When James Cameron set out to make Titanic he was intrigued by the true events of that tragic night, almost to the point of obsession as he took regular dives down to the ruins. But while he was uncovering truths about what really happened to the ship, he needed to come up with the core story, including its love story.
There were of course some inaccuracies with the film but not with its love story. If you were just as upset as we were when we found out that Jack and Rose were fictitious, you might be interested to know that even though Cameron made them up, he still based their love story off real-life passengers.
Just like Cameron’s cut alternate ending, there was another scene that was cut involving an older couple, who were on the real Titanic; Ida and Isidor Straus. Even though their scene was cut, Cameron based the line “You jump, I jump, right?” off of something similar Ida Straus said to her husband.
Who Was Ida And Isidor Straus?
When formulating his love story for the blockbuster, Cameron chose to use the Strauses bond as a model for the scene when Rose gives up a seat on the lifeboat, because their real-life love story was beautiful and most of all courageous.
The Strauses were very prominent figures in history at the time of Titanic’s sinking. After the Civil War, Isidor, and his family were given permission by R.H. Macy, founder of Macy’s Department Store, to open what would later become the glass and china department of Macy’s.
Eventually, Isidor and his brother Nathan both took over as partners, and in 1896, they took over R. H. Macy & Co, completely, as co-owners.
Before that, in 1871, Isidor married Rosalie Ida Blun, and their marriage was described as very loving and that they were full of devotion for each other. They later had seven children and during their life together, Ida would accompany Isidor on his many business trips around the country and the world.
“They were often spotted holding hands, kissing, and hugging, which was unheard of for persons of their status and wealth in their day,” Paul Kurzman, the Strauses great-grandson, said. “One time they were even caught ‘necking!’ And that behavior lasted well into their later years. They had something truly special and it’s something us progeny treasure a great deal.”
They Loved Each Other So Much That They Wanted To Die Together
At the beginning of 1912, the couple went on a holiday to Europe, spending time in Cape Martin in the south of France, and celebrating their 40 years of marriage. When they decided to return home, they booked passage on Titanic.
The first-class couple, who probably dined with other elite passengers like John Jacob Astor, didn’t know that those few days aboard Titanic would be their last.
When the lifeboats were being prepared, the 60-year-old couple made their way to the deck like everyone else but their decisions about getting into a lifeboat were not like everyone else’s.
The eyewitness accounts of what came next come from Ida’s maid, and Kurzman’s grandmother, the Strauses oldest child, Sara.
“My great-grandmother Ida stepped into the lifeboat expecting that her husband would follow. When he didn’t follow, she was very concerned and the ship’s officer in charge of lowering that particular lifeboat said, ‘Well, Mr. Straus, you’re an elderly man…and we all know who you are…Of course, you can enter the lifeboat with your wife,'” Kurzman said.
Despite the fact that he was apart of the “elite” on board and was given the chance to board a lifeboat, Straus answered no. “Until I see that every woman and child on board this ship is in a lifeboat, I will not enter into a lifeboat myself.'”
When Ida heard her husband say that she stepped out of the lifeboat and gave it to her new maid, Ellen Bird, who she wrapped up in her fur coat for warmth.
“If you know the Bible, in the tradition of the Book of Ruth, she basically said, ‘We have lived our whole life together and if you are going to remain on the boat and to die as the boat sinks, I will remain on the boat with you. We will not leave one another after our long and wonderful marriage together,” Kurzman said.
“Isidor wrapped his arms around her. Then, a great wave came over the port side of the ship and swept them both into the sea. That was the last time they were seen alive.”
How The Strauses Story Made It Into Titanic
In Cameron’s deleted scene featuring the couple, Isidor is trying to convince Ida to get into the boat but she says, “Where you go, I go, don’t argue with me, Isidor, you know it does no good.”
A similar dialogue was then used in the scene when Rose jumps off the lifeboat to stay with Jack. But the Strauses still managed to get a scene in the film, even though it wasn’t completely accurate.
When the water is coming up into the passenger rooms, we see an elderly couple embracing tight in their bed as the water rushes in. That was the Strauses.
