Age Gaps on the Titanic

[Daniel Harrison]

I know I probably shouldn't ask this question as I don't want to make people uncomfortable, but screw it, I just feel like I have to say this. Does anyone else feel weird or find it concerning how so many couples that were dating on the Titanic have big age gaps between the lovers? Think about it.
John Jacob Astor was 47, Madeline Astor was 18. 29-year age gap, and I think we all know this was controversial since Madeline was alive for less than half of John's lifetime during the Titanic.
Karl Behr was 26, Helen Newsom was 19. I know one this is petty since it's only 7 years, but still.
Benjamin Guggenheim was 46, Leontine Aubart was 24. That's 22 years apart.
Albert Dick was 31, Vera Dick is disputed to be either 20 or 17. I swear to God, I hope it's 20 like Encyclopedia Titanica says she was, because Vera being 17 would mean Albert committed pedophilia and deserves to be locked up in prison bars.
So, what does everyone else feel about this? Is there something I ain't understanding?

 

[Thomas Krom]

It was quite a common thing of the Edwardian and Victorian era to find these type of age-gaps. Another example, even through she had long been a widower, was Mrs. Emma Eliza Bucknell, born on the 29th of July 1853. When she was only 18 she married William Robert Bucknell who was more than 42 years her senior (being born on the 1st of April 1811) and William reportedly even boasted hat his youngest child was older than his new bride. They had four children together and he passed away on the 5th of March 1890.

Albert Dick was 31, Vera Dick is disputed to be either 20 or 17. I swear to God, I hope it's 20 like Encyclopedia Titanica says she was, because Vera being 17 would mean Albert committed pedophilia and deserves to be locked up in prison bars.

Regarding Vera Dick, she was born in 1891 and not 1894.

So, what does everyone else feel about this? Is there something I ain't understanding?

It is relative, which means it differs with places and times. It still happens now that both women and men get into a relationship with an older partner, however I don't believe that most of them have to do with financial gain or anything of the sort. From the information we know it appears that Mrs. Astor loved her husband quite dearly, as well as Albert and Vera Dick being soulmates of one another.

 

[Ajmal Dar]

I know I probably shouldn't ask this question as I don't want to make people uncomfortable, but screw it, I just feel like I have to say this. Does anyone else feel weird or find it concerning how so many couples that were dating on the Titanic have big age gaps between the lovers? Think about it.
John Jacob Astor was 47, Madeline Astor was 18. 29-year age gap, and I think we all know this was controversial since Madeline was alive for less than half of John's lifetime during the Titanic.
Karl Behr was 26, Helen Newsom was 19. I know one this is petty since it's only 7 years, but still.
Benjamin Guggenheim was 46, Leontine Aubart was 24. That's 22 years apart.
Albert Dick was 31, Vera Dick is disputed to be either 20 or 17. I swear to God, I hope it's 20 like Encyclopedia Titanica says she was, because Vera being 17 would mean Albert committed pedophilia and deserves to be locked up in prison bars.
So, what does everyone else feel about this? Is there something I ain't understanding?

The Paedophilia laws did not apply to 17 year olds at that period of time in History. That was a very different period in time and Social attitudes were often quite different than those of today. You cannot criticise attitudes that are 110 years old with those of attitudes of today. That is like comparing an Apple with a Pear.

A 7-year age gap is certainly not uncommon today in the UK and the West.

 

[brionboyles]

I know I probably shouldn't ask this question as I don't want to make people uncomfortable, but screw it, I just feel like I have to say this. Does anyone else feel weird or find it concerning how so many couples that were dating on the Titanic have big age gaps between the lovers? Think about it.
John Jacob Astor was 47, Madeline Astor was 18. 29-year age gap, and I think we all know this was controversial since Madeline was alive for less than half of John's lifetime during the Titanic.
Karl Behr was 26, Helen Newsom was 19. I know one this is petty since it's only 7 years, but still.
Benjamin Guggenheim was 46, Leontine Aubart was 24. That's 22 years apart.
Albert Dick was 31, Vera Dick is disputed to be either 20 or 17. I swear to God, I hope it's 20 like Encyclopedia Titanica says she was, because Vera being 17 would mean Albert committed pedophilia and deserves to be locked up in prison bars.
So, what does everyone else feel about this? Is there something I ain't understanding?

Different era, different mores, different expectations.
My own great grandmother was married at 16 to her 27 year-old beau. "May-September" marriages were quite common then... and many such marriages were out of more than romantic or sexual relations.
The Astor case was scandalous for several reasons... her age was one, and the fact that Astor divorced... a shocking thing in High Society at the time.
Most thought girls/young women eligible for marriage at 16/17. Marriage laws to this day reflect this.
The "I know it's only 7 years apart, but still..." comment does seem to be a bit of an admission you are looking for nits to pick. "So many couples..." and you list 4... out of over 1300 passengers... does not seem (to me) to be particularly note-worthy.
Pedophilia, BTW, is a predilection for pre-pubescents... children who haven't reached puberty...certainly worthy of prison, but not the case with Albert Dick.

 

[Charles C. Deroko]

In 1870s Britain, the age of consent for a young girl was 13. Kidnapping was rife, as was the sale of daughters by economically desperate parents, and the luring of impoverished girls into brothels. Reformer William Stead, who perished on Titanic, actively fought against the victimization of young girls and wrote “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon,” to expose the crime of sexual exploitation of children. His article resulted in changes in the unenforced Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which raised the age of consent from 13 to 16. So Vera likely was legit.