by Terri Bey
Traveling on a luxurious ocean liner like the RMS Titanic can be romantic. After all, there were 13 newlywed couples aboard the ill-fated liner. The most famous one was John Jacob Astor IV and his bride Madeleine, even though it was Astor's second marriage. There were other couples, such as Isidor and Ida Staus who were married for 40 years and were just returning from a luxurious trip in Europe. As I am writing my blog for the February Newsletter and since Valentine's day is in the month of February, I have decided to write about my favorite Titanic couple, Isador and Ida Straus.
Like most people who are familiar with the Titanic story know, Ida Straus was placed in Lifeboat 8 with her maid Ellen Bird and without her husband, Isador, to whom she was married for 40 years. Isidor refused to try for a lifeboat, stating, "I will not go before the other men." Ida stepped out of the lifeboat and decided to stay with her husband. Friends such as Colonel Archibald Gracie tried to convince Ida to get back in the lifeboat, but Ida said to her husband, "Where you go, I go." The couple stayed together and perished in the sinking. Isidor's body was recovered, but Ida's was not.
Isidor and Ida Straus are my favorite Titanic couple, mainly because of how devoted they were to one another, from their marriage in 1871 to their deaths on the RMS Titanic. The couple was almost never separated. They would go on great vacations together. Ida would usually join Isidor on his business trips. That is real devotion.
Their devotion to one another in life makes us understand Ida's decision to get out of Lifeboat 8 and stay with her husband, Isidor, even though we know they would die together. It is one of the most heartbreaking stories from the Titanic, but also, the most enduring and in a sense, romantic and loving. Ida could have saved herself, but she loved her dear Isidor so much that she couldn't leave him, even if it meant certain death. Isidor loved his wife that much that he respected his wife's decision and would die with her. The love the two had for one another was so strong that they wanted to be together until the end.
I love the Straus couple because they are the perfect example of true love.
Isidor and Ida Straus Scene from "A Night to Remember" (1958) Go to the 2:19 Mark:
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