Pirates of the Caribbean:Beyond the Myth

English 1102Dr. Jo Anne Harris

Lesson 5: Women Pirates in a Masculine World

Social Issues Gender Issues Family Issues

Narratives

• Born in the upper class

• Adapted to pirate society, lifestyle, and relationships

• Pardoned in trial

• More masculine than feminine

• Cross-dressing• One source

suggests raised as a man

• Good family• Daughter of an

Irish lawyer• Thrown out by

father after her impulsive marriage

Video

• Unknown cause of death

• Suggests she was pardoned because of her father’s position as a plantation owner

• Feminine• Beautiful

woman• Raised as a

woman

• High class family owned a plantation

• Left her first husband for Calico Jack

Group 4Anne Bonny

Mary ReedSocial and Gender Family

Narrative • Continued to be raised as a boy because male life > female life

• Ran away to become a sailor then a solider then a cavalry man then a sailor again

• Became a pirate after finding it more exciting than a sailor life

• Claimed pregnancy before being execution

• Died of fever

• Raised as a boy to replace her dead brother

• Raised as a boy so her paternal grandmother would leave property to her family

• Fell in love with another cavalry man and left the military to be married and run a tavern

• Second husband was a prisoner of her crew

• Fought duels in her husband’s place

Video • Raised as a boy• Became a pirate in the

disguise of a man• Died due to fever or

complication during birth

• Her family raised her as a boy

• Used pregnancy as an excuse to delay execution

Group 4Mary Reed

Social And Gender

Family

Narrative • Both great fighter

• Both fought until the last moment and even fired upon their own crew when they refused to fight

• Just friends• Both claimed

pregnancy to escape execution

Video • Only Mary was considered an excellent fighter

• Openly admitted to being women pirates

• Considered to be lovers

• Calico got jealous of Anne’s love of “Mark” until finding out “he” was Mary

Group 4Mary And Anne