Stereotypes Of Women In Port Royal, By Elizabeth Swann

In the early to mid 1700’s women were often viewed as individuals that needed to be sheltered from anything difficult or dangerous. Elizabeth Swann is a prime example of this stereotype. Throughout her life, Elizabeth dreamed of being independent, however, her father and his army did not allow her. Once she is finally able to escape her sheltered life, she quickly finds herself in a lot of trouble and needs help to escape it. While Elizabeth Swann wants to be viewed as independent, Elizabeth is heavily reliant on the “damsel in distress” stereotype and uses the men in her life to save her.
It is very evident that Elizabeth learned the “damsel in distress” attitude through her upbringing. Elizabeth had a heavy dependency on her father, saving

The first instance comes when Elizabeth falls into the water and Jack has to come and save her. As stated in an article by NC State University, this scenario follows the textbook definition where the, “damsel is depicted in a dire situation and is helpless, and eventually this male hero comes to her rescue and saves her” (Enochs). When Elizabeth falls into the water, she has the Royal Navy, Jack, and the Commodore actively deciding how to save her. Elizabeth was one of the most important women in Port Royal, so the viewer was given no doubt that a man would find a way to save her to become the hero, this hero happens to be Jack. Throughout the rest of the film, everytime Elizabeth is in trouble, Jack is able to find a way to save her from everything and is a critical part of why she was able to return home safely. This further proves her reliance on men because without Jack, Elizabeth would not have made it home and would have been murdered by

When Elizabeth is in the cave with Barbosa and is hit. She lies still until William is able to come and rescue her. She does not even open her eyes until Will touches her face, almost as if she was waiting on him. While Elizabeth wanted to be brave and independent in this scene, the second she gets hit and falls she immediately reverts back to her “damsel in distress” attitude and needs a man to save her. For men in this era like William, “protection of women is a significant aspect of the chivalric code” (Enochs).William is saving Elizabeth as a way to show his love for her and to prove he is worthy of being with her. At the end of the movie, when Elizabeth is almost about to accept the proposal from the Commodore, William steps in and confesses his love for her. This once again saves her and keeps her from a lifetime of unhappiness with a man she does not love. While Elizabeth could have simply refused the commodores proposal, she relied on William to save her from the