Chapter 84

It still struck him when Governor Swann says to Will, “do pass my compliments on to your master”.  But he also kind of liked Will’s even response that “a craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated”, which in no way indicates that he, in fact, made the blade, but lets the audience know that he’s accepting the compliment.  He continued to watch the movie as Elizabeth came down the stairs in her too-tight dress.  The fact that she’s genuinely happy to see Will is probably not lost on her father.  And the fact that she calls him by his given name, instead of his sir name, is probably more than a little disconcerting to him as well.  When she continues on to say that she’s had a dream about Will, Governor Swann’s interjection questioning whether or not it’s entirely proper for her to be talking about such things is further proof that he doesn’t consider Will to be an appropriate match for her.  But, she seems not to notice as she says to Will, “how many time must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?”  Of course, his response of “at least once more, Miss Swann, as always” is all the more humorous considering the by-play.  And Governor Swann’s response of “there, see, at least the boy has a sense of propriety” is another reinforcement of the fact that he finds Will Turner an unsuitable suitor for Elizabeth. Will’s earlier propriety is more than matched by Elizabeth’s impropriety; of course, it’s partially negated by the fact that he calls her “Elizabeth” privately as she is leaving.  But he still has the good sense, at least Governor Swann would call it good sense, to only do so privately.  Still, that kind of thing could be rife with problems, considering he could easily slip up and call her that to her face.  That he hasn’t is a testament to him always keeps his station in mind whenever he talks to her.  And it’s not hard to believe that he could do so, considering the kind of smack-down, either verbal or physical, he could have gotten if he had ever forgotten his place.  Still, it shows a little bit of defiance for his position that he would actually consider thinking about her as “Elizabeth” instead of as “Miss Swann” as he’s supposed to; and that, in turn, helps set up the rest of the film.