Cal and Rose's relationship

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What did Cal mean when he said Rose was his wife in practise if not in fact? And "I thought you might come to me last night"? At first I did not want to think they were sleeping together, but it does seem that way. That high moral society did seem to have a certain sordid undercurrent didn't it?

What triggered off Rose's suicide attempt? Things in general or did Cal do something nasty we don't know about?

-- Lianne (liannegraham@one.net.au), February 03, 1998

Answers

I wondered about that line too. I think he wants to sleep with her, but she's holding out. To me, Cal's line, "there is nothing I would deny you...[meaningful look] if you would not deny me," is the clincher in this regard. That's one reason why the nude drawing is such a dagger in Cal's heart: third-class street rat Jack gets something from Rose that he has been repeatedly denied.

As for her suicide attempt, I think that the lines Rose speaks in voice over make clear that she is motivated by things in general, rather than any particular act of Cal's. If there is anything else, I'm not seeing it so far.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), February 03, 1998.


Some people believe that once you become engaged, you are actually married by common law. I think that's what Cal meant. I don't believe they had ever slept together. The reason why he had hoped for the late night visit was because the night before he had made a last attempt to win her heart. He gave her the necklace he'd been saving for their official engagement party the following week because he sensed her 'melancholy,' and he asked her to 'open her heart to him,' telling her he could give her whatever she wanted. This, of course, was Cal's way of reaching out and expressing love. He was very dissapointed when the attempt failed. The reason Rose wanted to committ suicide was the same reason many try; she felt alone. In one scene she mentions something about "feeling like she was screaming at the top of her lungs and no one even notices or cares." When she first boards the TITANIC, she comments that she feels she like she's boarding a slave ship in chains. Her mother has brought her up to believe that women don't have any choices and has guilted her into an engagement with Cal for the money. Jack's love gives Rose the first ray of hope she's had in a long time, and gives her the courage to finally break free. In the end, his love is the reason she fights so hard to live.

-- Jen Alexander (jmalexande@mofo.com), February 03, 1998.

One can only imagine a complete idiot like Cal! I'm sure we all can see that their private times were one-sided and that he felt that she would be required, by custom, to follow his every wish, plan or whatever. Bottom line here is that he was a lowlife and cared about nothing except Cal! We have all known people like this and they usually end up with what is due them! Remember, this was 1912!

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), February 03, 1998.

Cal DID want to sleep with Rose.You see,there is a scene in the script that was apparently cut out of the movie.It takes place just after they boarded the ship,when Rose and Trudy(the maid) are putting up the paintings in the sitting room.Trudy says something about how new and clean everything is.She says something(to Rose)like..."Just think that tonight when I crawl into bed I will be the first person to have slept in these sheats"(something like that).Cal,who overheard Trudy's remark,then comes in and puts his hands on Rose's shoulders. This ofcourse is more a sign of possesion than of affection.And he says something like..."And to think when I crawl into bed I'll also be the first...and the ONLY one."(something like that)So,anyway...you guys get the point.

-- Ana (sirabion@ucla.edu), March 15, 1998.

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