Elizabeth Swann

Pirates of the Caribbean Character

File:Elizabeth Swann.JPG
Name:	Elizabeth Swann
Portrayed by:	Keira Knightley
Ships used:	HMS Dauntless, Interceptor, the Black Pearl
Weapons:	Cutlass

Elizabeth Swann is a fictional character, and also one of the main characters, first introduced in the 2003 Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. She also appears in the sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007).

Elizabeth is the pirate-obsessed daughter of Weatherby Swann, the governor of Port Royal in the Caribbean. She is portrayed from the get-go to be in love with Will Turner, a blacksmith and implied childhood friend. Elizabeth is portrayed by actress Keira Knightley and the younger Elizabeth (seen in flashbacks) is played by Lucinda Dryzek. Knightley sums up her character as, "some kind of modern girl stuck in the world of the 18th century." Elizabeth has the capacity to act with the propriety and breeding of a noble lady. She seeks more independence than would normally be given to a woman of her rank during the 18th century.

Fictional Biography

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

File:Young Elizabeth Swann.jpg

Elizabeth at age 12 (Lucinda Dryzek)

Twelve-year-old Elizabeth Swann and her father, Governor Weatherby Swann, were en route from England to Port Royal in the Caribbean when their ship came upon a wrecked vessel—the victim of a pirate attack. The only survivor was a young boy, Will Turner. When Elizabeth found a medallion around the unconscious Will's neck, she took and kept it, fearing he would be arrested as a pirate. Elizabeth then glanced a ship with tattered black sails as it disappeared into the mist.

Eight years pass, and Elizabeth is now a beautiful young woman. Her privilidged, but restrictive, life cause her to secretly yearn for freedom, and she fantasizes about pirates and life at sea. Throughout the years, Elizabeth has maintained a cordial friendship with Will Turner, although she is unaware he secretly loves her. As a lowly blacksmith, he harbors little hope of winning her. Another suitor, Commodore James Norrington, a good and honorable Royal Navy officer, also seeks Elizabeth's hand. He proposes marriage to her at his promotion ceremony, but she faints and falls off a rampart and into the bay before giving an answer. Meanwhile, pirate Captain Jack Sparrow has arrived in Port Royal to commandeer a ship. While attempting to con the two marines guarding the HMS Interceptor, he sees Elizabeth fall. He saves her but is captured and jailed for piracy. That night, the Black Pearl, a pirate ship commanded by Captain Barbossa, raids Port Royal. Elizabeth is abducted because she possesses a gold medallion; the same medallion she took from Will Turner when he was rescued. Using parley, Elizabeth negotiates with Barbossa to leave Port Royal in exchange for the coin. Barbossa agrees but keeps her captive when she fails to bargain her own release. Because she gave her last name as "Turner," he believes it is her blood and the medallion that will break an ancient Aztec curse the pirates are under. He later reveals their true form that is only seen in moonlight—they are immortal skeletons.

Will seeks Sparrow's help to save Elizabeth in exchange for freeing him from jail. He is unaware Jack is the Black Pearl's former captain; ten years ago, Jack's crew mutinied and marooned him after he shared the bearings to an ancient Aztec treasure. Sparrow and Will hijack the HMS Interceptor and head for Tortuga. Along the way, Jack tells an incredulous Will that his father is "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, the only Pearl crew member who opposed the mutiney. Bootstrap was bound to a cannon and thrown overboard by Barbossa after he sent one of the coins to his son.

Jack and Will recruit a crew in Tortuga. While there, Will overhears Jack telling Gibbs that he plans to use Will as "leverage." They head for Isla de Muerta, knowing Barbossa will go there to break the curse. In hot pursuit is Commodore Norrington aboard the HMS Dauntless.

On the island, Barbossa conducts a ritual using Elizabeth's blood and the medallion, but the curse remains in effect. Barbossa becomes enraged when he discovers Elizabeth is not Bootstrap's child. Meanwhile, Turner and Sparrow sneak into the cave. Will rescues Elizabeth, who grabs the coin, but distrusting the eccentric pirate, Will knocks out Sparrow. Believing Jack fell behind, Gibbs sets sail. Barbossa pursues them, and after a fierce battle, the Interceptor is sunk and the crew captured. Will reveals his identity. Unless the crew is released, he threatens to shoot himself while falling overboard, rendering him useless for breaking the curse. Barbossa complies, but because Will failed to specify when or where, the crafty pirate maroons Sparrow and Elizabeth on a deserted island.

Discovering Jack is not the clever escape artist he's reputed to be, Elizabeth takes action and burns a cache of smuggler's rum to create a huge smoke signal. It is spotted by Commodore Norrington, who rescues them. To save Will, Elizabeth convinces Norrington to attack Isla de Muerta by impulsively accepting his previous marriage proposal, telling him it would be her wedding present. She says nothing about the curse, however.

At Isla de Muerta, Elizabeth slips away from the Dauntless and sneaks aboard the Black Pearl to free Gibbs and the crew from the brig. But they refuse to help save Will or Jack. Instead, they commandeer the Pearl and set sail while a isgusted, Elizabeth rows to the island alone. Inside the cave, Barbossa is about to sacrifice Will, but Jack interrupts the ritual, informing him that the Royal Navy is outside. He persuades Barbossa to form an alliance. Will reviles Sparrow for his treachery, but Jack's true allegiance is unclear. When the pirates leave to battle the navy, Jack, who has secretly cursed himself, attacks Barbossa. Will and Elizabeth fight the remaining pirates. Jack and Will offer their blood and return the last two coins to the chest, breaking the curse just after Jack mortally shoots Barbossa. He reverts to mortal form and falls dead. The remaining now-mortal pirates surrender. Will, Elizabeth, and Jack are rescued, although Jack is later sentenced to be hanged for piracy.

In Port Royal, Will saves Jack from the gallows, but they are quickly captured. However, when both Norrington and Governor Swann are reluctant to arrest Will or resume Jack's hanging, Elizabeth steps in to lend her support and declare her love for Will. Norrington releases Will and graciously concedes Elizabeth's hand. Jack, meanwhile, falls off the rampart and into the bay just as the Black Pearl sails into view. He is hauled aboard, captain once again. Good man that he is, Norrington allows the Black Pearl one day's head start before giving chase. (A deleted scene shows Norrington questioning Elizabeth's motive behind her sudden decision to accept his proposal.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

It is Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner's wedding day, but Will is missing, and Elizabeth fears she has been jilted at the altar. Her fear quickly gives way to terror as Lord Cutler Beckett and the British Navy suddenly arrive with a shackled Will. Beckett, a ruthless East India Trading Company agent, arrests both Elizabeth and Will for aiding Sparrow’s escape; the punishment is death. Former Commodore James Norrington is also implicated, although he has resigned from the Navy and disappeared. Beckett offers clemency if Will can find Jack Sparrow and his compass.

Will finds the Black Pearl crew on Pelegosto hiding from the Kraken, a voracious leviathan controlled by Davy Jones, the mythical captain of the Flying Dutchman and ruler of the seas. While Jones is hunting Sparrow to collect a blood debt, Jack searches for the Dead Man's Chest containing Jones' beating heart. Whoever possesses the heart, controls Davy Jones and rules the oceans. Unfortunately, Jack’s magic compass fails to work for him.

Meanwhile, Governor Swann frees Elizabeth from jail. Learning that Beckett is only pardoning Sparrow, Elizabeth boldly confronts him at gunpoint and demands he validate a Letter of Marque— a document intended to recruit Jack Sparrow as a privateer but which she wants for Will. Beckett signs it but says he still wants Sparrow's compass.

Disguised as a cabin boy, Elizabeth tricks a merchant crew into taking port in Tortuga. Searching for Will, she instead encounters Sparrow and Gibbs in a pub desperately recruiting sailors to pay off Jack's debt to Davy Jones, who demands one hundred souls in exchange for Jack's. Another man applies—James Norrington, who is now a miserable, drunken wretch. Blaming Sparrow for his ruin, Norrington attempts to shoot him and ignites a brawl, but Elizabeth saves him by knocking him out. At the pier, she demands to know what has happened to Will. Jack tells her Will was pressed ganged into Davy Jones' crew, although he claims he is blameless. Norrington is skeptical, however. Jack convinces Elizabeth she can save Will by finding the Dead Man's Chest. Trusting Sparrow, she uses his magical compass and gets a bearing.

As the Black Pearl heads for Isla Cruces, Jack becomes amorous towards Elizabeth. Norrington observes her seemingly pleased reaction to Sparrow's attention, but she rejects his implication that she has romantic feelings. She becomes distressed, however, when the compass points to Jack, who attempts to woo her and fails. She tells him she believes he is a good man and that one day an opportunity will arise for him to do a courageous thing, but he brushes off her comments. Encouraged by her coyness, he attempts to kiss her, but the Black Spot, a mark that Jack's blood debt is due, suddenly reappears on his hand, and he rushes off in a panic. Elizabeth mistakenly believes he is respecting her virtue, unaware the Kraken is hunting him again.

On Isla Cruces, Jack, Elizabeth, and Norrington find the Dead Man's Chest. Elizabeth is reunited with Will, who escaped the Flying Dutchman and has the key to the chest. A furious Elizabeth learns that Jack betrayed him. A conflict erupts: Will wants to stab the heart and kill Jones to free his father from Jones' servitude. Jack fears the Kraken will continue hunting him if Jones is dead. Norrington plots to bargain back his career. As a three-way duel erupts, Jones' crewmen arrive. Jack gets the key and opens the chest, but it is Norrington who escapes with the heart and the Letter of Marque.

Pursued by the Flying Dutchman, the Pearl outruns her. Davy Jones summons the Kraken, but the crew temporarily fight it off. Jack deserts the ship in the last longboat, but as Elizabeth predicted, he courageously returns to save his crew. During the Kraken's momentary retreat, he orders all hands to abandon ship. Realizing the Kraken only wants Jack, Elizabeth distracts him with a passionate kiss while handcuffing him to the mast. She tells him she isn't sorry, but she is deeply affected by her deception. Climbing into the longboat, she tells the others he chose to remain behind, unaware Will witnessed the kiss. The Kraken returns for its final assault; the Pearl and Jack are dragged to a watery grave. It is during this final battle that Jack's and Elizabeth's contrasting characters emerge: Jack shows heroism and loyalty by returning to the ship and saving his crew; by abandoning her sense of duty and honor, Elizabeth becomes more pirate-like and uses deception to sacrifice Jack to save herself and the others (although she is guilt-ridden over her actions).

Norrington arrives in Port Royal and presents the heart and the Letter of Marque to Cutler Beckett. Meanwhile, Will, Elizabeth and the grieving crew make their way to Tia Dalma, the voodoo priestess who helped Jack find the Dead Man's Chest. As the crew drinks a somber toast to their fallen captain, Elizabeth silently agonizes over her act of betrayal. Believing Elizabeth now has feelings for Jack, a dejected Will comforts her. "If anything could be done to bring back Jack . . ." Tia Dalma interrupts him and asks if they would be willing to travel to World's End to return Jack. All agree, but she says they will need a captain who knows those waters. Incredibly, a very alive Captain Barbossa descends the stairs.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Elizabeth journeys to the World's End with Captain Barbossa, Will, Tia Dalma, and the Black Pearl crew in an attempt to rescue Jack Sparrow. She is reportedly captured by the Asian pirate, Sao Feng.

Trivia

• Elizabeth Swann appears in the Pirates of the Caribbean world, Port Royal, of the Disney/Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts II, voiced by Eliza Schneider in the English version (like the other original actors, Keira Knightley was unavailable due to filming Dead Man's Chest) and by Saori Yumiba in the Japanese version. Schneider performs the voice of Elizabeth Swann again in the video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.

• Just as Will Turner and Barbossa may have been inspired by Monkey Island characters, Elizabeth in turn may be inspired by Governor Elaine Marley from the same series. She is also said to be based on Princess Leia in the original Star Wars.

• Elizabeth stands 5' 7" (1,70 m).

• Elizabeth was 20 years old in The Curse of the Black Pearl and is 21 in Dead Man's Chest (the second film is set a year later ). She settled in Port Royal at age 12.

• Elizabeth's skill with a sword is a reflection upon her teacher, Will Turner, who is described as the best swordsman in the director's commentary of the first film. She defends herself against multiple opponents and even fights using two swords, though it's unlikely she could beat Barbossa or Norrington, who are described as the second best behind Will in terms of sword skills.

• Elizabeth was taught swordplay by Will, and during a fight scene in Dead Man's Chest, Keira Knightley uses a fighting sequence used by Legolas (another character portrayed by Orlando Bloom) in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.