The Servant Situation

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Oh Boz! What fun! I am now going "Snob Hunting" in all the Titanic films-tallyho!How about Cal to Jack:
"I nearly mistook you for a gentleman"-actually I would have been tempted to say the same thing to Cal!

 

[Bob Godfrey]

You can't go far wrong by quoting virtually any of Ruth DeWB's lines. "Will the lifeboats be seated according to class?"

 

[monica e. hall]

Should be a fertile hunting-ground, Shelley.
"My coat?"
"I have it, Miss."
I'd quite like to have been a toff in those days, such fun, but unfortunately I know perfectly well from my grandparents' reminiscences that we were 'below stairs' - most definitely. Mind you, my old granny (a servant, God rest her) managed to bridge the divide - she often went to tea after WW2 with old employers - some character called Lady Dumaris (??) and, more in the public eye, the Duff Coopers. But she was quite a character ... and if she were young today, would probably have been running a commercial empire.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

"I've got so many maids- some of the maids have maids" of course when Thelma Ritter says this and "flashes" her badge (and what a god-awful hunk of jewelry it was-like a rhinestone albatross suspended from that ample neck)-it was more comic than snob. I think the great popularity of Molly Brown was owed to her practiced effort at elegance and style, but accompanying and charming lack of snobbism so prevalent in the nouveau riche. Really old money is too confident and accustomed to it to need to impress.

 

[Inger Sheil]

"You won't find any of your lot down here, Sir" - Lowe (?) to Cal when he went searching for Rose on Carpathia - JC's Titanic

Goodness, no - Boz! Not Lowe! I took it for one of the Carpathia's stewards. Last time we saw (or rather, didn't see) HGL in the Cameron flick was in a cut scene when he fetched Rose a cup of tea as she came on board. I wondered if it was a deliberate reference to the first time we saw him in the movie - handing Smith a cup of tea!

Lowe might have had many faults, but class snobbery wasn't one of them. His mates ranged from the affluent Anglo-Welsh through to local Station Masters and Canadian firemen. One of his great cronies was an Australian Olympic athlete.

His line from the American Inquiry is indicative of his attitude:

Mr. LOWE. You say "select." There was no such thing as selecting. It was simply the first woman, whether first class, second class, third class, or sixty-seventh class. It was all the same; women and children were first.

He had no intention, according to one statement he is supposed to have made, of letting the 'rich nabobs' take precedence in the loading of the lifeboats - they were going to take their chances with the 'good men'.

I'm not disclosing my score because...well...it's not really *indicative*! I know what a chukka is because I've been around horses all my life - as was my grandmother, who grew up on a large station, and who was talking to me about riding before I could walk. Doesn't mean I play polo, though!

 

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

Apologies, Inger, I was a bit wary about saying Lowe - it's been quite a while since I saw the film. Was it the same bloke who asked Rose what her name was as they went past the Statue of Liberty?

On an aside, I've been drawing parallels between Titanic survivors and ET members, with regards to quotes etc. For example, the 1953 Titanic quote by Richard Sturgess to the Basque family above - I quoted what I remembered hearing, which I don't think is exactly right. I've noticed many people quoting lines and scenes from the movies, very similiar to, but not exactly what was said. I've also noticed that Titanic survivors versions of any given event differ slightly from each other but the event itself is agreed upon. I suppose it all depends on what sticks in our minds the most, what leaves the biggest impression on us, or what vantage point we are at, as to how we interpret a particular scene or quote.

Or am I just talking waffle? It's very early on a Friday at the end of the week and I've been dreaming about living in an asylum all night. I'm very tired....

 

[monica e. hall]

Very early?? It's gone 9.00, Boz! Still, maybe you live an exciting life - carousing into the small hours, arising at mid-day for Bucks Fizz and brunch..?

 

[Iain Stuart Yardley]

The only thing that takes me into the small hours these days is Big Brother (can you believe they burned Stu's cowboy hat???). Ahhh, Bucks Fizz...Making Your Mind Up, Camera Never Lies, Land Of Make Believe...the insight those lyrics had....

 

[Gary.J Bell]

Hi
Ive only just finished reading this thread, but wanted to add something myself.
In the new year, i am hoping to enroll in the Ivor Spencer school of Butlering here in London. Since a small age, becoming a Butler has always been my goal in my working life.
Coming from a family with a ancestral backround of builders and decorators, it was not surprising that some of my family though it an odd proffesion to want to enter!
To explain why i want to do it is somewhat difficult. I love the way of life that a butler with a respectable employer has, I always say, you obviously dont expect them to be your best friend (i.e drinking tea with them when your off-duty) but as long as they treat you with some respect too, theres no problem.
Todays Butlers are far different from the Butlers of 1912. Although the work is pretty much the same altough largely more to do, due to the fact that most households dont have more than about 4 staff.
I look forward to joining the school and being able to start my career soon.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

I'm glad the fine art of providing peerless service is alive and well- and much needed! I believe there are still schools for nannies in the UK- good luck Gary- keep us posted. Of course a good butler's chief virtue is- discretion!

 

[Ana Florencia Pinton]

Since the link to the snob test was no longer active, I looked for other ones available... Here's what I could find:

- How big a snob are you? @ About.com [my result: Your Snob-O-Meter score is 72%. Very snobby. You've got a superiority complex! You tend to judge others on a criteria you've developed over the years, and there aren't too many people who make the cut! There's just no subtle way to say this - you are a superficial, stuck-up, pompous snob. And you probably already know this, and don't really care. If the most important thing to you is someone's outer shell, then you'll never get below the surface to find their real worth. On the other hand, I'll bet you go far in this world and amass a lot of material wealth which ain't so bad. They say money doesn't buy happiness but it does buy freedom. And which would you rather be? A happy loser trapped in the daily grind or a miserable big-spender who must decide between a round of golf or a day on board a yacht sipping Dom Perignon?]

- Snob Status @ Manor House [my result: 50% SNOB. You haven't quite cut that snob mustard, Ana Florencia Pinton. Being 50% snob doesn't make you properly stuck up but nor does it condemn you to burn in middle-class hell. Unless you want to hang in snob limbo forever, brush up on those P's and Q's, buy yourself some fruit knives and start lying about your education quick.]

I respectfully wonder why some of you chose not to publish the results... I mean, we all know these aren't indicative, we just do these for fun! And I hope no one thinks I have to decide between golf or Dom Perignon (the closest I came to one of those was while attending tables at a posh restaurant I used to work )

 

[monica e. hall]

Mmmm. I got almost exactly the same as you, Ana, in both "tests". In fact, there is hardly a wafer of difference to stick between us. I think I've figured out what you need to reply to get a "not-a-snob" rating, but I don't think it'd be much to celebrate really. I mean, who wants to broadcast the fact that they don't know that some cheeses smell, or base their proletarian credentials on the fact that they don't have a friend with a tattoo? Luckily, I know Bob. Who regularly buys stinking cheeses and is covered in tattoos. No. He doesn't / isn't, sadly.
Good fun, though! In 2013. 1912 would have been much different, however, for understandable reasons, if one knows any history.