Thanks Edmund, Jim, etc
I just wish my copy of the Carpathia picture was more clear. Still, that it was one of the original prints Blackmarr made makes it special to me. Of course, I absolutely agree with Jim's feelings about the larger issue of the "Duff Gordon incident" (sounds like an episode of the X-Files, huh?).
That isn't to say I think the DGs were entirely truthful. They DID oppose going back but lied about it in court. Still, I see this as "damage control" by their attorneys whose objective was to clear their names. I DON'T believe there was an actual bribe. But I DO believe they opposed a rescue. It's just that I don't see this as such a cold-hearted action. It's not heroic - and it wasn't their finest moment - but the DGs were no more cowardly or selfish than other people in other boats who decided against going back.
We have to always consider the fear factor in a circumstance like that. I think all the lifeboats COULD and probably SHOULD have gone back to help those poor people in the water but if we're going to be censorious let's not single out one group. Jim is right that reverse class prejudice is responsible for the feeling of revulsion which the Duff Gordons still inspire among some Titanic enthusiasts to this day. If Boat 1 had held 12 steerage passengers & crew, and didn't return to aid the drowning, the situation wouldn't have been focused on with anywhere near the same vigor (and venom) as it was. That two of the occupants were of the English nobility and one in particular was a well-known personality has everything to do with the issue being of any interest then or today. Everybody loves a scandal.
Jim, as to Lucile's being mentioned in the dialogue of the Cameron film, I must say there's nothing dismissive (in my opinion) about the lingerie connection. Lucile was a pioneer in emancipating fashionable women from heavy underwear; it was her greatest contribution to fashion history. She more than any other designer lead the way from the Victorian penchant for cumbersome linen corsets and sensible flannel underdrawers. Her object was to make women desirable (even in bed; a radical notion to 19th century prudes), offering her clients silk and chiffon "frillies" (as she called them) instead, all in a variety of colors.
For myself I was grateful that Cameron mentioned her lingerie designs. She would have been proud of that. Also I think the character of Rose in the movie was not meaning her remark as derisive. I thought she was being racy on purpose in a kind of a come-on to Jack. In real life I wonder what well-brought young lady would have dared mention underwear in the presence of a beau?
Still I like that you call Rose a Patty Hearst type heroine!!! I never thought of it that way!
As to the antagonism toward Lucile. I wish I knew the root of it. Even in fashion history circles she's often ignored. I think it's because she's kind of an anomaly (being British and female in the traditionally French male-dominated world of fashion).
As for those who dislike her over the Titanic affair, I'd say that if they could get past that, they'd see her for what she really was - an ambitious Canadian farm girl who fought her way to the top of, even then, one of the fiercest professions in the world.
People I imagine also don't realize that Lucile was not aristocratic (except by distant ancestry and her second marriage to Cosmo); though of an upper middle class and well-connected family, Lucile was initially shunned by the highest society because of her early divorce and her business career.
So in many ways, though revered as one of the foremost designers to the rich & famous (which made her rich & famous), Lucile was socially an outsider. She did not care for the personal company of the many high-born ladies she dressed - instead her friends were artists, actors, musicians, writers, as she put it - "people who did things." If she was snobbish, it was the snobbishness of a discriminating artist, NOT a society lady. She despised the class system of England, though she was savvy in realizing her title would eventually prove a good monicer for business (especially in the US where we love titles).
Well, I think I've said more than enough. Excuse the rambling!
Randy
PS) And Jim, where in the heck is Turkey, Texas? I knew we had a Paris, Texas, and an Italy, Texas (which is near me here in Ennis) but I was unaware our great state had a Turkey, Texas! So greetings to yet another Lone Store Titanic pal!
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