In the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy the compass is emblematic of some key motifs.
A compass that points to whatever you want most is in theory, a plot breaking item. Especially given how much of the plot of these is spent trying to find a certain place, person, or magical item. The compass solves all the problems of whoever is holding it. But in effect, that’s not true because in many, if not most, cases the compass actually doesn’t work very well because the holder’s desires are too inconsistent, unreadable or uncontrollable. Which leads to a lot of manipulating and deception to try to make the compass actually useful.
This fits in with the description of Davy Jones’ lover (later revealed to be Calypso) as being “harsh, changing and untamable like the sea”. That’s a controlling concept– the sea and the people who love it, are harsh, changing and untamable. This is why the constantly shifting allegiances and the frequent betrayals are such a key part of the story.
That point is exemplified in the story of Davy Jones and Calypso. They were in love but both were fickle and changing. She promised to be waiting for him and was not. So he betrayed her and shirked his duty. And in doing that he becomes a part of the sea (becomes a tentacle-faced sea monster). And the foil to that relationship is Will and Elizabeth. Will clearly corresponds to Davy Jones, putting Elizabeth in the role of Calypso.
With this highlighted, we find that Will’s defining trait is his constancy. From his first introduction– Will is hardworking (he runs the blacksmith shop for his master) and disciplined (he practices sword fighting three hours a day) and he’s unwaveringly honorable (his sense of honor changes over the course of the series, most notably in the first movie shifting from following the strict social codes of the time to a more personal conviction of right and wrong). And most importantly, Will is loyal. Will loves Elizabeth and that does not change. Ever. Even when he thinks she loves someone else. The only thing that ever challenges that is when being with Elizabeth comes into conflict with his loyalty to his father, and even there, Bootstrap tells us that if it comes down to it, Will would pick Elizabeth. As a result, Will is probably the person for whom the compass works most consistently.
Elizabeth is connected to Calypso not just because of her analogous relationship to Will, but also within the third movie by Sao Feng mistaking her for Calypso. Elizabeth is also more piratey than Will, right from the start. In the first movie, it’s Elizabeth who since childhood has had a fascination with pirates, and she more completely aligns herself with the pirates. As a result she becomes King of the Brethren Court and it’s a role that fits. If we think of the pirates as being Calypso’s people (her harsh, untamable, changing people) and she their sort of patron goddess, then as King Elizabeth also could be thought of as something like Calypso’s chief acolyte or high priestess, or even Calypso’s representative to the people. And she is like the sea, harsh and untamable. She’s fiercely ready to fight (grabbing a sword off the wall when the Pearl first attacks her home, stabbing Barbossa in the chest even within the first half of the first movie) and she’s the one continually rallying others to fight back (which is in itself an arc from the first movie when she tries to rally Jack’s crew to go fight and they leave, to the final battle in three when she gives the big speech before they enter the maelstrom and this time everyone follows her). Elizabeth’s constancy, however, is the one that’s tested. In the first movie, there is never any doubt about her love for Will. But in the second, we’re presented with the idea that Jack and maybe also Norrington may be a temptation to Elizabeth. Will she choose someone else? This question lingers somewhat into the third movie but mainly switches into a temptation of just choosing herself–being tempted just by the idea of not being answerable to anyone, as represented by the conflict of her shutting Will out of her decisions. Ultimately, even though she may be tempted by Jack or by independence at the expense of all else, her love for Will is still there and that’s what she chooses. Hers is less a constancy of nature and more a constancy of choice. Loyalty is not her defining trait but she chooses it anyway, for Will.
Calypso had to wait for Davy Jones, and even though she knew he was coming back, she wasn’t there. Elizabeth was separated from Will and fought her way back to him when she could and waited for him when that was the only choice left to her. Davy Jones was betrayed by Calypso, so he betrayed her. Will believed Elizabeth betrayed him, and he stayed loyal to her. Jones put his heart in a chest and locked it away. Will put his heart in a chest and gave it to Elizabeth. Will and Elizabeth live out the story of Calypso and Davy Jones but they do it right.
This ties back into the broader ideas about freedom. Piracy and the sea are used to represent freedom in the trilogy. Jack makes this explicit at several points, as does Barbossa. The East Indian Trading Company and Beckett are all about subjugation. Davy Jones, in his betrayal of Calypso, becomes that too. Not only does he give the Brethren Court the means to bind Calypso in human form (thereby subjugating–taming– the sea), he also becomes the instrument of control through the use of his heart. The pirates, led by Elizabeth the representative of the sea and Calypso, fight to free the seas and that’s what they end up doing.
But the freedom of the pirates is not wholly a good thing. It’s harsh and untamable and changing. It’s Calypso not staying true to the man she loved. It’s backstabbing and double-crossing and switching sides and constant deception. The pirates get that freedom back and we’re shown exactly where that leaves them: Barbossa and the crew abandon Jack again, and Jack steals from them again and there’s a cyclical nature to it all– we’re back where we were at the beginning of the first movie: Jack is alone in a dinghy chasing some new treasure and Barbossa is off on the Pearl doing the same. And that’s the Code– “take what you can; give nothing back” and “he who falls behind gets left behind”. They got what they wanted but it’s still just chasing the horizon, pursuing a goal they will never reach. And they will always ultimately be alone in that, because their freedom comes at the expense of trust and love.
The cyclical unrest is not the fate of Will and Elizabeth though. They don’t fall to the extremes of either the Company or the pirates. They are free but they choose to surrender a little bit of that freedom. In the climax they choose to get married, binding themselves to each other. They each no longer have total abandon to do whatever they want, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a source of strength and happiness to them both. In a similar way, Will binds himself to the Dutchman, willingly taking on that duty and in so doing sacrificing some of his freedom but in the name of something worthwhile and right. Thus, in his hands, the Dutchman isn’t a curse or a terror, it’s a solemn, one might even say sacred, duty that sets things right in the world rather than attempting to control it or circumvent the natural order. And rather than the captain being a tyrant, he’s a protector and a caretaker. Elizabeth, as an embodiment of the sea is no more tamed, no less harsh, but she is making a choice to tie herself to Will. Elizabeth and Will have the ultimate triumph because they realize that freedom, while worth fighting for, is not the be all end all. Love, duty, honor, and goodness/moral rightness, are all worth willing giving up a little freedom for. But that is the opposite of subjugation and through it they become more fully realized, more fully themselves.
And Jack contributes to this too. Jack, while mostly remaining in the anarchic freedom of the pirates, makes two notable choices that run completely counter to it. First, he does what no pirate is willing to do and votes for someone other than himself to be king. He surrenders a little bit of freedom to Elizabeth so that she can be king and lead them into a war that must be fought for their own benefit (because the pirates’ unwillingness for any sacrifice would have led them all to destruction). Secondly, he gives up his chance for immortality (the ultimate freedom, he calls it) by letting Will stab the heart. One for Will, one for Elizabeth, together representing their impact on him. And their side only wins because Jack has learned from Will and Elizabeth, in some small way that sacrifice and surrender for the sake of love and what is right are worth the cost.
Love is sacrifice and surrender and Will and Elizabeth get that and spread it to others around them. And that’s why they’re able to set the world right, and that’s why they’re the heart of the franchise.
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
janainaart
gummygunk
vaporwave
izzy806
ellievsbear
discoholicmusic
jbbartram-illu
