Why can't Jack find the Chest himself? Does he want Lizzie or is it something else he wants and we just don't know it yet?

Written, it should be the adjective form, which rhymes with "both," but we wanted it pronounced in the verb form, which rhymes with "clothe." So it's a misspelling, but an intentional one (so people heard "loathe" in connection to Jack's problem with the compass ... he wants something he is reluctant to claim, and is disgusted with himself. For wanting it, or for being reluctant to claim it, or both?).

Jack finds himself in a tough spot -- he thinks the thing he wants most is to find the chest of Davy Jones, but the Compass is telling him there is at least one other thing he would want more. Yes, the big clue as to what that might be comes in Tia Dalma's shack -- "what is it that vexes a man?" And Jack says, "A woman."

In the text of the movie, then, there's no way to NOT make the connection ... a guy has a problem with his Compass ... says that the thing that vexes all men is a woman. Ergo, Jack is vexed by a woman.

So who is the woman?

It's interesting, when you think about it, because the film does not say explicity. Tia Dalma makes the connection that -- in another story -- a man fell in love with a woman as wild and untamable as the sea.

So ... does the Compass not work because Jack is in love with the sea, a feminine symbol -- more than needing the Chest?

On the other hand, there is no denying the chemistry and heat that occures between Jack and Elizabeth (and their connection on Rumrunner's island.) Does the Compass not work because Elizabeth crossed into Jack's life -- and he wants her, that connection with another human being that even the sea cannot provide? Does Jack see qualities in Elizabeth (and all women) that are similar to the sea itself?

Provocative questions.

My belief is that Jack is truly 'vexed.' Vexed is not the same as 'in love' (hah, though some might say it is close). It's not the same as 'want' although one can be vexed by themselves and the things they find themselves wanting. All we know is Jack crosses paths with Elizabeth and all of a sudden his Compass is spinning. (Were it me, I might have found it interesting to see if the Compass indeed pointed at Elizabeth when Jack held it, but the film doesn't show that.) The film shows the Compass spinning, so there should be no complaints along the lines that Jack is easily, safely, romantically, simply in love with Elizabeth moreso than the Pearl or the sea -- the film doesn't say that. (We even go so far as to say the opposite -- to Elizabeth herself!! -- "My first and only love is the sea.")

What the film does show is Elizabeth has vexed Jack's Compass. A man who used to simply love only freedom finds -- to his own great consternation -- a part of him wants something that he doesn't fully understand. But he wants it (he even says -- again to Elizabeth!! -- "I want to taste it.")

Now suddenly we have a man who used to have a simple desire -- freedom as offered by his ship and the sea -- who now finds himself with a bit of inner turmoil. Torn. Is there a desire for Elizabeth and could it grow? Perhaps Elizabeth, or being with Elizabeth, represent his desire to let that 'honest streak' come out and live the life of a good man?

Maybe. The point being, even Jack could not say for sure what the Compass is doing, or what it shows, as Jack, or parts of Jack, are a mystery to even Jack himself.

He is VEXED.

So...yes. I trust that is a sufficient answer for Mother of LoR?