Yes Jack saves her but she is no damsel in distress.
The only role Jack really plays is assisting Rose to see the value of life. He provides her with a reason to live, a passion to continue. It is evident at the end of the film that her life adventures were inspired by Jack's outlook on life. People don't live their lives in a certain way because of someone they had a fling with told them too, there was true love between Jack and Rose, an unbreakable bond.
Rose isn't perfect, she is deeply flawed. She is an outsider. Too well brought up for the likes of third class but bearing qualities frowned upon by those in first class.
Her suicide attempt isn't a beg for help. She has no intention of a young, handsome man coming to her rescue. She isn't aware that anyone cares, she only cares about her own well being. Her attempt isn't dramatic, she truly believes she will go through with her plan.
Rose isn't take prisoner by some fairy-tale villain, she is a prisoner of her own thoughts, her own mind. Her suffering isn't on display for all to see, few barely notice she is suffering at all making her pain even more agonising to witness.
Not only does she believe that she won't be saved, she doesn't want to be saved. It takes a very selfless hero to save someone who has no intention of being saved. A total of 5 minutes sees Jack as a saviour and hero, the rest of the film sees him as the other half of Rose. The two are equal, one a woman, one a third class passenger, how much lower in society could the two get?
Prior to meeting Jack it is evident that 'her' decisions aren't hers at all but those forced upon her by her fiancé, Cal. The relationship status of 'fiancé' of course means ownership. Rose has always been (as far as the audience are aware) an obedient wife, never stepping out of line. She simply assumes her position as the property of Cal.
Rose isn't stupid. Her marriage to Cal is not her choice but she understands the consequences of rejecting such a proposal. She is simply waiting, waiting for the chance when she can safely escape the clutches of Cal. Jack is able to give Rose the power she needs to break away from her pain. She is a woman trapped in the mould society created for her and she will not settle for this.
Rose makes her own decisions, once she has her power she does not waste it.
There is no forcing of decisions. He lets her make the choice of not jumping. He doesn't force a relationship upon her but instead allows her to make the decision to continue seeing him. Jack recognises Rose's fierce attitude and doesn't dare interfere.
It is Rose who picks Jack over Cal. It is Rose who makes the decision to get back onto the sinking ship to find Jack. It is Rose who makes the decision to save Jack. She doesn't save him because she is told to, she does so because she cares a great deal.
Rose isn't an extreme example of a woman with power, nothing bad happens because she speaks her mind. If more woman were like Rose I highly doubt the world would end in a burning fireball.
The two bring out the best in each other, there is no doubt about that. Jack saves Rose from jumping, Rose saves Jack from his capture. The relationship is clearly two way and clearly more than a four day fling.
The line 'Rose. Rose Dawson' makes my heart melt. She owes her life to Jack and this is her tribute to him. Without him she wouldn't be the same person and, more importantly, it is unlikely she would still be alive.
And, if you still don't believe that Rose means business then picture the scene where she roams the corridors with an axe, she isn't just the pretty fiancée of Cal, she is her own woman.
Of course the film shares it's strong links with the classic Romeo and Juliet. Two forbidden lovers. A blossoming romance. A tragic end. James Cameron himself pitched the film as a Romeo and Juliet style love story.
I personally think Romeo and Juliet is wonderful (even if the film adaption is shockingly bad) but Juliet isn't the strongest woman. A product of her time means she can only ever be a secondary figure to the men in her life. No quality can set her apart from other women of her time, not in the way that Rose is able to.
The only power Juliet is given in the play is when she is dead. It only seems right I suppose that giving a living woman power would be far too disastrous and catastrophic. There is no harm that Juliet can do once she is no longer breathing.
'For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.'
In the most heart-breaking line in the entire play Juliet is finally regarded as more than an object or lover of Romeo. It takes the entirety of the play for Juliet to be given her power. Power in the form of ownership of her husband, her dead husband.
Shakespeare got it right. He was 'her' Romeo. The two belonged together, not in a possessive and controlling way but rather in a romantic and love driven way. They could not exist as two separate beings, only together.
It really is a pity that the glorious Romeo and Juliet is constantly overlooked and passed off as a 'meaningless romance'. But, compared to so many other romances of today there is only one clear factor which makes this exquisite love story to be regarded as foolish, rushed and silly, the ending. Had their relationship worked out and continued to blossom and grow people would have a far different opinion on the story. Comments such as 'oh how romantic to have found each other like that' rather than the more common 'it was a stupid teenage romance'.
Do most teenage romances end with one being distraught at the idea of living without the other or do they usually cry a bit and move on?
Both stories are that of true love.
The short time scales are not to say that the relationships themselves were rapid and rushed. The love doesn't make either story tragic, the death aspect does. But what would make either story popular if they lived happily ever after?
--- Aimee ---
