Deliberate mistake: In the scene at the start of the movie with the "authentic" piece of film, you can see a girl with a hat waving to the people at the ground. When the ship is leaving port in the film, she and others are in the same positions, only in reverse, because the first "authentic" shot is the same shot, only mirrored. (00:00:40 - 00:25:30)
Deliberate mistake: In actuality, the Palm Court (the place where Rose, Cal, and Ruth have lunch with Thomas Andrews, Bruce Ismay, and Molly Brown) did not serve full meals. Only beverages and small snacks like tea sandwiches, pastries, and crumpets were served there. It is quite obvious that the group is supposed to be having lunch based on the items they order (sausage, lamb, salmon, etc). James Cameron probably set the lunch scene in this location rather than the First-Class Dining Saloon or the A La Carte Restaurant (the only locations where a First-Class passenger could order a full meal, besides their stateroom, of course) so that Jack and Rose would have a realistic chance of seeing each other for the first time, being as the Palm Court veranda overlooked the Poop Deck. (00:32:30)
Deliberate mistake: Even though the movie uses the correct number of rockets, the timing is awful. The last rocket was fired at 1:40 AM at the latest. In the movie, the last rocket is fired when the last boat to be lowered on the davits leaves (the one Rose gets, and jumps off of). This would make it 2:05 in James Cameron's Titanic time. It was probably changed to add more drama to that heart-throbbing scene... (02:18:30)
Deliberate mistake: When Jack and Rose are adrift in the ocean, the stars behind them are not the right ones for that time and date. In fact, it's not any sky ever seen on Earth. The right half of the sky is a mirror image of the left half. The fimmakers deliberately positioned the stars to form the shape of the pendant 'Heart of the Ocean.' (02:46:00)
Deliberate mistake: When the lifeboat crew are searching the water for survivors, they are using lanterns. It has been admitted by James Cameron himself that the real Titanic crew didn't have lanterns in the lifeboats, but this was the only way to light the shot. (02:45:55)
Chosen answer: Because she is considered, in a minor sense, a "villain" in this film for forcing her daughter into a loveless arranged marriage to satisfy her personal wants, most fans probably speculate that she became a poor and penniless seamstress and lived out her life working in a factory. Of course, this is possible, without the financial security of the arranged marriage between Cal and Rose. However, it is difficult to believe that a woman of such status, and who has so many wealthy and powerful friends, would be allowed to languish in abject poverty doing menial labors. I would tend to believe that she probably sold a number of her possessions for money (she did mention that as part of the humiliation she would face if Rose were to refuse Cal's affections), and probably lived off the kindness of others. Given that her daughter was betrothed to a Hockley, his family might have felt an obligation to assist her in finding a suitable living arrangement and a situation for employment. It is also possible that she re-married into wealth. However, this is more unlikely, mainly because back in 1912, it was considered scandalous to re-marry, especially at Ruth's age. However, since Ruth does not make an appearance after surviving the sinking of the Titanic in a lifeboat number 6 (next to Molly Brown), nor is she mentioned again, her fate is left unknown and subject only to speculation.
Michael Albert
In that era, with Rose betrothed to Call, Cal would most definitely have provided for Ruth in the lifestyle she was accustomed to. As Cal angrily raged at Rose the morning after her excursion below decks, "You are my wife in custom if not yet in practice ", thus, society would have viewed him a villain had he not cared for Ruth once it was assumed Rose was dead.