The Little Flow'rs

By

E. S. Young

An Explanative Essay of Symbolism, Motifs, and Sexual Connotations

Truthfully, I think coming up with a title was the biggest problem I ran into while writing this story, for, you see, until I find one that I feel fits, I will not be satisfied with the story as a whole, and therefore will not post said story. As this was a sequel, I wanted to find a title that somehow related to the Ring O'Bells. At first I tried to think of one that had the word "bell" in it, imagining that I could make it a theme since I intend for there to be a third story following this one. However, names such as the Eight Bells, the Ships Bells, the Vesper Bells had very little to do with either story. So then I started looking up taverns, hoping to find an interesting one, which is what happened with the Ring O'Bells. Unfortunately, while I did manage to unearth some rather…colorful…pub names, once again, none of them could relate to the story.

Finally, and most unexpectedly, I happened upon the title as I reading William Shakespeare's Macbeth for English class. There was a line spoken by the hilariously psychotic Lady Macbeth to her husband when he was fretting over being discovered as the one who, in his quest for power, killed the king, Duncan; one that had me intrigued.

"Look like th' innocent flower,

But be the serpent under't."

After reading over this quote several times, it slowly began to feel very appropriate for this story. Particularly when one considers how the plot contains many people putting on façades – acting the flower but being the serpent, if you will (and vice versa).

James, as we all know, is really the flower, wanting to be a good man and do what's right, but he has to be the serpent because he knows that Lord Beckett could ruin him just as easily as he reinstated him. In supporting James and his actions, according to the writers, he had never met Beckett until he gave him the heart at the end of Dead Man's Chest. All he knew was that Beckett is on his side, wanting to give pirates the old "short drop and a sudden stop." There was also, apparently, a scene that was cut from the end of Dead Man's Chest in which James, his Commodore's sword returned, poises the blade to stab the heart of Davy Jones, thinking that this is what Beckett wants him to do. Beckett, however, stops him, informing him that the East India Trading Company has much use for the heart. So, clearly, when he took the heart from Captain Jack, James thought that he was doing the world a service by turning it over to the authorities rather than leave it in the hands of a pirate.

Back to my original point: flowers and serpents. Beckett, as much as I like him (yes, it's true) is clearly the serpent, though he is seen by the Crown and his wife (an original character of mine) as being something of a flower because they turn a blind eye at his despicable antics since they are both more than well-provided for by him. Davy Jones used to be a flower, but became a serpent after cutting out his heart (or was it after refusing to ferry souls? We'll have to see), though there still remains a bit of a flower inside of him, beneath all the barnacles.

Elizabeth's serpent-like tendencies are a bit strong. Most notably, I think, is during the first and second movie when she uses James and Jack's love and/or lust for her in order to further her own needs. Though, in her defense, as Jou-Jou said in Bells, Elizabeth's using James was done out of love for Will. Her actions in Dead Man's Chest, all Sparrabeth implications aside, she chained Jack to the mast in the hope that she (and Will) could escape. So, yes, she is capable of doing contemptible things, all in all, she's more liken to a flower.

It is quite clear that Will is the one who possesses the most flower-like qualities of the group – brave, noble, honest, honorable, though he has his moments as a serpent such as in Curse when he knocked Jack unconscious and left him with a group of bloodthirsty, undead pirates. Jack is…Jack. When it comes down to it, there are no façades. He's both. And then, finally, there is Jou-Jou. She is…vague, though not quite as much as she was in the last story, in which case, that vagueness was deliberate, of course. However, it is still rather difficult to tell with her – is she one or the other? Is she both, like Jack? Or, perhaps, she is neither?

As you can see, Lady Macbeth's advice is quite fitting, all things considered. Originally, this story was going to be entitled The Serpent Under't, but I soon came to realized that I didn't care for that. Then, for the longest time, it was Beneath the Flow'rs until I changed it briefly to The Innocent Flow'rs. That, however, just sounded too tacky, so I quickly (quickly as in ten minutes after thinking of it) eliminated that idea and replaced it, finally, with the Little Flow'rs. I went with this title not only because it felt right, but also because while, from what I can tell, there are no taverns that go by the name the Little Flow'rs, it does sound like a pub name, does it not? Thus keeping up with both the symbolism and the motifs in my stories.

On a final note, how is the Ring O'Bells symbolic, exactly? According to the Dictionary of Symbolism,

"Is also phallic in some senses, a bell and handle represent a vulva and a phallus, the same with a bell and a tongue. Leads to embodiment of virginity, unmarried women adorn themselves with bells."

Sadly, I came across this information several months after posting the final chapter of the Ring O'Bells. Otherwise, I obviously would have done much more with the symbolism of bells. However, I still cannot help but feel that there was some slight, if unintentional, symbolic meaning involved upon entitling the story. The bell signifies man and woman – the Ring O'Bells is told only from the points of view of one man and one woman. The same can be said for the cast. Aside from the pirates who beat James up; Bernson (the man who nearly crushes Jou-Jou to death); and brief appearances by Captain Jack, Elizabeth, Gibbs, and Mercer…James and Jou-Jou are really the only characters featured in the story. The rest I would consider to be extras or cameo appearances.

Interestingly, the bell also represents sexual intercourse – something that James and Jou-Jou clearly never share. Yet still it seems to suit the characters for that very reason, however odd it may be. Sex is always in the background of the story, rather prominently in some cases. The fact that, though erotic activities are happening all around them, James and Jou-Jou are never intimate and aren't even sexually attracted to one another is rather significant. In a way, it typifies the purity of their relationship, despite James's thinking himself wicked and disgusting for what he's done and what he has become, and Jou-Jou's prostituting herself and compromising her principles. Really, because of this, their relationship is the most virtuous one on Tortuga.

۞۞۞

Notes

James, as we all know, is really the flower – yes, I just referred to James as a flower. Though I could actually take the symbolism further by saying that he's not just a flower but a rose, and that Jou-Jou, unpleasant for everyone else but rather protective of James, is the thorny brier. But perhaps that's a bit much?

…all Sparrabeth implications aside – I do apologize to the J/E shippers who may take offence, but I just felt that it was unnecessary, not to mention badly done. I perhaps wouldn't have minded so much if the writers had gone about it properly, maybe included Sparrabeth connotations in Curse (and no, I neither count the island scene because she was simply trying to get him drunk, nor the "Peas in a pod" moment because I always saw that as Jack saying "We're a lot alike, kid" almost in an avuncular kind of way). The fact that it just seemed sudden and without reason really irked me. In truth, I would have felt the same way if, despite being a Sparrington fan, James suddenly up and started flirting with Jack when he's supposed to dislike him. Now, I might have been all right with Elizabeth's kissing Jack had the previous Sparrabeth been coming from Jack alone and only if it was lust (which would have been in character for him) and not love as the writers implied. I'm not saying I hate J/E or those who ship it (of course not!), just that I didn't care for how it was handled in DMC.

Disclaimer: The movie Pirates of the Caribbean and all of its characters and the like are property of Disney. Any unfamiliar characters that may appear are mine…unless they aren't mine, in which case I will most certainly post another disclaimer. Any places, facts, or objects that may appear are real and/or true, despite how bizarre some things may sound. But then, of course, we are talking about a world where things such as curses, undead pirates, fish people, and other sorts of supernatural craziness exist, so really, is anything going to seem all that far-fetched?