Titanic Revisted: Cal was the injured party
So my husband recently bought me "Titanic" on Blueray (which looks fabulous) and I've been watching it nearly every other day. And while I still love it, I gotta say after closer inspection, Rose as a person is a bit of a douche.
Now this has nothing to do with being responsible for Jack's death or not sharing the floating door with him as so many online blogs have complained about over the last fifteen years. Though I will revisit it for an entirely different reason. No, this is how I've noticed through my adult eyes how many of Rose's actions are those of a truly selfish individual.
I was newly eighteen when "Titanic" took the world by storm and like most people I thought it was romantic and believed Rose was courageous and Jack was well, perfect. At thirty three Jack is still perfect, in that annoying Marty Stu fanfiction way and Rose is more of an asshole. To keep myself from rambling I'll put my reasons in order.
1) Rose is marrying Cal for money.
Now one can argue that she was pressured into it by her mother but the point remains, she knowingly enters into an engagement with a man she has zero affection for in order to pay off her family's debt. By today's standards that makes her an assnozel. At best a gold digger. Which brings up my second point; does Cal even know how bad her credit score is? Either Cal knows Rose is broke and is marrying her anyway (which includes paying for the wedding, the trip to Europe and the trip back which takes place on the maiden voyage of the largest and most luxurious ship ever built) or he's been kept in the dark about his fiance's lack of dowry. At best he's crazy about her and is marrying her for love and at worst he's being taken for a ride.
2) Rose treats Cal with utter disdain.
What the hell Rose? It's not his fault she's discontent with her life and unhappy about this engagement. I don't blame Rose for wanting something different from her life. I don't blame her for getting coldfeet and wanting out of the engagement, hell I've been there. But it's not Cal's fault that her father racked up the family credit cards and marriage was the only true occupation for a woman of her class. He's just the only sucker willing to take on the DewittBukater baggage. He even buys her the most ridiculously expensive engagement present ever which is prob'ly the only way he knows how to show affection. Even if you're a modern woman who prefers breakfast in bed and a backrub on Valentines day rather than a bracelet from 'Jareds', this is a big gesture from a guy obviously trying to show just how crazy he is about you. Hell, he coulda bought Rose any other diamond in the world. I'm all about sentiment but even I'd pee myself if my husband bought me the heart of the fucking ocean! He'd finally get that month long sex marathon he's been pushing for, including the helicopter ride on the ceiling fan. I might even have to allow for a rear entry.
3) Rose spends the night partying with Jack.
Even by today's standards, you don't spend the night with one guy while involved with another. And there was nothing innocent about Jack and Rose's flirtations. The woman is engaged. She shouldn't be doing the 1912 equivelant of dirty dancing with another guy who isn't gay or a relative. Is it any wonder Cal wigged out? Is it so wrong of him to expect his fiance to act like she's actually engaged? By today's standards what Rose does seems so innocent and Cal, an abusive controlling prick. But as a woman of her time and class, Rose was kinda behaving like a whore. And she knew it.
4) Rose poses naked for Jack.
Okay so we've already established that Rose's standards are far too modern for her time. And I'm not even gonna dog her for being sexually adventurous. It's not that she posed naked for Jack that's so bad, it's that she did it in her suite. Not only will Jack's life be forfeit should they be caught, she posed with Cal's engagement present on. And when they miraculously make it through the art session without any unwanted visitors, she ups the anti by leaving the picture for Cal to find. What. The. Fuck. This is like having your boyfriend buy you a car, having sex with another guy in the back seat, taking instagram shots of said sex with your iphone, and sending them to your boyfriend in a breakup email. Sure Cal's controlling and misogynistic and even potentially abusive, but lets not forget he's a man of his time. And guys like Cal exist today: Rich, hot dick heads who need to dictate everything their women do. Most of them play professional sports. Even if your fiance is Mel Gibson, if you do what Rose did, you're officially a bitch. There are classier ways to break up.
5) Rose jumps out of the lifeboat.
Okay, I know the only reason she got in was because she was terrified. Who wouldn't be? And I understand that she couldn't possibly live with leaving Jack behind and not knowing if he'd make it. That's love and it can be a beautiful thing. But seriously, that's another empty seat that could've been filled by someone else who most likely died horribly. I bet there was at least one lady on the second class deck who was unable to get to a lifeboat in time, watching Rose jump from safety and thinking "bitch!"
6) The floating door.
I said I would revisit this and as promised, it's not for the reasons everyone else seems to be so upset about. No, I'm don't blame Rose for not letting Jack get on the door. Even though it looks big enough for two, I understand that being so cold their motor skills were too diminished to attempt the complicated task of getting both of them on there. It's her lack of concern for Jack that bothers me. Rose knows the water is freezing. She told her mother so. She knows that most of the people are going to die of exposure. Yet she doesn't seem to spare a thought for Jack who is submerged up to his neck in ice water. And while Jack has already made peace with the realization that his odds of surviving have diminished by like 95%, he puts all his energy into keeping Rose going even now. And while he's busy pouring his heart out about the wonderful future she'll have and how lucky he is to be dying in the middle of the north atlantic, she's bitching about how fracking cold she is. And though she can't necessarily be blamed for this, she then spaces out and fails to even notice when poor Jack's running commentary about how worth dying for she is has tapered off.
7) She seems almost happy about Cal's rumored suicide.
Eighty years later she's apparently incapable of putting things into perspective since she still thinks of Cal as a rich douchebag who's only real crime was wanting to marry her selfish ass and being understandably upset when his fiance tried to cuckold him with a homeless guy she'd known for less than three days. So much for the old adage about age and wisdom.
8) She's obviously in love with herself.
I'm vain. I'm the first to admit it. I used to spend hours staring at my face in my grandmother's threeway mirrored vanity as a child. I have a photo album full of pictures of myself as proof that I can be beautiful sometimes. My first words after my son's birth were "Is he good looking?" But even I don't carry several framed pictures of myself in my prime when I travel. Rose has like ten framed pictures she brings with her to Brock Lovett's boat. Like, seven of those are of herself and only when she was a hottie and they're all in front. The pictures of her less important children and grandchildren are in the back and seemed almost obligatory.
9) Rose's idea of heaven.
There's nothing wrong with Rose wanting to be reunited with Jack. He obviously played an important part in her life and was fortunate enough to die before the two of them could become disenchanted with one another as they grew up. But out of her 101 years of living, are you telling me the most significant time of her life were three days she spent on a disastrous cruise with a total stranger? What about Calvert? The poor fool she married and raised children with and who prob'ly died thinking of how fortunate he was to have spent his life with her? His only comfort being their eventual reunion after death? Is he in his own separate heaven waiting for Rose along with countless relatives and lifelong friends who didn't have her longevity? At 101 I'm sure Rose may have even outlived a kid or two. None of them merit a visit in her afterlife? Wow Rose. You really are a douche.
10) The Alternate ending
Apparently even James Cameron thought Rose was a bit of an asshole and filmed an ending featuring her in all her assholish glory. Whether or not you agree with Rose's dropping the diamond in the ocean isn't up for debate. I will say that having her do it discreetly was for the best. In the alternate ending she's caught by Brock and her granddaughter Lizzie who think she's about to jump. She taunts poor Brock who's spent three years of his life and prob'ly millions of dollars searching for this priceless historical heirloom that could feed a small country, lets him touch it for a second and then casually tosses it overboard and watches while the man has a mental breakdown. At this point she's earned the title of "C" word. Smart choice to leave it out James. Can't have the audience realize they've been rooting for the bad guy the whole movie.
So yeah, you'll notice I stick up for Cal a lot. I know he's a dick. But I also understand that in 1912, Cal is a fucking catch. He's loaded, good looking, well bred, from a good family, and generous with his affections. He's no more controlling than any other man of his time. His expectations of Rose aren't even unreasonable. The guy's begging her to let him into her heart because he obviously truly cares about her. He's understandably concerned by her increasing melancholy and put off by her rudeness to her mother and everyone else who isn't a hot homeless artist. He's pissed when he finds out she's spent the evening dancing and flirting with another guy (who wouldn't be) and outraged when he finds her cruel break up letter along with a nude drawing of her wearing his gift. It's only then that he feels the need to set Jack up and he's finally pushed to homicidal rage when he realizes that it's this gutter rat that Rose is willing to die for despite having nothing to offer her. The guy's heart is broken and his ego shredded. All this could have been avoided had Rose either rejected his offer of marriage or waited until the ship docked and quietly slipped away with her Jack. Cal didn't deserve to have her infidelity shoved in his face.
But what about perfect Jack? As I said, he's a Marty Stu fanfic character. Too perfect to even exist. His perfection smacks of the player making his rounds during Spring Break. He does and says all the right things, gets Rose into bed in less than 72 hours of their acquaintance and doesn't commit when she tells him she's planning on running away with him when they reach dry land. Okay, I'm kidding. Jack obviously loved Rose but how long before they tired of each other? Their story is only tragically romantic because it ends before reality sets in.