Given Titanic’s status as a cinematic masterpiece, it’s no surprise that the film is brimming with iconic quotes. The 1997 historical disaster film blends fictional characters with real events to reflect on one of the most tragic events in history. Titanic is regarded as one of the best movies ever made, attaining more Ocsar nominations and wins than nearly every movie in 1998.
Titanic’s success is partially due to the gripping dialogue throughout the movie. Many of the best lines from the film come from the two main characters, Jack and Rose, as their relationship blossoms during the ship’s voyage across the Atlantic. These quotes look at the struggles faced by Jack and Rose and the devotion they have for one another, while also reflecting on the true realities of the ship’s tragic sinking in 1912.
10 “Outwardly, I Was Everything A Well-brought-up Girl Should Be. Inside, I Was Screaming.”
When Titanic was launched, she was regarded by the White Star Line as the finest ship to ever set sail. It was regarded by passengers and crew as the “Queen of the Ocean”. With her prestige and beauty, everybody was captivated by her beauty and saw her as the ticket to a new life. Rose, however, is different in this case. She doesn’t see Titanic as a luxury ship; she sees the ship as her prison cell, taking her away to a new life that she has no desire to be a part of. While boarding the ship, she maintains a facade of composure, while inwardly, all she wants to do is break free of the rules imposed on her by society.
9 “God! Look At That Thing! You Would’ve Gone Straight To The Bottom.”
While out on a walk, Jack and Rose are talking about their lives and Rose reflects on why she tried to take her own life the night before. She shows her engagement ring to Jack who takes note of its wealth and beauty. He makes a joke that the weight of the ring would have made Rose sink to the bottom of the sea. While this is made as a joke, it also has a hidden meaning. Jack jokes about the weight of the ring, but it also reflects the weight of control it has on Rose. The ring symbolizes the weight of an unwanted marriage that Rose will do anything to escape from and its heavy grip on her future; the weight of the ring drags Rose down emotionally as she reflects on her situation.
8 “They’ve Got You Trapped, Rose. And You’re Gonna Die If You Don’t Break Free.”
After being caught sneaking into Third Class, Rose is reprimanded by Cal and Ruth into remembering where she belongs in society and what her future holds. She is reminded by Ruth that her engagement to Cal provides financial stability for her family. Because of this, Rose tries her best to return her thoughts to her upcoming marriage.Later, Jack manages to lure Rose away momentarily. He points out that this life isn’t really what she wants, and she needs to break out. While Rose tries to deny this, she knows deep down that Jack is right; this statement later sees her start to rebel further against her privileged life and seek freedom with Jack.
7 “Everything He Knows Is Wrong.”
When Jack and Rose have their iconic flying scene at the bow of the ship, the elderly Rose notes that it was the last time the Titanic saw sunlight before the sinking. Earlier in the day, Captain Smith had dismissed an ice warning in favor of applying more speed to the ship’s engines. Lovett and Bodine express disbelief at how Captain Smith, a man with long experience at sea, could make such a decision. Captain Smith was due to retire after Titanic’s maiden voyage and with his 26-year long experience, he believed that the Titanic would be able to move past any danger in front of them. He failed to realize that the ship’s large size would work to its disadvantage. Just as it happened in real life, his misunderstanding of the ship’s strengths led to fatal consequences for most of the people on board.
6 “Ain’t Nothing To It, Is There, Jack? Remember, They Love Money So Pretend Like You Own A Gold Mine, And Then You’re In The Club.”
Wealthy socialite Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown was one of the First Class passengers who survived the Titanic disaster. Throughout her life, she was heavily involved in women’s rights and philanthropic work. She later organized a committee to help survivors and went down in history as ‘The Unsinkable Molly Brown’. In the movie, unlike Cal and Rose’s mother Ruth, Molly takes an instant liking to Jack, even letting him borrow one of her son’s suits for a First Class dinner. She offers him advice on how to conduct himself during the dinner and how to impress the wealthy diners. This quote is a reflection of the kind and friendly person that the real Molly Brown truly was in society.
5 “Well, I Believe You May Get Your Headlines, Mr. Ismay.”
One of the passengers on board the Titanic, was the White Star Line managing director, Joseph Bruce Ismay. He was one of the few male passengers to survive the sinking, having been rescued aboard Collapsible Lifeboat C. Ismay’s decision to board a lifeboat was heavily criticized by the public, and he was condemned by society as a coward for the rest of his life. Throughout the movie, Ismay expresses a desire to see Titanic make headlines. He gets into arguments with the captain about increasing the speed of the ship in order for the media to recognize Titanic as the fastest ship of her kind. When it’s confirmed that the Titanic will sink, Captain Smith makes the statement that the sinking will allow Ismay to get his desired headlines – just not the ones he expected.
4 “I’d rather Be His Whore Than Your Wife.”
When Titanic hits the iceberg and starts sinking, Rose realizes that Jack is in danger and decides to forgo a place in a lifeboat and save him. Both Ruth and Cal are shocked at her decision and Cal rushes to stop her. When Cal questions Rose as to why she chooses to go after a “gutter-rat” like Jack, Rose says, “I’d rather be his whore than your wife.” This remark shows that Rose has finally decided to put her own happiness over a life of misery. Her powerful rebellion – along with a spit to the face-stuns Cal and he can only watch as she runs away from him.
3 “Six Were Saved From The Water, Myself Included. Six Out Of 1500.”
At the end of her story, Rose makes the tragic statement that 1500 people were lost when the Titanic sank. She was one of only a few people to be saved by a lifeboat that returned to the scene. Everyone listens in silence as she recounts the demise of the doomed liner.
This quote is a tragic reflection on the events of the real sinking. Many passengers on board the ship when it sank, slowly froze to death in the freezing waters. Out of 20 lifeboats, only one eventually returned to the scene to pick up any survivors, and by the time it did, only a few were lucky enough to be alive.
2 “I’ll Never Let Go, I Promise!”
When rescue finally arrives, it’s too late for Jack. Despite Rose’s best attempts to revive him, he dies of hypothermia. Realizing, she must leave him to save herself, Rose says, “I’ll never let go, I promise!” to Jack before she bids him farewell; she vows to Jack that she’ll never let go of the promise she made to live her life. At the end of the movie, it’s shown through many photographs that Rose kept her promise after The Titanic. In her photographs, it’s shown that she lived a life full of freedom and adventure, doing all the things she planned to do with Jack. This shows that Rose stayed true to her word all her life and remained faithful on her final promise to Jack.
1 “You Jump, I Jump, Right?” “Right.”
This quote is reflected on several times throughout the movie. Several times the main characters reflect on the idea of “you jump, I jump.” It’s shown when Jack stops Rose from taking her own life on the stern, when he urges her to break away from her pain, and again when Rose refuses to leave Jack when the ship is sinking. This is arguably the most powerful quote from the movie. Though they only had a brief time together, Jack and Rose were able to build a strong relationship with each other. The line, “You jump, I jump” perfectly represents the trust and devotion that Jack and Rose have towards one another in Titanic.
