Claes-Göran Wetterholm

There's so much material there to impose so many symbolic meanings on it.

There's so much material there to impose so many symbolic meanings on it.

So the Titanic is very much the product of a maritime arms race. The big ocean liner companies of the time, so in Britain it would have been Cunard and White Star, are competing on this kind of sliding scale. Cunard has sort of won the race to build the fastest ships, right?

So the Titanic is very much the product of a maritime arms race. The big ocean liner companies of the time, so in Britain it would have been Cunard and White Star, are competing on this kind of sliding scale. Cunard has sort of won the race to build the fastest ships, right?

They have launched a few years before the Lusitania and the Mauritania too, also of the most famous ocean liners of this kind of golden age of ocean liners. White Star decides not to compete. on speed, they decide that you're not going to beat the Lusitania and the Mauritania for speed. They're going to go for luxury.

They have launched a few years before the Lusitania and the Mauritania too, also of the most famous ocean liners of this kind of golden age of ocean liners. White Star decides not to compete. on speed, they decide that you're not going to beat the Lusitania and the Mauritania for speed. They're going to go for luxury.

They are largely competing for two groups of passengers. So they're competing for upper-class wealthy passengers. They're also competing, though, for this is the age of immigration. So they are also carrying large numbers of steerage passengers across the Atlantic on one-way voyages to permanent new lives in the United States.

They are largely competing for two groups of passengers. So they're competing for upper-class wealthy passengers. They're also competing, though, for this is the age of immigration. So they are also carrying large numbers of steerage passengers across the Atlantic on one-way voyages to permanent new lives in the United States.

This means that they need to be big because they need to hold a lot of steerage passengers and because they need to provide luxurious accommodation for the upper class passengers. And it means that they need to be fast because the first class passengers want to get where they're going. They want to know that they're going to leave Southampton at whatever, 5 p.m.

This means that they need to be big because they need to hold a lot of steerage passengers and because they need to provide luxurious accommodation for the upper class passengers. And it means that they need to be fast because the first class passengers want to get where they're going. They want to know that they're going to leave Southampton at whatever, 5 p.m.

on a Friday, and they're going to get to New York at 5 p.m. on a Wednesday or whatever the timing of the particular voyage is. It used to be that you'd take off across the Atlantic and, you know, it might take two weeks and it might take six weeks. Who knows, right? Now this idea that these ships can power themselves across the Atlantic on a very regular schedule is important.

on a Friday, and they're going to get to New York at 5 p.m. on a Wednesday or whatever the timing of the particular voyage is. It used to be that you'd take off across the Atlantic and, you know, it might take two weeks and it might take six weeks. Who knows, right? Now this idea that these ships can power themselves across the Atlantic on a very regular schedule is important.

You know, White Star has always been a little bit to Cunard, the sort of second shipping line in Britain, right? It starts out not being particularly prestigious at all, right? And then the Titanic, you know, sort of represents the pinnacle of, oh, White Star's finally sort of caught up to Cunard.

You know, White Star has always been a little bit to Cunard, the sort of second shipping line in Britain, right? It starts out not being particularly prestigious at all, right? And then the Titanic, you know, sort of represents the pinnacle of, oh, White Star's finally sort of caught up to Cunard.

They've built these fantastically luxurious ships and they're finally going to be like just the equal to Cunard in terms of the rivalry. And then it's not like they go out of business after Titanic, but they don't, they're not really going to fully recover from the most famous maritime disaster in history.

They've built these fantastically luxurious ships and they're finally going to be like just the equal to Cunard in terms of the rivalry. And then it's not like they go out of business after Titanic, but they don't, they're not really going to fully recover from the most famous maritime disaster in history.

I think everybody, you know, had great faith in the ability of these ships. It just had not been a major kind of maritime passenger disaster in a very, very long time. The size of these vessels had been expanding dramatically, right? So we're talking about them going from, you know, Wilbur and Orville Wright's first biplane to a modern Boeing transatlantic jetliner, right?

I think everybody, you know, had great faith in the ability of these ships. It just had not been a major kind of maritime passenger disaster in a very, very long time. The size of these vessels had been expanding dramatically, right? So we're talking about them going from, you know, Wilbur and Orville Wright's first biplane to a modern Boeing transatlantic jetliner, right?

The difference in scale over, say, 20 years had just become enormous. We are constantly told that sort of flying on an airplane is the safest way to travel, right? You're in more danger driving to the airport than you are, you know, being on that actual plane. And I think very much the same thing was going on with luxury liners.

The difference in scale over, say, 20 years had just become enormous. We are constantly told that sort of flying on an airplane is the safest way to travel, right? You're in more danger driving to the airport than you are, you know, being on that actual plane. And I think very much the same thing was going on with luxury liners.