Jamaica Inn

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses domestic abuse, sexual violence, and ableism.

“‘I don’t want to make trou­ble,’ he re­peat­ed, ‘and I don’t know an­y­thing. It’s only what peo­ple say. Re­spect­a­ble folk don’t go to Ja­mai­ca an­y­more. That’s all I know. In the old days we used to wa­ter the hors­es there, and feed them, and go in for a bit of a bite and drink. But we don’t stop there an­y­more. We whip the hors­es past and wait for noth­ing, not till we get to Five Lanes, and then we don’t bide long.’”

The reactions Mary receives when she tells people that her destination is Jamaica Inn foreshadow the difficulties that lie ahead for her. The inn’s bad reputation precedes itself, and honest locals avoid the area entirely.

“‘You mustn’t mind your Un­cle Joss,’ she said, her man­ner chang­ing sud­den­ly, fawn­ing al­most, like a whim­per­ing dog that has been trained by con­stant cru­el­ty to im­plic­it obe­di­ence, and who, in spite of kicks and curs­es, will fight like a ti­ger for its mas­ter.”

Aunt Patience’s obedience to her husband evokes pathos and is a mark of how deeply Joss has broken her spirit. Patience has little personality or spirit beyond her devotion to Joss. This is an indication of the abuse she suffers. Like with Francis Davey’s paintings, du Maurier uses the effects of the uncanny to unsettle the reader: Patience’s sudden change makes the reader encounter this familiar character in an oddly taboo and unfamiliar context.

“‘That’s very pret­ty,’ he said; ‘very pret­ti­ly put in­deed. Now we know just what sort of lodg­er we have. Scratch her, and she shows her claws. All right, my dear; you and I are more akin than I thought. If we are go­ing to play, we’ll play to­geth­er. I may have work for you at Ja­mai­ca one day, work that you’ve nev­er done be­fore. Man’s work, Mary Yellan, where you play with life and death.’”

Joss respects Mary for standing up for herself; her courage makes her a potential accomplice or at least a worthy adversary. His reference to “claws” juxtaposes with the oddly delicate physicality of his own hands. Joss also hints at the dark business going on behind the scenes at Jamaica Inn, which is a vital part of his character exposition since it demonstrates that he enjoys bragging about his dangerous life.