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Student
4 The Depth of the Heart of the Ocean
claiming the young Rose's hand in James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic. Hockley has just given the lady an expensive diamond. The actor Billy Zane plays Hockley as a callous, jaded, been-there-done-that sophisticate who seems to want her heart simply because his money gives him the right to buy it. His blindness to higher motives in love totally disqualifies him from being worthy of Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate Winslet. But ultimately, it is the opaque nature of love itself that defeats him. This scene between Hockley and Rose is one of several ways in which Cameron develops the idea of the closed heart and the effort to open it. The profound ocean, the massive ship, and the impenetrable gem are elements of the setting that parallel and reinforce each other and Cameron’s theme. Throughout the plot, they are all alike unfathomable, indomitable, yielding to the mastery of no mere mortal. As such, they capture the image of a person's heart being opaque, not easy to read or see through. The midnight blue color throughout suggests that the heart of love is as profound, deep and moving as the ocean itself. The gem drives the plot, then, carrying the message as the central symbol. hhhhhThe elderly Rose narrates the story, casting the film in a flashback format. She asks a question about a gem named "Le Coeur de la Mer," the French title for "The Heart of the Ocean." It is this diamond that the modern salvage crew seeks at |
"Ahh,
open your heart to me, Rose," pleads Caledon Hockley. He is the suitor
| Lastname 2 the start of the film. Their quest takes them to the wreck of the ship Titanic which sank on April 15, 1912, and which now lies two and a half miles beneath the surface of the North Atlantic. The first place the salvagers look, Hockley's safe, yields a drawing of a woman wearing the diamond, but not the gem itself. The crew is stumped. But then Rose hears a newscast about it, sees her picture on TV and calls the ship, asking, "I was just wondering if you had found the heart of the ocean yet, Mr. Lovett? hhhhhThe literal gem, then, serves to drive the plot. People explore wrecks for the challenge and for scientific purposes, but Cameron has Brock Lovett, played by Bill Paxton, and his salvage crew searching for a diamond. This motivation works on two levels. It gives a reason for the dangerous and expensive dive that the people sitting in the dark theater can appreciate. Many people in this materialistic world can relate to and understand betting one's life and fortune on a diamond that rivals the Hope diamond in value. On an artistic level, though, the search for material wealth parallels the confidence that the Titanic's owners place in material goods and technology. And of course, just as money and wealth by themselves fail to make life worthwhile for most people, all of the confidence her owners and passengers mistakenly place in the integrity of this man-made ship cannot keep them warm in ice water. hhhhhIn addition to driving the plot, the diamond functions on a figurative, symbolic level. The gem represents the human heart, the repository and driving force behind people's emotions. Toward the end of the film, the poor steerage passenger, having won his ticket for the crossing in a poker game, then wins Rose's love on board and serves as her bulwark. She draws strength from Jack Dawson, portrayed by Leonardo |
| Lastname 3 DiCaprio. They're in the freezing water after the ship has sunk, and he demands:
And she promises. And she never does let go. hhhhhEighty-four years later, after the elderly Rose tells the salvagers the story, the crew understands why Jack Dawson's name does not appear on the passenger lists. She also tells the granddaughter who is her companion that she has never spoken to anyone of Dawson before, not even to the man she later married. Rose Dawson Calvert then observes that "A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets." hhhhhThe film, like the ship, is of epic proportions. First and foremost, as Cameron points out in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, it is a love story. Love -- a force big enough to destroy life, as well as create it -- is a challenge for most couples and overwhelms many a marriage, proving too strong for the people involved. This film, then, is the story of a love big enough to preserve a life for 84 additional years. It is set on the largest moving vessel of its time navigating the vastness of the ocean that is the Atlantic. Taken together with its plot and theme, the setting helps make the film seem larger than life. But of course, that is only fitting, isn't it? The catastrophe that besets the heart in Hockley's prideful, selfish love and the tragedy of 1500 people freezing to death needlessly because of excessive pride and vanity bring out overwhelming anguish. hhhhhA 1998 World Wide Web review raises the film to the level of a classic: "It may not work on all levels for all people, but it'll work on some level for everyone" ("Clare Reviews"). To the extent of one's character, so does real love. Only to a person with depth of character does it open up and reveal its deepest secrets. |
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hhhhhIn accepting one of the film's Golden Globe awards, Cameron quipped, "So, does this prove that size does matter?" The answer is "Yes." The hearts of the people who embark on the voyage of a love relationship thrive only if they are big enough and skillful enough to navigate the profound, deep and moving currents of the ocean that is love. Many people today agree with Matthew Arnold's key idea in the poem, "Dover Beach" (1867), that the world offers nothing as worthy of believing in as love: "Ah, love, let us be true / to one another / for the world. . . hath really neither joy, . . . nor peace, nor help for pain" (577). Cameron echoed that sentiment in his acceptance speech when he said that love is the strongest force in the world. Anyone who engages it, then, will triumph to the extent that his or her strength of character is as true, deep, and profound as the ocean itself. Sources Cited Arnold, Matthew. "Dover Beach." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and
Cameron, James, Dir. Titanic. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
---. 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards. MTV. VH-1, San Antonio, 18 January 1998.
---. "The Making of Titanic." Oprah. Host: Oprah Winfrey. ABC. KMOL, San Antonio,
"Clare Reviews Titanic." 1/11/98. Web. 3/18/98.
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