Flying Dutchman | Captain, Myth & Origin (2024)

FAQs

What is the origin of the Flying Dutchman story? ›

The Flying Dutchman (Dutch: De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and of Dutch maritime power.

Lesson Summary. The Flying Dutchman is a European maritime legend about a phantom ship condemned to sail forever. Dutch folklore designates the captain as Hendrik Vander Decken, whose mission is to find the Cape of Good Hope. However, a freak storm thwarted the captain, and he could reach his destination.

The subway car itself, endlessly traveling the same course, is symbolic of "The Course of History." Another layer of the title's symbolism is the myth of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship which, much like the subway car Clay rides on, endlessly sails on with a crew that is unable to escape the confines of the vessel.

In real life the Flying Dutchman was a 17th century Dutch merchantman, captained by Captain Hendrick Van Der Decken, a skilled seaman but one of few scruples, and in 1680 was proceeding from Amsterdam to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies.

There have been many sightings over the years, although the last reported one was by a Nazi submarine in WWII. Some sightings involved the Flying Dutchman sailing quickly through calm waters while the majority of sailors have spotted it during extremely stormy weather with wind and waves crashing all around.

Dutchman, one-act drama by Amiri Baraka, produced and published in 1964 under the playwright's original name LeRoi Jones. Dutchman presents a stylized encounter that illustrates hatred between blacks and whites in America as well as the political and psychological conflicts facing black American men in the 1960s.

In the most common version, the captain, Vanderdecken, gambles his salvation on a rash pledge to round the Cape of Good Hope during a storm and so is condemned to that course for eternity; it is this rendering which forms the basis of the opera Der fliegende Holländer (1843) by the German composer Richard Wagner.

The play is steeped in symbolic meaning. The subway car itself serves as a microcosm of society, a confined space where escape from uncomfortable realities is impossible. Lula's predatory behavior towards Clay symbolizes the historical and ongoing exploitation and subjugation of African Americans by white society.

Almost a decade after meeting his father on the Dutchman, Henry was able to find and break the Trident with the help of Jack Sparrow. As a result, Will's curse was broken and he was finally free of his duty aboard the Dutchman. The Dutchman surfaced near land and Will came ashore, reuniting with his family.

He summons his men to resume their endless voyage. But as they set sail, Senta throws herself into the sea, vowing to be faithful to him in death. Redeemed by her sacrifice, the Dutchman ascends to heaven with Senta, and his ghost ship finally disappears.

Who is the author of the legend the Flying Dutchman? ›

John MacDonald, 1790

The common story is, that this Dutchman came to the Cape in distress of weather, and wanted to get into the harbour, but could not get a pilot to conduct her, and was lost; and that ever since, in very bad weather, her vision appears.

Turns out the word comes from the Old High German diota, meaning “people” or “nation.” In 9th century Germany this word was used to mean roughly “what regular people talk” (as opposed to Latin) and soon came to be a broad ethnic term referring to anyone who spoke German as their vernacular.

However, Jones could not step on land but once every ten years and by abandoning his duty as the ferryman to the afterlife he brought a curse upon himself and his crew, which caused their transformation into fish-men.

Behind the scenes

With every year that passes, the crewmen become less human, their bodies taking on traits from the sea, until eventually they become part of the Flying Dutchman itself. After Jones' own death, the crew turned back to normal, with Will Turner as the new captain of the Dutchman.

Despite his antisocial behavior and malevolence, the Flying Dutchman is not pure evil without companionship.

The look of the Flying Dutchman was inspired by the 17th century Dutch fluyt vessels and the Vasa, a real-life Swedish warship which sank in 1628. The Flying Dutchman has sails that make it easier to sail against the wind.

Almost a decade after meeting his father on the Dutchman, Henry was able to find and break the Trident with the help of Jack Sparrow. As a result, Will's curse was broken and he was finally free of his duty aboard the Dutchman. The Dutchman surfaced near land and Will came ashore, reuniting with his family.

Davy Jones' locker is a metaphor for the oceanic abyss, the final resting place of drowned sailors and travellers. It is a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean (to be sent to Davy Jones' Locker).

However, a few years later, Turner resigned himself to the fact that his service was eternal, which seemingly led to the return of the original curse, with the ship and its crew reverting to their cursed forms.