Character Analysis
Cal Hockley. Smirking, art-history-illiterate Cal.
How do we hate Cal? Let us count the ways:
- He's mean to basically everyone he thinks is beneath him (which is everyone).
- He's a snob (see above).
- Rather than loving or trying to connect to Rose as a human being, he only seems interested in her for the status/glamour she brings him by being his fiancée. He thinks of them as more than just a power couple, telling her they're "royalty." Ew.
- He's violent when he's crossed. Cases in point: he does a Real Housewives of Titanic when he confronts Rose about her friendship with Jack, and later he pulls a gun on them when he realizes Rose would rather sink on the ship with Jack than survive and go on to marry him.
- He's 110% selfish and self-interested. For example, he eventually scams his way onto a lifeboat by grabbing a frightened, crying child and pretending he's her father (since they were only taking women and children at that point).
We're probably forgetting something, but you get the point—Cal's not a nice guy.
Of course, like most people, he has another side to him as well…or at least, we think he does. We get a hint that Cal might actually have a heart somewhere in there when he passes up an opportunity to get on a lifeboat and save himself so he can go find Rose (and make sure she's okay/try to convince her to get on a lifeboat herself).
LOVEJOY: I found her—on the other side, waiting for a boat. With him.
ISMAY: All aboard, Mr. Murdoch.
MURDOCH: Women and children? Any more women and children? Any one else, then? Anyone else?
CAL (resisting the urge to get on): Oh, God damn it all to hell!
Considering that Rose has basically abandoned him at this point and made her (negative) feelings for him super clear, it's really incredible that he risks his own safety to go back for her.
Maybe he was just trying to make sure that his property (since that's how he thought of Rose, right?) was safe, but it seems to be more about making sure she's okay…which says to us that perhaps he wasn't 110% bad.
Maybe just 109% percent.