'not the better half.' {Anyone find this line odd?}

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Does anyone else find Cal's line, when Rose says that half the people on the ship are going to die, "not the better half." a little strange because it was your sex more than your class that determined the likelihood of getting a boat (though obviously the first class women had a better chance than the third class women). It seems as if Cal is supposed to be making another comment on the superiority of the first class but it doesn't really work.

-- mariana (msilva@igs.net), February 05, 1998

Answers

Response to "not the better half."

Hi Mariana I think Cal was assuming that the first class would be able to buy their way onto lifeboats-he tried to do so with Murdoch, and almost succeeded. He grew up with the mindset that ANYHING could be bought, so I can see how he thought that all the first-class people would have a better chance of surviving. Actually, they DID, especially among the men!

-- Laura (lrc@usit.net), February 06, 1998.

Response to "not the better half."

I think Cal was referring to 1st class as being the 'better' class. Shows in the stats on who survived that your chances were better if you were 1st as opposed to 2nd or 3rd class.

-- Peter Edmead (peter.edmead@employment.gov.au), February 06, 1998.

Response to "not the better half."

Although there is a strong class connection in that line, Cal might have been more general. To be 'better' during such an event involves many things. Besides money and class, physical and psychical strength, probably some understanding of English (remember those immigrants using a dictionary to translate signs) and maybe luck. Although Cal believed that a real man should buy off his own luck.

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@ccs.carleton.ca), February 06, 1998.

Download the screensaver from Titanicmovie.com. That line is there and is followed by an image of a young child with tears streaming down his face. Absolutely heart-wrenching and says much about "the better half"!

Regards, Peter

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), February 06, 1998.


The "better half" Cal was referring to was women. Remember, just before, he asks "Any room for a gentlemen, gentlemen?" and is refused. When he then mentions that he should have saved Jack's drawing because it would soon be worth more he is referring to the fact that Jack, as a man (and third-class at that) had very little chance of survival. I don't know the origin of the phrase "better half" in reference to women, but have heard it often. If anyone knows, I would be interested in finding out. Is it considered complimentary or derogatory in its patronization?

-- Dan Dalton (DDa2309070@aol.com), February 07, 1998.


I don't know if I find that line odd but one thing I did notice when one of the first boats was being lowered was it was definately not women only. There were lots of men on that boat, It was definately people with money that were portrayed as going down first. That seemed odd especially when they wouldn't let Cal on. Cheers! -Rachel

-- Rachel Bergman (Kbergman@bitterroot.net), February 11, 1998.

I thought they couldn't get people to get on the lifeboats at first, so they let women, children and men on just to try to fill them up. They mention this in the movie, and I believe this is a fact: one lifeboat left with only 12 people.

-- Julie (joiner@stsplus.msstate.edu), February 12, 1998.

I suppose that line doesn't quite fit if you try to relate it to putting the women and children on the lifeboats first, since many first class men died as well. I don't think Cal meant to be that literal. He simply meant to emphasize the class distinction and the fact that he was going to live and Jack was going to die. Remember that Jack was still imprisoned at that point and Cal intended him for die there. He considered himself superior to Jack based on class alone, so he was the "better half" of the two of them. Really, the whole point of that line is to illustrate Cal's attitude toward the third class, and Jack in particular. It also reminds us that most of the third class passengers were doomed because of just such an attitude.

-- Cindy (cydwalker@aol.com), February 12, 1998.

Julie: Boat No. 1 held only 12 people. It was known as the "Millionaires' Special" and it had a holding capacity of 40 people, considerably less than the other lifeboats. This boat left the ship, I believe, at about 1 a.m. in the morning with Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon among those aboard.

-- Rose (rosemarie17@hotmail.com), February 13, 1998.

Sorry, I have to disagree with the above. Let's try not to read too much depth into these fictional characters, especially Cal. The petulance with which Cal utters the line "Not the better half." is anything but subtle. After asking "Any room for a gentleman, gentlemen?" and being refused, his peevish attitude could only be implying that "the better half" did not include him. He clearly considered himself the better class. He meant women.

-- Dan Dalton (DDa2309070@aol.com), February 14, 1998.


I have to agree with Cindy, even though I agree that the "better half" meaning to which Dalton referred has been around. If the latter were what Cameron intended, it comes across as an interesting remark. But believing it referred to the upper class and those who could bribe their way on, I was just thinking recently how silly a line it was. Hope you're right, Dan.

-- Bob Gregorio (none@sorry.net), April 08, 1998.

I have to agree with Cindy, even though I agree that the "better half" meaning to which Dalton referred has been around. If the latter were what Cameron intended, it comes across as an interesting remark. But believing it referred to the upper class and those who could bribe their way on, I was just thinking recently how silly a line it was, because no one would be that blatantly simplistic and heinous. Hope you're right, Dan.

-- Bob Gregorio (none@sorry.net), April 08, 1998.

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