Le Radeau of Titanic

“The whole thing,” said Mrs. Brown, “was so formal that it was difficult for any any one to realize that it was a tragedy. Men and women stood in little groups and talked. Some laughed as the first boats went over the side. All the time the band was playing. (…) I can still see the men up on the deck tucking in the women and bowing and smiling. It was a strange sight. It all seemed like a play, like a drama that was being enacted for entertainment. It did not seem real. Men would say, ‘After you,’ as they made some woman comfortable and stepped back. I afterward heard some one say that men went downstairs into the restaurant. Many of them smoked. Many of them walked up and down. For a while after we reached the water we watched the ship. We could hear the band. Every light was shining.”

“Ogni cosa era formale a tal punto” disse Mrs Brown “da rendere impossibile comprendere l’imminente tragedia. Uomini e donne conversavano, in piedi, in piccoli gruppi. Alcuni risero quando furono calate le prime scialuppe. Per tutto il tempo la banda continuò a suonare. (…) Riesco ancora a vedere gli uomini sul ponte fare il filo alle donne, inchinandosi e sorridendo. Era davvero una visione particolare. Sembrava uno spettacolo, una specie di commedia messa in scena per intrattenimento. Non sembrava affatto reale. Alcuni uomini dicevano “dopo di lei” dopo aver fatto accomodare alcune donne, facendo un passo indietro. In seguito sentii di certi Sir che erano scesi nelle sale del ristorante. Molti fumavano. Molti passeggiavano avanti e indietro. Un istante dopo essere stati calati in acqua guardammo la nave. Potevamo sentire la banda suonare. Ogni luce brillava.”
Margaret Brown, New York Times, 20 April 1912

“Le Radeau de La Méduse”
Théodore Géricault