Is the Fish Pendant Amelia Earhart Wore a Symbol of Absolution?

Not to be confused with Amelia Earhart's stylized fish pendant, this is a whimsical take on the fish motif. Photo copyright EraGem.   In 1932, photographer Everett Foley captured Amelia Earhart sitting atop a desk (see image here). The aviatrix sits atop a desk in a lacy white ensemble which embodies her feminine elegance. Her only ornaments are a jeweled belt and a silver fish pendant suspended from a silver chain. This unique piece of jewelry invites deeper exploration--no easy feat considering the famous pilot rarely wore more than a string of pearls and simple gold earrings. There is one account of a silver fish pendant, which Amelia presented to her dear friend, Dorothy Binney Putnam, in 1928, after completing her momentous transatlantic flight. Dorothy's pendant is described by her granddaughter, Sally Chapman, in her book, Whistled Like a Bird: "The fish is etched with tiny scales and a flat fin lies against its small side. There is a ring in its mouth that originally held a thin satin purple ribbon. On the reverse side the inscription reads: A.E.--6-18-28--D.B.P." {Chapman, 1997}. Ms. Chapman reports that Amelia Earhart chose the fish in honor of a play she saw with the Putnams just prior to her departure on the Friendship. 'The Good Hope' is a tragedy about fishermen and their wives. During a poignant scene, one of the wives, Truus, after speaking of what happens when a fisherman dies at sea, tearfully asserts: "The fish are dearly paid for." Throughout the rest of the play, the other wives pick up this dismal mantra. Shortly after presenting the gift to Dorothy, Amelia wrote in her book 20 hrs 40 min that the saying became a sort of motto for the crew aboard the Friendship. Throughout the flight, the inherent risks of living an adventurous life must have weighed heavily upon them. The inscription on the pendant suggests that the aviatrix had first made the motto hers before sharing it with her crew. The same words must have also haunted Dorothy, who most certainly worried that Amelia would drown in a watery grave like the fishermen. One must wonder, though, about the ring in the fish's mouth and the purple ribbon. There are some indications in Dorothy Putnam's diaries that she may have shared certain secrets with Amelia just before the pendant was made. For some time, Dorothy had been involved romantically with her son's live-in tutor, George Weymouth. It is possible that Amelia, drawing upon the legendary story of St. Kentigern, offered the fish as a sign of absolution. In the legend, an adulteress queen pleads to God for help after her murderess husband seeks to kill her for her indiscretions with a young knight. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the saint saves the woman from death by hooking and gutting a fish who had swallowed a ring. Perhaps Amelia wished to assure her friend that she would find no judgment from her. Adding the ribbon in purple, a color dear to the Suffragettes' hearts as a symbol of dignity, would only have driven the point home. Although Amelia Earhart would very soon become an adulteress herself, and with none other than Dorothy's husband, it would seem that never an angry moment was shared between the two women. In fact, Ms. Chapman intimates that Dorothy may have welcomed the affair between her friend and her husband as a sure way out of a dead-end marriage. As the portrait above implies, Amelia's fondness for the symbolic fish carried over into her wardrobe. Since it does not appear to be exactly as the one described in Ms. Chapman's account, Amelia may have had this one made for herself to remind her of both the perils of adventure and the sanctuary of dear friends who allow for mistakes and offer redemption.