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thalia_seawoodI watched POTC II for a second time on Sunday. Rewatching it, also spawned a mini essay on the symbolism of Elizabeth's clothing.
Elizabeth's dress features several times by itself in DMC and actually gets some of the nicest shots. Interestingly, one shot matches a shot in CotB:
In CotBP, Elizabeth sinks into the water, because her new dress with its corsett has been suffocating her. We see how she slowly sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
This time around, we get a shot of her dress first floating in the water and later on sinking down. This second shot is definitely a parallel to Elizabeth's drowning scene in CotBP.
This parallel got my wondering if her dress might have any symbolic meaning. My take on it: Elizabeth's dress stands for her role in society.
In CotBP, her role in society is stifling her. She wants adventure which is hinted at early on by her being curious about pirates, keeping the coin and reading pirate novels in secret. Instead of being able to live her dreams, she's supposed to married the Commodore, however.
Her father who's in favour of this match gives her a beautiful dress for Norrington's commission ceremony. Unfortunately, this new dress is suffocating her and eventually causes her to faint. The dress is a sign of her father's love, nevertheless, the dress represents a golden cage for her.
Elizabeth's fainting coincides with Norrington's proposal. Elizabeth is scared of being trapped all her life in the role of a good wife who patiently waits for her husband when he's at sea, organizes his estate and bears his children.
Elizabeth's toppling from the parapet is the event that starts all other events in CotBP. When she is drowning, the coin she's still wearing around her neck calls out to the cursed pirates. It's all the event, the triggers the meetings between Jack and Elizabeth and Jack and Norrington.
Amazingly, Jack does something selfless here: He saves Elizabeth's life and cuts open her corsett. When we see this scene on a symbolic level, I interpret is as Jack giving Elizabeth a way out of the restraints of her life.
Let's take a look at what else Elizabeth wears during the course of CoTBP:
- When the pirates attack, Elizabeth is only in her nightshirt.
Here she has her first chance to stand up for herself. She can prove that she is not only pretty, but also smart and courageous.
- Barbossa then gives her a voluminous dress that never quite fits her.
Once again Elizabeth becomes fairly passive. One scene that's still stuck in my mind is Elizabeth cowering in fear on the floor of the Captain's cabin when she realises that the entire crew is cursed.
- Elizabeth strips of this dress before she jumps into the water and is marooned together with Jack on an island. Once again, she shedding a dress makes her more piratical. Foreshadowing the events of DMC, she flirts a bit with Jack, yet doesn't give in to him: Ultimately she even burns his beloved rum.
- Next she's is rescued by Norrington and given man's clothes. The script even contained a scene with Elizabeth asking Norrington for clothing and her giving her one of the uniforms.
Elizabeth in man's clothing is very active. Amongst other things, she escapes from her room, steals a boat, tries to persuade the crew of the Pearl to help her rescue Will and fights together with Will against the undead pirates.
In a small way, we also get to see what Norrington is like: He doesn't cage Elizabeth, e.g. by ordering her to stay in her room until she is wearing respectable clothing again. Instead he allows her to run around in man's clothing. This suggests to me that he is willing to respect her desire for freedom. It also foreshadows that he respects her so much that he sets her free in the end and so gives her the chance to marry Will.
- In the final CotBP scene, Elizabeth is once again dressed up in an elegant dress.
She doesn't actively fight here. Instead she uses the options society allows her: She pretends to faint in order to distract Norrington and her father from Will's rescue attempt.
By the end of CotBP, has more freedom than in the beginning of the movie and is allowed to marry the man of her choice. Despite this, she is still part of society with all the expectations this includes.
During Dead Man's Chest, we only see Elizabeth in two major outfits: Her wedding dress and the man's clothing she acquires.
- Once again her dress stands for her official role in society. Her wedding dress is supposed to be a dress for a happy occasion, yet nothing cheerful happens while she is wearing it: Both she and her future husband are arrested and she is imprisoned. When her father tries to rescue her, the plan goes wrong and her father is imprisoned as well.
This time, Elizabeth is more assertive, however, even when wearing a dress. She has tasted freedom once and she knows what she wants. So she escapes and successfully pressures Cutler Beckett into giving her the letters of Marque.
- After this scene, we only ever see Elizabeth in man's clothing.
In all these scenes, she is setting her own rules. She fights like a man, but she also uses tricks and her charms to get what she wants. Not that her charms always work. Norrington appears rather unimpressed by her in one scene on board of the ship mocking her about not getting what Jack did to her "latest fiancee". Fainting to gain the attention of "her" men no longer does the trick either.
(After receiving some feedback fromselenak I'll try to clarify my take on Elizabeth using her charms: She only uses it on Jack and then it's really her playing exactly the same game he does. The other time she tries to act lady like is when she does her fainting routine.)
What I find intriguing is that at the same time, her dress is still playing a part.
E.g. Elizabeth uses it in order to scare the crew of a merchant vessel and manipulate them into sailing to Tortuga. The crew of this ship believe that the dress belongs to a virgin bride who is looking for her husband she lost at sea. Ironically, this is indeed Elizabeth's story at the time.
The dress is finally discovered by Will and lost - it sinks slowly to the bottom of the ocean - after the ship is destroyed by the Kraken.
When I view the loss of Elizabeth's dress as symbolic, I see it as a metaphor for drifting outside society's boundaries. She has so much freedom now that she doesn't always know how to use it responsibly. She makes some choices she then deeply regrets. The question if her actions are justifiable, is tricky and I won't go into right now. Just want to say that Elizabeth might well have saved the rest of the crew from the Kraken when she chained Jack to his ship.
Another side note regarding clothing:
Norrington is wearing the jacket of his commodore uniform during the entire movie even it is nearly unrecognicable because it has been through a lot. :-)
It's fun to mull over what this might mean. could mean that he still has a strong sense of honour and duty underneath it all. Or it could foreshadow that he goes back to his old position.
- The opening scene:
One of my favorite scenes. Love the cinematography here. Good acting all around. And things are moving so quickly and I adore that all the main characters are affected by their actions in CotBP.
If you are completely unspoiled, there's a good chance you'll think the man with the wig is Norrington. Only when he turns around, you see he's not.
- Tia Dalma:
I cannot see Tia Dalma as one of Jack's former lovers. At all. He doesn't flirt with her! And while she touches him, I didn't see this as a seductive gesture per se more as a caring gesture, a way to reconnect.
So my theory is that Tia Dalma is Jack's mother.
They definitely share the tendency to be both attractive and repulsive.
We also see Tia Dalma mutter to herself while searching through her things for something to help Jack - and I find her way of behaving her strongly reminiscent of Jack's mannerism.
The way they talk about the jar with dirt feels very mother-son to me as well. Especially the 'well, if you don't want it' exchange and her gentle words "It helps."
Tia Dalma as Jack's mother also works with Jack's statement that they go way back. :-)
- There will be another post about my second viewing soon. Simply don't have the time to type more right now.
Elizabeth's dress features several times by itself in DMC and actually gets some of the nicest shots. Interestingly, one shot matches a shot in CotB:
In CotBP, Elizabeth sinks into the water, because her new dress with its corsett has been suffocating her. We see how she slowly sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
This time around, we get a shot of her dress first floating in the water and later on sinking down. This second shot is definitely a parallel to Elizabeth's drowning scene in CotBP.
This parallel got my wondering if her dress might have any symbolic meaning. My take on it: Elizabeth's dress stands for her role in society.
In CotBP, her role in society is stifling her. She wants adventure which is hinted at early on by her being curious about pirates, keeping the coin and reading pirate novels in secret. Instead of being able to live her dreams, she's supposed to married the Commodore, however.
Her father who's in favour of this match gives her a beautiful dress for Norrington's commission ceremony. Unfortunately, this new dress is suffocating her and eventually causes her to faint. The dress is a sign of her father's love, nevertheless, the dress represents a golden cage for her.
Elizabeth's fainting coincides with Norrington's proposal. Elizabeth is scared of being trapped all her life in the role of a good wife who patiently waits for her husband when he's at sea, organizes his estate and bears his children.
Elizabeth's toppling from the parapet is the event that starts all other events in CotBP. When she is drowning, the coin she's still wearing around her neck calls out to the cursed pirates. It's all the event, the triggers the meetings between Jack and Elizabeth and Jack and Norrington.
Amazingly, Jack does something selfless here: He saves Elizabeth's life and cuts open her corsett. When we see this scene on a symbolic level, I interpret is as Jack giving Elizabeth a way out of the restraints of her life.
Let's take a look at what else Elizabeth wears during the course of CoTBP:
- When the pirates attack, Elizabeth is only in her nightshirt.
Here she has her first chance to stand up for herself. She can prove that she is not only pretty, but also smart and courageous.
- Barbossa then gives her a voluminous dress that never quite fits her.
Once again Elizabeth becomes fairly passive. One scene that's still stuck in my mind is Elizabeth cowering in fear on the floor of the Captain's cabin when she realises that the entire crew is cursed.
- Elizabeth strips of this dress before she jumps into the water and is marooned together with Jack on an island. Once again, she shedding a dress makes her more piratical. Foreshadowing the events of DMC, she flirts a bit with Jack, yet doesn't give in to him: Ultimately she even burns his beloved rum.
- Next she's is rescued by Norrington and given man's clothes. The script even contained a scene with Elizabeth asking Norrington for clothing and her giving her one of the uniforms.
Elizabeth in man's clothing is very active. Amongst other things, she escapes from her room, steals a boat, tries to persuade the crew of the Pearl to help her rescue Will and fights together with Will against the undead pirates.
In a small way, we also get to see what Norrington is like: He doesn't cage Elizabeth, e.g. by ordering her to stay in her room until she is wearing respectable clothing again. Instead he allows her to run around in man's clothing. This suggests to me that he is willing to respect her desire for freedom. It also foreshadows that he respects her so much that he sets her free in the end and so gives her the chance to marry Will.
- In the final CotBP scene, Elizabeth is once again dressed up in an elegant dress.
She doesn't actively fight here. Instead she uses the options society allows her: She pretends to faint in order to distract Norrington and her father from Will's rescue attempt.
By the end of CotBP, has more freedom than in the beginning of the movie and is allowed to marry the man of her choice. Despite this, she is still part of society with all the expectations this includes.
During Dead Man's Chest, we only see Elizabeth in two major outfits: Her wedding dress and the man's clothing she acquires.
- Once again her dress stands for her official role in society. Her wedding dress is supposed to be a dress for a happy occasion, yet nothing cheerful happens while she is wearing it: Both she and her future husband are arrested and she is imprisoned. When her father tries to rescue her, the plan goes wrong and her father is imprisoned as well.
This time, Elizabeth is more assertive, however, even when wearing a dress. She has tasted freedom once and she knows what she wants. So she escapes and successfully pressures Cutler Beckett into giving her the letters of Marque.
- After this scene, we only ever see Elizabeth in man's clothing.
In all these scenes, she is setting her own rules. She fights like a man, but she also uses tricks and her charms to get what she wants. Not that her charms always work. Norrington appears rather unimpressed by her in one scene on board of the ship mocking her about not getting what Jack did to her "latest fiancee". Fainting to gain the attention of "her" men no longer does the trick either.
(After receiving some feedback from
selenak I'll try to clarify my take on Elizabeth using her charms: She only uses it on Jack and then it's really her playing exactly the same game he does. The other time she tries to act lady like is when she does her fainting routine.)What I find intriguing is that at the same time, her dress is still playing a part.
E.g. Elizabeth uses it in order to scare the crew of a merchant vessel and manipulate them into sailing to Tortuga. The crew of this ship believe that the dress belongs to a virgin bride who is looking for her husband she lost at sea. Ironically, this is indeed Elizabeth's story at the time.
The dress is finally discovered by Will and lost - it sinks slowly to the bottom of the ocean - after the ship is destroyed by the Kraken.
When I view the loss of Elizabeth's dress as symbolic, I see it as a metaphor for drifting outside society's boundaries. She has so much freedom now that she doesn't always know how to use it responsibly. She makes some choices she then deeply regrets. The question if her actions are justifiable, is tricky and I won't go into right now. Just want to say that Elizabeth might well have saved the rest of the crew from the Kraken when she chained Jack to his ship.
Another side note regarding clothing:
Norrington is wearing the jacket of his commodore uniform during the entire movie even it is nearly unrecognicable because it has been through a lot. :-)
It's fun to mull over what this might mean. could mean that he still has a strong sense of honour and duty underneath it all. Or it could foreshadow that he goes back to his old position.
- The opening scene:
One of my favorite scenes. Love the cinematography here. Good acting all around. And things are moving so quickly and I adore that all the main characters are affected by their actions in CotBP.
If you are completely unspoiled, there's a good chance you'll think the man with the wig is Norrington. Only when he turns around, you see he's not.
- Tia Dalma:
I cannot see Tia Dalma as one of Jack's former lovers. At all. He doesn't flirt with her! And while she touches him, I didn't see this as a seductive gesture per se more as a caring gesture, a way to reconnect.
So my theory is that Tia Dalma is Jack's mother.
They definitely share the tendency to be both attractive and repulsive.
We also see Tia Dalma mutter to herself while searching through her things for something to help Jack - and I find her way of behaving her strongly reminiscent of Jack's mannerism.
The way they talk about the jar with dirt feels very mother-son to me as well. Especially the 'well, if you don't want it' exchange and her gentle words "It helps."
Tia Dalma as Jack's mother also works with Jack's statement that they go way back. :-)
- There will be another post about my second viewing soon. Simply don't have the time to type more right now.
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 11:25 am (UTC)Re: Elizabeth and clothing, by and large, what you said, though I have a slightly different take on this:
Norrington appears rather unimpressed by her in one scene on board of the ship mocking her about not getting what Jack did to her "latest fiancee".
Ah, but does she at any point try to charm Norrington? She does not. She treats him like a comrade (stopping him from taking on the tavern drunk, getting him out of the mud), and he no longer treats her like his (ex-)fiance or indeed "a lady" with all the society politeness that entails; they're outside their previous gender and society dictated roles.
Fainting to gain the attention of "her" men no longer does the trick either.
True, though I see the point of that scene coming after: because Elizabeth then goes off to do her own thing and since she can't stop the male posturing doesn't bother to witness it any longer, either, when there are more important things to do. Such as, you know, actually keeping an eye on the box. Earlier see the three-way-fight from her pov (camera shot wise, litery as well as in terms of narration), and my, the boys look pretty silly. So my reaction wasn't "he, Elizabeth's fainting trick doesn't work anymore" but "yep, leave the silly boys and get to business, Elizabeth".
no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 11:34 am (UTC)You make a good point about Elizabeth and I totally agree. She wants to join the men's world, but doesn't manage it here. She's not silly enough to do so or doesn't match their testosterone level. I think that it's painful for her to have the feeling that she is not the center of attention for once, but she then does her own thing.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 11:57 am (UTC)Have you read this essay? I got the link yesterday, and it makes some great arguments about point of view in the saga...
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 12:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-02 12:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-03 03:58 am (UTC)But as to everything else: Yes! I've always felt this way about Elizabeth's dress, from the first second I thought of it, and it's nice to see it stated so clearly and explicitly. Ted and Terry, the writers, say in their commentary for the "Curse" DVD that the movie is, ultimately, a story about a dress, which I seriously love. And it is, absolutely. "Chest" is also a story about a dress, although to a lesser extent. But if Elizabeth didn't have the dress to use as the "ghost," she wouldn't have gotten to Tortuga (obviously she would've found another way, but, shh), Jack wouldn't have picked up Norrington, and therefor wouldn't have lost the heart to him.
But more than the movie being abour a single dress, I think both of the "Pirates" movies are about clothes. Maybe it's because I'm obsessed with clothes and costuming myself, but I feel like there are a lot of themes of appearances and masks in the "Pirates" films that are all linked to clothing. Jack plays things closer to the vest and Elizabeth's clothes kick off the events of the film, Bootstrap fashions a pretty malevolent piece of cursed currency into a piece of jewelry, Davy Jones and Tia Dalma have musical lockets, Pintel and Ragetti dress in drag, Norrington's clothes mirror his descent into his own personal hell, Barbossa is swayed by Jack's offer to buy him a hat, and Will--silly Will, and silly Elizabeth for going along with it--believes that dressing up like Errol Flynn will actually make him a pirate. But one can't entirely blame him, because in the "Pirates" universe, people's dress reflects their personalities, which is, really the mark of a god movie crew, but never mind.
And I love how Elizabeth totally doesn't get that she can't have it both ways in "Chest." She thinks she can give up her accepted role as a women and still play those old womanly tricks. And I have this feeling that Jack hits it on the head when he says, "It should be a dress or nothing." Because, as tricksy and tough as Elizabeth is, she doesn't want to be a man in a man's world. She ultimately wants to be a woman in a man's world, and have all the power that goes along with that, although, admittedly, she'd prefer if she didn't have to wear those stupid corsets.
I also love your point about Norrington's permissiveness. I'd never thought about it, but it's true: Someone else would've kept her closeted away until she had something appropriately feminine to wear, but Norrington recognizes the need for practicality. And I agree with you, I think Norrington really would've made Elizabeth a good husband, for his part of the bargain. The problem was never with him, it was with Elizabeth not being able to see his good qualities, and if she were more mature, I think they'd make a very good match.
On a random note, if you really want to trace the chain of blame back even further, you could theoretically blame Governer Swann for kicking off the events of the movie (and for ruining Norrington's life). If he hadn't surprised Elizabeth that moring, she probably would have taken off the necklace eventually and gone on with her day.
Anyway. Yes. I'm with you here.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 11:45 am (UTC)Also: If the writers continue with the Star Wars themes, there will be scene where Jack finds out Barbossa is his father. *laughs* Nah, I like my Tia theory way better!
You make excellent points about everyone's clothing! The filmcrew really put a lot of thoughts into the costumes. I'm totally impressed.
Elizabeth has a preformed picture of Norrington and he never did much to change her opinion. Elizabeth wants excitement, she wants pirates or rather to be a pirate. Norrington as professional pirate hunter kind of ruins her dreams. But after DMC all characters have to reassess their opinions.
Regarding Swann: Of course, you can argue that she would have fainted anyway and would at least have met Jack that way. Nah, the fault lies with the dress. *g*
p.s. Do you know if there are icons of the dress? Sinking or playing ghost? I'd love to have a dress icon.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-19 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 11:45 am (UTC)Will friend you back.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 08:04 pm (UTC)p.s. Will get back to the Jossverse soon, but still have to work off my POTC fascination. :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 07:29 pm (UTC)(Are you into the Jossverse too, like Buffy? *looking at above commentary*)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 07:39 pm (UTC)If you check my memory section, you will find lots and lots of entries regarding Buffy and Angel.
I posted reviews for basically all episodes of "Buffy" beginning with season 2. Right now, I'm in the middle of season 6 and only slowly catching up - due to distractions like POTC and a busy RL.
For "Angel", I've got reviews for seasons 1 and 2 and some for season 3.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 08:09 pm (UTC)Oh, what if....
Date: 2006-08-12 04:36 pm (UTC)Also: If the writers continue with the Star Wars themes, there will be scene where Jack finds out Barbossa is his father. *laughs* Nah, I like my Tia theory way better!
Perhaps both can work? *shifty eyes*
Was I the only one who got little Tia/Barbossa vibes at the very end of DMC? (Some kind of history there?) I'm not sure if you mentioned in between lines, but I find besides personality and mannerisms, physically Jack takes after Tia a lot too (so could already look very different from the father*cough*Barbossa*cough*).
I dunno, but I don't find this idea expansion corny, and hoping you don't too. ^^; (What do you think?)
...Oh God, the plotbunnies, the plotbunnies!... *run away*
P.S. This fic with prominent Norrington in background and just delightful POTC gen post-DMC with ensemble cast of not just Jack, Will, Elizabeth, but Barbossa, Tia, Pintel, Ragetti, etc.:
http://community.livejournal.com/_norrington/351107.html?view=1528707#t1528707
...It has Tia/Barbossa on the side. XP
(Thank you for listening...er, reading. ^_^)
Re: Oh, what if....
Date: 2006-08-15 07:51 am (UTC)That's something I can't see for two reasons.
1) There has always been talk of casting Keith Richards as Jack's father which means that we haven't met Jack's father yet.
2) Barbossa and Jack don't feel like father and son to me. They feel like jealous brothers instead. And I'm not saying that they are really related, but that's how they relate to one another.
So why does Tia help Barbossa?
I don't think it's because he is her lover. He might have been at one time, but I have a feeling Jack was already around at the time - and probably jealous of Tia giving so much of her attention to Barbossa when JAck should be the one who is important to her. :-)
I think Tia views Barbossa as some sort of protegée who has potential only known to her. So she supports him.
My guess is that Davy Jones and Tia have some sort of history due to the similar design on the lockets we see in this movie - one at Davy Jones', one at Tia's.
I'll check out the story anyway. Thanks for the link!
In the end, it's all just different theories - and creating theories is fun.
Re: Oh, what if....
Date: 2006-08-16 01:57 am (UTC)My guess is that Davy Jones and Tia have some sort of history due to the similar design on the lockets we see in this movie - one at Davy Jones', one at Tia's.
I've heard that a lot, and made sure to keep an eye out for those lockets the 2nd time I saw the movie.
Welcome for the link.
Theorizing IS fun.
Thanks for replying. :)
(Still totally in love with Mom!Tia/Son!Jack concept....)
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Date: 2008-01-10 09:57 am (UTC)I'm mostly a Harry/Draco sort of girl, but even your posts on other fandoms look interesting, so am friending you. :)
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Date: 2008-01-11 08:19 pm (UTC)I friended you back! :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 09:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-18 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 04:55 pm (UTC)thanks for letting me know!
It's actually kind of cool that you liked my musing so much that you took the time to translate some of them. :-) So I've no problem with you posting this text in the Polish PotC forum as long as you give credit to my LJ name thalia_seawood. Thanks!
Take care!
Thalia
p.s. Would love to read new thoughts on this topic, but - alas - I don't speak Polish.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 06:41 pm (UTC)There wasn't rather particularly new thoughts after then, we mostly agreed it matched to our interpretations, (and I should say, I translated only parts regarding to Elizabeth, cause it was for 'her' topic). But while I understand very well the hunger for new voices in discussion :) at the moment I can say...
Norrington is wearing the jacket of his commodore uniform during the entire movie even it is nearly unrecognicable because it has been through a lot. :-)
It's fun to mull over what this might mean. could mean that he still has a strong sense of honour and duty underneath it all. Or it could foreshadow that he goes back to his old position.
...or that he is so attached to all what it stands for (and this is more than simply the rank and commandering, but all his vision of the world and life) that he can't abandon it even when it's in rags (as his life with values on which it was founded). In AWE he gets the crisp new uniform, but not exactly the same - as his life. It's very bright but in fact also less meaning, less... um, less true. As his life.
If consider PotC as the story about nature of freedom, Norrington seems the most enslaved of all characters. A bitter irony...
Well, thank you for texts inciting to muse. ;)
Cheerio!