Staff Writer - Katrin Callender
There is a two-step process that can help us navigate the minefield of love, when we have more than one candidate vying for a place in our heart.
Step one: self-examination. It is imperative that you know what you want out of life. Get to know yourself first! You cannot successfully select a person for yourself if you do not know your own likes, dislikes, dreams, peeves, and fears; you must know what you stand for and what you will not tolerate; you must know your best qualities and your shortcomings.
How else could you choose someone who compliments these? And how fair would it be to the other person if you did not choose wisely and had to part ways later on?
Step two: Take a good look at the men or women in your life. Determine whether they suit you by examining their attributes. What is his or her belief system? What about likes, dislikes, dreams, peeves and fears? Do they possess the qualities you seek, and more so, the ones that will compliment your own? The two are not necessarily the same.
The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, a favourite of mine, are illustrative of such a situation. Elizabeth Swann is of a marrying age and finds herself attracted to Will Turner, though she is engaged to James Norrington and circumstances see her getting to know infamous pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. She can have her pick of these three men. So why does she make the choice that she does?
We cannot deny that Orlando Bloom, Jack Davenport and Johnny Depp are simply delicious actors! So the characters must be understood to be attractive as well. Moreover, they all seem to have feelings for her-though the nature of those feelings and their degree is the question.
We feel certain we can say that Will Turner’s love is true and deep, Norrington is not as expressive as he might be but Davenport’s portrayal subtly and beautifully suggests his is the same. We all know Jack Sparrow’s fondness for women- almost equivalent to his fondness for Rum- but we find ourselves questioning whether he loves her as much as the other two gentlemen.
Torn between two lovers? Photo courtesy fanpop.com
Will fights for her and saves her, but he is divided between his commitments to her and those to his father. James appears dutiful by nature and makes two tremendous sacrifices for Elizabeth, and we feel that if given the chance he will always do the same, but we cannot be certain that this is the case as he has also done what the Crown required which has resulted in pain for Elizabeth and her loved ones. Jack shows the capacity for heroic behavior but he has also shown his greed and cowardice.
Ultimately, decisions are made by those writing and directing the films, to make us sit at the edge of our seats and finally leave the cinema satisfied or at least content with the outcome.
We may not ever find ourselves battling cursed pirates, the British Navy or Davy Jones. But we may find that we are in the middle of our own drama where we have more than one person for whom we have feeling and who return those feelings.
We do not want to cause any of them pain, and as we may be ready to settle down, we want to make the right choice. We must really assess ourselves and the other person. It may not avoid pain, but it can certainly reduce it and leave all parties respectful of and happy for one another.
