We can say with certainty two things about the ship. ONE: the Titanic sank in 1912 with about 1500 lives lost. TWO: the tragedy has entertained and amused a great many people and afforded others fame, wealth, successful careers. That enterprising people will find a way to turn anything to their financial advantage comes as no surprise. The accumulation of wealth is still admirable to many, no matter how it is achieved. But how can we account for the enjoyment of it, the sheer fun of it all?
I think two things have to happen. First, it is necessary to suppress any thought of the real suffering that took place during those hours for the victims, and for others, victims as well, for many years thereafter. Terror, pain, death, grief, loss. Those were some of the experiences. There were others, such as remorse, shame, anger, ostracism. There really is such a thing as survivors' guilt, and if the people didn't suffer that, they were made to feel as if they should. It doesn't take very much imagination to realize that misery was part of the Titanic experience - the biggest part for the more than 2000 passengers and crew. There were moments of joy, too. Many could rejoice that they survived, that their loved ones were saved. I suspect that pleasure came with a price attached, a nagging doubt, a question irritating and bedeviling one. Could I have helped someone else? Am I more worthy than those lost 1500?
If we could turn away from the human side of the disaster, it would still be interesting as a puzzle - how did it happen? How could it have been prevented? What can be learned from it? There would be a few books written, certainly some official investigations, a footnote or two in the history books. That seems to have been the fate of some other tragedies where many lives were lost. They are news for many at the time they happen, and of interest to a few long afterwards.
That isn't the story of the Titanic. The great, unsinkable, floating palace of 1912 is many stories. It is books, and movies, and documentary films, and games, jigsaw puzzles, pillow cases... Would you sleep well at night with your head resting on that image? It is merchandise galore. Do you know you can purchase a piece of coal that was loaded onto the ship? A load of it was retrieved by the scavengers in one of their treasure-hunting expeditions.
Many people have devoted their lives to celebrating the sinking of the Titanic. Others are more in the category of "buff," not really giving the tragedy their full attention, but letting it occupy a good share of their leisure. Why is that? What is the fascination? How did this romantic aura develop from such an ugly event?
I believe it is a result of the myths and legends, the sweet, sweet stories that became part of the folklore right from the beginning. Survivors told these tales, of course. There was no other source of information. Something was said by one, elaborated by another, inflated by the media types of the day, swallowed whole by the public. These yarns found their way into the early articles in newspapers and magazines, were further encapsulated in books, and passed down from one generation of "historians" to the next.
Syrup literally drips from the saga of Mrs. Strauss choosing death by her husband's side over saving herself in a lifeboat. The fable of Captain Smith handing an infant into a lifeboat just before he went down for the last time is another. And the band playing, as the ship sank, the hymn Nearer My God To Thee may take the prize as a cloying image. What Mrs. Strauss said and why she decided as she did can have more than one interpretation. The story of Captain Smith and the infant has been debunked, as has that particular piece of music being selected by the ship's orchestra.
There are other stories told just as gripping. The search for villains turned up many, and that is also part of the fascination. We Americans love a scapegoat; perhaps all people do. Ismay's escape and survival is wonderful to contrast with the babies in third class who drowned. Captain Lord of the Californian is another. He slept while the Titanic took two-thirds of its occupants to their deaths. He slept and ignored the jeopardy of that other ship, knowing full well it was in deadly peril. Does anyone believe that? Sadly, yes, many do.
Some of the fictions within the story of the Titanic are harmless. Surely, the families of the Strausses and of Captain Smith took comfort in a saga of heroism told of their loved ones. It makes no difference what the orchestra played. It may have made no difference that they played at all. One could argue that, but it would be an exercise only. It's irrelevant now.
There are other fables that weren't so benign. People were cruel to Ismay, cruel to Lord, cruel to their innocent families. We have some very wise sayings from a variety of sources, proverbs that concern making judgments. One I believe is Biblical and cautions people not to judge lest they be judged, and another about withholding judgment until one has walked in the other man's shoes...
The legend that I find most obnoxious of all is the hideous lie told about Alice Catherine Cleaver.
It may be that interest in the Titanic is waning now. It seemed to be pretty steady for decades, enjoying a resurgence when Dr. Ballard's expedition located the wreck, reviving again when the souvenir collectors visited the site, and peaking in a phenomenal manner with the publicity surrounding the most recent movie. The last mentioned event sent Titanic mania sky-rocketing. Every book ever published was reissued; new books were churned out with amazing speed; videos were patched together. As it turned out, the movie was more about young love than the tragedy of 1912, but interest in the ship ran its course. Perhaps.
If enthusiasm for all things Titanic is flagging, one does not see it on the internet. There are hundreds of websites devoted to the disaster. A few appear to have something to offer; others just repeat a little of this, a little of that. Some make no pretense at honoring copyright laws and publish the work of others' word for word. That's an issue for the copyright holders; but there is another issue for all of us. People's work is being copied, and so are people's errors.
And that brings me to the story of Alice Catherine Cleaver.
The Story As Told In Books and Videos, Repeated On Websites
Alice Cleaver was hired in haste by the Allison family, consisting of Hudson J. C. Allison, his wife Bess, their three-year-old daughter Loraine, and their 11-month-old son, Trevor. Mr. Allison was a wealthy investment broker from Montreal, and the family was returning from a horse-buying trip to England. Alice was employed as a nurse for the children, the previous servant having abruptly quit. She shared a room in first class with baby Trevor and a maid to Mrs. Allison named Sarah Daniels. This stateroom adjoined the one occupied by the Allison parents and Loraine. There were two other servants for the family traveling in second class. The entourage was, therefore, a family of four and four servants.
Unknown to the Allisons was the fact that Alice Cleaver had murdered her infant son three years previously. She was unmarried and distraught over the fact that the baby's father abandoned her, so she threw the child off a train. She was convicted, but a lenient jury felt sorry for her as did the judge. She was released early. The Allisons knew nothing of her past and hired her to care for their children on the voyage, particularly their infant son, Trevor.
When the ship was foundering, Mr. Allison left the staterooms to see what he could learn on deck. Alice grabbed Trevor and ran off, jumping into a lifeboat to safety. The Allisons searched and searched, unable to find their son. This next comment is repeated almost word for word in more than a dozen places. The Allisons never would have left the ship not knowing that their baby was safe; therefore, Alice Cleaver's abandoning Mrs. Allison and little Loraine clearly contributed to their deaths. Loraine was the only child in first class who was not saved.
Years later, a woman claiming to be Loraine Allison approached the Allison heirs and told a story of having been rescued and adopted by the man who got her to safety. There was more to this part of the story, but relevant here is the allegation that this imposter knew things about the family and had to have been coached by Alice Cleaver.
Closer To The Truth
Alice Catherine Cleaver was just what she purported to be when she was hired in England as nurse to baby Trevor. She had never killed a child. There had been a woman named Alice Mary Cleaver who threw her baby off a train. That woman died in prison.Mistaken identity? Mistake? That's some mistake, a slander that has gone on for decades.
As for Alice rushing off with Trevor and abandoning Mrs. Allison and little Loraine, letting this family search in vain for their infant son until it was too late to save themselves... Apparently that wasn't quite accurate, either. The only surviving witnesses to events in the Allison's stateroom were Alice Cleaver and Sarah Daniels. That is not the way they told the story. Mrs. Allison was hysterical and couldn't even dress herself. Both children were sleeping. Alice dressed their mother but still could not get her to act rationally. Alice picked up Trevor, told her employer she was seeking safety, and left the room. What transpired afterwards is based only on speculation. Judging from what was widely reported later, it was the family of the Allisons who surmised they stayed on the ship searching for Trevor. It was with them that the statement, "They never would have left the ship without knowing their baby was safe," originated.
Even if we believed that Alice just grabbed Trevor and ran, does it make sense that Loraine - the little girl not quite three - was kept with her searching parents? Would they not have put her in a lifeboat? Would they have sacrificed her as well as themselves when they couldn't locate the son?
Alice entered lifeboat #11 with Trevor. This particular lifeboat, equipped for 65 people, actually carried 70. It was launched at 1:25 a.m. Sunday morning, one hour and forty-five minutes after the Titanic collided with the iceberg. The ship sank at 2:20 a.m.
Trevor was reunited with family, who raised him. He died at the age of eighteen. Alice returned to England where she married and raised a family. As far as I could determine, she received no thanks from the Allisons or anyone else; no sweet stories have been told about Alice Catherine Cleaver.
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