not only mirrors the social conditions that were effective in 1912, but also reflects the state of British and American societies in the years in which the individual productions were filmed (22). Marwick’s theory is hence applicable to all four: Atlantic (1929), Titanic (1953), S. O. S. Titanic (1979), and
Titanic (1997).
Alice Rool, Monica and Betty Tate-Hughes are the female characters that appear in the British 1929 black-and-white production Atlantic. Betty is the youngest persona, a defiant teenager who, on the one hand, exhibits numerous signs of the ʻNew Womanʼ resistance e. g. her keenness to act, but, on the other hand, still possesses the long- established ʻAngelʼ qualities such as naivety, purity and idleness. Even though Betty’s
69 personality is throughout the film inconsistent, revision of her code of conduct at the end of the movie as she dismisses all that made her character progressive to reunite with her father is a crucial and ultimate proof of her inclination towards the stereotypical
Victorian ideals.
A more thorough representation of the conservative Victorian ideals is noticeable in the characters of elderly Alice and newly-wed Monica who, not affected by a generation gap, share an identical compliant attitude towards the society’s demands for women’s devotion and respect. Alice and Monica are submissive and eager-to- please wives who find satisfaction in standing by their husband’s side under all circumstances. In fact, their behavior displayed in the film adheres to the generally stimulated social code of not only the 1912 but also the 1929 Great Britain.
In the context of the 1920s principles, the film’s encouragement of the traditional roles and responsibilities is unsurprising. According to Peck, “the Edwardian values observed before the First World War were still much in evidence two decades into the reign of George V.” (119); however, the time when Atlantic was produced was
“characterized by fears of revolution and social disorder, [and] by the overturning of established ideas of femininity” (Koldau 56). Even though the First World War seemed to speed up gender emancipation after women were given a chance to join the workforce, once the war was over, they were “made redundant”, thus expected to return home (Wall). Since women were displeased with such reversion and the British society needed to act in fear of revolution, social disorder or system overturn, creating characters that promoted the pre-war gender ideology (Alice and Monica) seemed like a clever move to make. Moreover, the transformed nature of a formerly resisting individual (Betty) could serve as a model of rectified morality for women in the 1920s.
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The 1953 Hollywood production Titanic likewise introduces three female characters: Julia Sturges, Annette Sturges and Maude Young. Representing the historical character of Margaret Brown, Maude authentically acts her out as a dynamic and easy-going conversationalist with a strong personality. It is a problematic task to provide an accurate portrayal of Margaret Brown as a person, but, knowing her stand in social and political matters, the film reasonably depicts her possessing qualities of the
ʻNew Womanʼ. Nonchalantly leading small talks, drawing attention to herself at the table and speaking her mind in front of other prominent First Class passengers matches the idea of what a woman of her activist views is believed to would have behaved like.
Some of her doings, however, might seem to go beyond the standardized manifestation of the ʻNew Womanʼ approach. The endless games of poker and Maude’s overconfidence appear to exaggerate rather than accurately depict the reality of the early twentieth century.
Rather contradictory is the depiction of Annette and Julia, whose characters evolve in different directions. Annette begins the voyage as an innocent, spoilt and submissive girl that prefers to stick to the conservative standards of pompous lifestyle, endless parties and advantageous marriages, which suggests her stereotypically
Victorian nature. Throughout the course of the voyage, however, Annette matures, finds a companionate partner and takes pleasure in newly emerging joys of the Progressive era such as Navajo Rag dance. By contrast, Julia sets off for the journey as a determinant, strong and superordinate ʻNew Womanʼ only to turn into a devoted wife in need of being saved by the end of the movie. Seemingly exact opposites, Julia and
Annette do have in common a fundamental characteristic, and that is the self-discovery of their true American identities and values through which they are connected.
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What at first seems to be a portrayal of contradictory stands on the gender issues in 1912, turns out to be a reinforcement of the American values of the 1950s. Howells believes that the 1953 Titanic displays “an underlying obsession with America”, while also “promotes withdrawal from Europe […] [and] advocates an almost puritanical rejection of affluence and conspicuous expenditure” (Howells, “Atlantic Crossings”
430, 434). At the time of the film’s release, the United States were experiencing marked post-war economic growth, baby-boom and expansion of the middle class. The country was prosperous and stable. Nothing seemed to endanger its supremacy, but the risky influences of communism and still sensible appeal of the ʻold worldʼ (“The 1950s”).
Julia’s aspiration for stability, her determination to fight Richard’s influences and her preoccupation with family could communicate the American stance on this matter. Julia represents the American supremacy and resistance as well as the revival of American values which could be lost in the “rootless, superficial and, by extension, ʻwomanlyʼ
Europe” where Julia and Richard’s family struggles developed (Finlayson and Taylor
136). In this sense, Julia’s proactive, self-confident and authoritative behavior does not necessarily intend to represent the ʻNew Womanʼ ideology. Julia’s character is not of the ʻNew Womanʼ nature, but of an American nature. Moreover, she is of a male nature.
The fact that not Richard but Julia is the character possessing American male traits is likewise believed to be “a sign for universal disorder threatening [American] society”
(Koldau 113). In a similar way, Annette might not be a representative of the old- fashioned Victorian values, but of the old European standards that progressively vanish in favor of Americanism. According to Koldau, Maude Young also plays a role in the promotion of Americanism as she incarnates “sound American virtue, which can be displayed by women just as well as by men, as long as they have grown up in the healthy surroundings of an American middle-class home” (123).
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Female representatives of each class, namely Madeleine Astor, Leigh Goodwin and steerage passengers as a whole, are presented in the 1979 British-American film S.
O. S. Titanic. Steerage passengers, who are given attention incomparable to any other
Titanic movie, are displayed with considerable accuracy in respect of their clothing and behavior. Whether it is their way of spending leisure time, their conversational topics or their reactions to the ship’s comfort, there is no substantial deviation from the real-life behavior of the working-class women of the period. Less authentic and more stereotypical is the presentation of Madeleine who appears as an innocent and helpless wife. In some scenes, Madeleine’s naivety and childishness seem excessive, which only reinforces the idea of her representing the traditional ʻAngel in the Houseʼ. More complex and ambiguous is Leigh who neither acts like a definite ʻNew Womanʼ nor bears herself as the ʻAngelʼ.
A turbulent combination of encouragement and rejection of the traditional values was prevalent in the 1970s. Women in the United States and Great Britain continued to campaign for equal social and political rights, but their activity was hindered by a revived conservatism. Just as the American ʻNew Rightʼ advocates mobilized against the Equal Rights Amendment in support of the traditional gender roles (“The 1970s”),
Great Britain’s activists boycotted the Sex Discrimination Act due to the ceaseless perception of women as homemakers (“Life in 1970s Britain”). Kellner’s claim that the continuous battles between liberal and conservative influences are detectable in 70’s films is demonstrable on the character of Leigh in S. O. S. Titanic (69). Leigh is depicted possessing both the clichéd personality traits typical of a submissive Victorian homemaker as well as the enlightened attributes of the Edwardian ʻNew Womanʼ. This balanced amount of stereotype and progressiveness might seem tricky in terms of accuracy of the depiction of women of the period, nevertheless, it serves the purpose of
73 reflecting the social conditions of the 1970s on screen. Bearing in mind the social situation in the United States and Great Britain at the time of the movie production,
Leigh’s diverse personality traits could signify the contradictory perceptions of gender equality in both countries. The importance of her mixed characteristics could also lay in their impartiality with either of the perceptions, the long-established conservative one, or the liberal ʻNew Womanʼ one.
Three female characters stand out also in the 1997 Titanic of solely American production, namely Rose DeWitt Bukater, Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Margaret Brown.
Margaret, depcited in accordance with the known data due to Cameron’s goal to be
“absolutely rigorous” in a portrayal of the facts (qtd. in Marsh xiii), “serves as an example of the manifestation of [the] desire to break down the restraints of capitalist patriarchy” (Dillon 66). Unlike the slightly ridiculed representations of Margaret Brown in the 1953 Titanic, Cameron’s Margaret is presented as a kind-hearted yet self- confident and serious lady with a great sense of humor. Her behavior, manners and clothing are all in accordance with both the real Margaret Brown and the ʻNew Womanʼ approach of the era.
Although fictional, Ruth, similarly, is displayed authentically with regards to the manners of a Victorian upper-class lady. She is snobby and high-principled, but minds her manners and accepts the role of the ʻAngel in the Houseʼ like most of the upper- class women did. Ruth’s character is abound with numerous authentic but stereotypical
Victorian traits to create an antagonistic persona that can be put in contrast with Rose.
Ruth personifies the old-fashioned sexist values of the mid-nineteenth century that, although in accordance with her age and status, are dying out. Rose, on the contrary, represents the ʻNew Womanʼ attitude that emerged in society towards the end of the century and was advocated mostly by young women of a stable background. However,
74 as compared to the demeanors of the actual twentieth-century ʻNew Womanʼ advocates,
Rose actions and behavior seem (unlike e. g. Margaret’s) little too extreme.
The deviation from the accurate depiction of Progressive women could be ascribed to the rising emancipation of women in the United States at time of the film production. By comparing Rose’s decision to that of Laura Jesson in Brief Encounter of
1945, Howells is putting forward an idea that the 1997 Titanic is trying to meet the expectations of the twenty-first-century audience. Howells explains:
Here, the married Mrs. Jesson (played by Celia Johnson) finds love in the
dashing form of a medic Dr. Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard). Laura falls for him
completely. Yet despite no lack of opportunity […], Laura remains ultimately
loyal to duty and returns to her dull (but grateful) husband. Laura Jesson
ultimately retained her moral fiber; […] but Rose DeWitt Bukater’s morals were
of a different fiber altogether (Howells, “One Hundred Years of the Titanic on
Film” 87).
With the help of women’s organizations, third-wave feminists and other vigorous defenders of women’s rights, the 1990s experienced rising egalitarian attitudes towards women’s and men’s status, roles and opportunities (Donnelly et al. 48). The exaggeration of Rose’s pro-feminist Edwardian approach might be, therefore, structured the way it is to meet the requirements of an active advocacy of 1997 rather than a more passive protest of 1912. Rose is a character that undoubtedly represents the inequality and defiance of moral principles of the Progressive era and can identify with emotional state and beliefs of a great number of period women, nevertheless, the manifestation of these beliefs was not common in such degree and intensity as Rose exhibits. Rose’s expressiveness and outward resistance to the system meet the standards of contemporary women rather than Edwardian gentlewomen. This could be one of the
75 reasons why both the film and a large part of predominantly female audience sympathize with Rose and “approves of her infidelity […], of her broken promises […], and of her choosing her own happiness over her duty to others” (Howells, “One
Hundred Years of the Titanic on Film” 16).
There are certainly many ways of interpreting the film portrayals of the female characters analyzed in this thesis, and, correspondingly, there is more than just one situation, state of matters or social struggle mirrored in each and every movie discussed.
A great number of subjective and objective views of the filmmakers necessarily influence film production, therefore it is impracticable to specify the motives for the character portrayals applied. Nevertheless, deriving from Marwick’s conviction that the state of society is reflected in its films, it is relevant to carry out the examination of the female characters in the Titanic movies in relation to the prevailing gender conditions of
Great Britain and the United States in the years directly preceding the production years.
Based on this approach, the thesis manages to prove that the degree of accuracy of the depiction of female characters in Atlantic (1929), Titanic (1953), S. O. S. Titanic (1979), and Titanic (1997) as well as the choice of personality traits displayed are affected by the general state of British and American gender affairs in the 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and
1990s.
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8 Works Cited
Primary Sources
Atlantic. Dir. Ewald Andre Dupont. Perf. Franklin Dyall, Madeleine Carroll, John
Stuart, Ellaline Terriss. British International Pictures, 1929. Film.
S. O. S. Titanic. Dir. William Hale. David Janssen, Cloris Leachman, Susan Saint
James, David Warner, Ian Holm. EMI Films, 1979. Film.
Titanic. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet. Billy Zane.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1997. Film.
Titanic. Dir. Jean Negulesco. Perf. Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner,
Audrey Dalton. Twentieth Century Fox, 1953. Film.
Secondary Sources
“The 1950s.” History. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 9 Feb. 2018.
“The 1970s.” History. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2018.
Abrams, Lynn. “Ideals of Womanhood in Victoria Britain.” BBC, 8 Sept. 2001. Web.
13 Nov. 2017.
Bishop, Catherine. “Fashions of the Titanic Era.” Vintage Victorian. N. p., 3 Mar.
2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2018.
Bishop, Jennifer. “Working Women and Dance in Progressive Era New York City,
1890-1920.” MA thesis. Florida State U, 2003. PDF file.
Boethel, Marta. “From the Women’s West Teaching Guide: Women’s Lives in the
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9 Résumé
The main objective of this thesis is to examine and determine the authenticity of the portrayal of women in four films about the Titanic. The thesis argues that the analyzed film representations of the disaster reflect the changing status of women at the beginning of the twentieth century, but are also abundant with a number of stereotypical class and gender attribute portrayals. At the same time, the thesis aims to prove a theory that there is a link between the approach of depicting female characters in each movie and the social conditions of the period in which the particular movie was filmed. The movies under scrutiny are full-length television films and cinema dramas of British and
American productions that focus solely on the depiction of the voyage and sinking.
The thesis is divided into five analytical chapters:
The first chapter focuses on providing information about the roles and social position of women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by looking at various aspects of women’s lives, namely domestic life that comprises marriage and child- rearing; social life consisting of work, education and leisure; and code of conduct that includes manners and clothing.
The second chapter is dedicated to a scrutiny of the female characters of the
1929 Atlantic, namely Alice Rool, Monica and Betty Tate-Hughes.
The third chapter concentrates on an examination of the female characters of the
1953 Titanic, namely Julia Sturges, Annette Sturges and Maude Young.
The fourth chapter presents an analysis of female characters of the 1979 S. O. S.
Titanic, namely Madeleine Astor, Leigh Goodwin, and the steerage women as a whole.
The fifth chapter revolves around a study of the female characters of the 1997
Titanic, namely Rose DeWitt Bukater, Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Margaret Brown. 84
10 Resumé
Hlavním cílem této práce je prověřit a určit autentičnost zobrazování žen ve
čtyřech filmech o Titanicu. Práce argumentuje, že analyzované filmové reprezentace katastrofy odrážejí měnící se stav žen na počátku dvacátého století, ale jsou také bohaté na řadu stereotypních vyobrazení třídních a genderových atributů. Současně se práce snaží dokázat teorii, že existuje vazba mezi přístupem k zobrazení ženských postav v každém filmu a sociálními podmínkami období, ve kterém byl film natočen.
Analyzované filmy jsou plnometrážními televizními filmy a kinematografickými dramaty britské a americké produkce, které se zaměřují výhradně na zobrazení plavby a potopení.
Práce je rozdělena do pěti analytických kapitol:
První kapitola se zaměřuje na poskytování informací o rolích a postavení žen v v devatenáctém a dvacátém století tím, že se zabývá různými aspekty života žen, konkrétně domácím životem, který zahrnuje manželství a výchovu dětí; společenským
životem skládajícím se z práce, vzdělávání a volného času; a zásadami chování, které zahrnují mravy a oblékání.
Druhá kapitola je věnována ženským postavám ve filmu Atlantik (1929), jmenovitě Alice Rool, Monice a Betty Tate-Hughesové.
Třetí kapitola se věnuje zkoumání ženských postav ve film Titanicu (1953), jmenovitě Julie Sturges, Annette Sturges a Maude Young.
Čtvrtá kapitola analyzuje ženské postavy ve filmu S. O. S. Titanic (1979), jmenovitě Madeleine Astorovou, Leigh Goodwinovou a ženy ze třetí třídy jako celek.
Pátá kapitola zameřuje pozornost ženským postavám ve filmu Titanic (1997), jmenovitě Rose DeWitt Bukater, Ruth DeWitt Bukater a Margaret Brownové.
85