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Do you want to see me working as a seamstress? Is that what you want? To see our fine things sold at auction? Our memories scattered? |
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—Ruth DeWitt Bukater to Rose DeWitt Bukater | ||
Ruth DeWitt Bukater (1872 - unknown) was a fictional character of the 1997 Film Titanic. She is the overarching antagonist of the film and also the mother of Rose DeWitt Bukater. She was very snobby, rude, selfish, most likely due to the fact that she was consumed by her wealth. After her husband died which left her and Rose penniless, Ruth's gold-digging personality went to the extreme and targeted Caledon Hockley for Rose so that they could remain wealthy. She was portrayed by Frances Fisher.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Ruth was born around 1872 in Pennsylvania. Not much else is known about Ruth's early life, like who her parents were, but they were most likely first-class, because Ruth inherited much of their wealth. It is also unknown who Ruth's husband was, but it is known that she gave birth to his daughter, Rose DeWitt Bukater. When her husband died, Rose was still a child. Ruth claimed that he left them with nothing but "a legacy of bad debts hidden by a good name." Rose and Ruth did not develop a very good relationship, however, because when Rose was about 16, Ruth forced her into an arranged marriage with Caledon Hockley for his wealth and social status, who was commonly referred to as Cal.
RMS Titanic[]
In 1912, Cal, Rose, and Ruth boarded the RMS Titanic on its ill-fated journey. Once boarded and settled in to their cabins, Rose one late night met penniless third-class artist named Jack Dawson, who talked her out of trying to commit suicide by jumping off Titanic's stern. Ruth forbade her daughter to see Jack out of fear that Rose may abandon Cal and herself and run away with Jack, leaving Ruth penniless. When Rose finally had enough of her mother's snobbish behavior and selfishness, she abandoned both her and Cal to be with Jack whom by now she had fallen deeply in love with.
On the night Titanic hit an iceberg, Ruth had other worries. Unaware that the ship was sinking, she was surprised to see her daughter back with Jack, because Rose believed it was the right thing to do to go back to Cal and mom, since Rose understands there's an emergency. Ruth, however, looked on as Caledon and Lovejoy accused Jack of the robbery of the diamond who was then taken away. Then the stewards called the 'family' to come up to gather and get their lifebelts. Ruth, however, at first wasn't at all worried about the disaster, and asked a stewardess to heat up her cabin for her, since she expected to have tea later on.
Later on they were ready to board lifeboat 6, and Ruth asked whether the boats' occupants were seperated by class and wished they would not be too fully loaded. But Rose didn't want to come along and wished her mother goodbye. Ruth was adament that Rose needed to board, and was shocked that her child ran away, becoming very anxious and shouting to the crew to wait lowering. Ruth escaped in the lifeboat with the very kind-hearted Molly Brown, thus surviving the sinking, but she never saw her daughter again due to her daughter's immense hatred of her, and because Rose boarded the Carpathia and was asked for her name, she changed her name to 'Rose Dawson' to evade mother and Cal and out of love for Jack. Ruth died convinced she lost her daughter in the sinking of the Titanic. She was shown to be very shocked to see the Titanic's stern rising high into the air, probably imagining that her daughter, who she still loved, even if she hadn't treated her right, was still onboard.
Fate[]
It is unclear what happened to Ruth after she was rescued by the Carpathia, and how (or if) she managed without Cal's wealth. It can be presumed that by the time her elderly daughter tells her tale in 1996, Ruth has been dead for decades.
Family Members[]
- Unknown Husband - Deceased
- Rose DeWitt Bukater - Daughter
- Unnamed grandchildren
- Lizzy Calvert - Great-Granddaughter
Quotes[]
Rose: It's so unfair.
Ruth: Of course it's unfair. We're women. Our choices are never easy.
Ruth: So this is the ship they say is unsinkable.
Cal: It is unsinkable. God himself could not sink this ship.
Molly Brown: [to the group who are dining at the same table] Hey, uh, who thought of the name Titanic? Was it you, Bruce?
Ismay: Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength.
Rose: Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you. (Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews snicker)
Ruth: [whispering] What's gotten into you?
Rose: Excuse me. [She rises and leaves]
Ruth: Tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson. I hear they are quite good on this ship.
Jack: The best I've seen, ma'am. Hardly any rats.
Ruth: Will the lifeboats be seated according to class? I hope they're not too crowded.
Rose: Oh mother, shut up! Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats. Not enough by half. Half the people on this ship are going to die.
Cal: Not the better half.
Ruth: You're not to see that boy again. Do you understand me? Rose, I forbid it.
Rose: Oh stop it, mother. You'll give yourself a nose bleed.
[Jack is teaching Rose how to spit]
Rose: Mother! May I introduce Jack Dawson?
Ruth: Charmed, I'm sure.
Old Rose: [voice in off] The others were gracious and curious about the man who had saved my life. But my mother looked at him like an insect. A dangerous insect, which must be squashed quickly.
Ruth: The purpose of university is to find a suitable husband. Rose has already done that.
Trivia[]
- It is unknown what happened to Ruth after the disaster. Most fans speculate that she became a poor and penniless seamstress without the financial security of the arranged marriage between Cal Hockley and Rose. It is however, possible that Ruth re-married into wealth, but this is unlikely. A few believe that after Rose became an actress, she forgave her mother and let Ruth live with her. However, none of this is certain as she was never mentioned again.
- While heavily implied but unconfirmed in the film itself, an early draft of Titanic indeed confirmed that Rose never saw Ruth again nor Ruth ever became aware that Rose survived by having a remorseful Cal asking for Rose's forgiveness aboard the Carpathia only for Rose to rebuff and ask Cal to tell Ruth that she is dead instead and never contact her again. The scene's removal was partly because Cameron didn't want to make Cal, and possibly Ruth, look sympathetic.
- The March 1995 scriptment for Titanic mentions that Ruth stayed in a stateroom across the hall, presumably an interior cabin. The stateroom was also going to be the setting for the corset lacing scene before Cameron decided to switch Rose and Ruth’s positions for dramatic reasons.
- The treatment also mentions the origins of her signature brooch. It was given to her by her husband after Rose was born.