JAMAICA INN: Week 1, Chapters 1 - 6

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Please use this thread for discussion of Chapters 1 - 6 of Jamaica Inn.  Please clearly mark a SPOILER WARNING if your post contains plot points from later in the novel.

[KathyS]

Once I started reading this book, I found it so enjoyable,  it was hard to take my time,  but when I did, I savored the writing's deliciousness. 

English writing/writers have always captivated me in their fullness of speech, but DuMaurier especially, she definitely has a way with words; sentences that go on for miles, just like her 'moors'..... Lots of descriptive narrative, with so little dialogue that when you do come to it, your hunger makes you relish it more!

I had to laugh at the first sentence of the first chapter.  My writing group discusses a lot of things, and one of those things is, to never start a story with description of weather, which I'm personally inclined to do (it's been pointed out to me).  And this is exactly what DuMaurier does!  Of course, as I've been told, some writers can get away with it, making it successful.  It would be nice if I were included in this elite class!  Ha!

But, in the case of DuMaurier, everything revolves around the weather!  It sets the stage, big and bold.  It sets the demeanor of the landscape, making it alive, as if it were necessary to the characters, to know how to live - allowing you, then, to feel the characters' senses.  Cold and wet, the sun, the wind - Feeling the atmosphere is the one thing DuMaurier will put inside of you.  Half the time I've felt like taking a hot shower, or snuggling down in my warm bed, while reading this book!

Either walking, or riding in a coach or trap, you never left the weather behind you.

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Another quite famous book starts with a description of the weather, too:  Jane Eyre.  I'm on a re-read (via audiobook while driving to/from work) and it starts with "There would be no possibility of taking a walk that day" and then goes on to talk about how dreary a November day it is.

And then, of course, there is the very famous opening "It was a dark and stormy night" - tsk, tsk, these modern writing groups.

Du Maurier's opening does set the scene - lonely, desolate, and not just a little freaky.

[dulcinea3]

I'm four chapters in, and hopefully will finish this first section tonight.  It is a reread for me, but it has been years since I last read it.

I agree that the description of the weather and landscape definitely sets the mood!  There are also passages that contrast the area that Mary came from with the area that she finds herself in now.  She grew up in gentle, rolling farmland, with sunshine and babbling brooks, apparently, and now finds herself in such a forbidding, barren landscape.  But I give her credit for being adventuresome and going out walking to explore her new environment.  In that respect, she seems to be determined to make the best of the situation.

Mention of the moors of course reminds me of the Brontes, but I wonder how similar or different these moors are to theirs.  Cornwall is a long way from Yorkshire, and I would imagine the climate and vegetation would be somewhat different.  Cornwall is at 'land's end', the most southwest part of England, while Yorkshire is way up in the north.

It was interesting to see what Mary expected when she was going to live with her aunt and uncle, and then what she found there.  At first she thought she was going to be living in a town, when she was used to the countryside.  She also definitely expected her relatives to be genteel folk, and was nervous that she wouldn't be refined enough for them.  This was also influenced by what she remembered of her aunt when she had met her before the marriage to Joss, pretty and well-dressed.  What a surprise to find out how much Patience has changed, and that she, Mary, even though she is a simple farmgirl, is probably the most refined person in the household!

Mary also has a wonderful imagination.  She is always imagining little stories.  Like when she was nervous about continuing on to Jamaica Inn, and envisioned an entire scenario around the idea of having asked the woman in the coach if she could come home with her.  And when she saw the area that Joss had told her about and imagined Matthew's getting stuck and drowning in the most minute detail.

Imaginative, adventuresome, and courageous - I think Mary will need all those qualities to survive at Jamaica Inn!  Great heroine!

[KathyS]

a few photos of the landscape around Cornwall.  I can picture ships running aground on this coastline!  Foreboding....

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=%2bCornwall%2c+England+landscape&view=detail&id=AD09E1610585C2D5...

[KathyS]

[KathyS]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I'm four chapters in, and hopefully will finish this first section tonight.  It is a reread for me, but it has been years since I last read it.

I agree that the description of the weather and landscape definitely sets the mood!  There are also passages that contrast the area that Mary came from with the area that she finds herself in now.  She grew up in gentle, rolling farmland, with sunshine and babbling brooks, apparently, and now finds herself in such a forbidding, barren landscape.  But I give her credit for being adventuresome and going out walking to explore her new environment.  In that respect, she seems to be determined to make the best of the situation.

Mention of the moors of course reminds me of the Brontes, but I wonder how similar or different these moors are to theirs.  Cornwall is a long way from Yorkshire, and I would imagine the climate and vegetation would be somewhat different.  Cornwall is at 'land's end', the most southwest part of England, while Yorkshire is way up in the north.

It was interesting to see what Mary expected when she was going to live with her aunt and uncle, and then what she found there.  At first she thought she was going to be living in a town, when she was used to the countryside.  She also definitely expected her relatives to be genteel folk, and was nervous that she wouldn't be refined enough for them.  This was also influenced by what she remembered of her aunt when she had met her before the marriage to Joss, pretty and well-dressed.  What a surprise to find out how much Patience has changed, and that she, Mary, even though she is a simple farmgirl, is probably the most refined person in the household!

Mary also has a wonderful imagination.  She is always imagining little stories.  Like when she was nervous about continuing on to Jamaica Inn, and envisioned an entire scenario around the idea of having asked the woman in the coach if she could come home with her.  And when she saw the area that Joss had told her about and imagined Matthew's getting stuck and drowning in the most minute detail.

Imaginative, adventuresome, and courageous - I think Mary will need all those qualities to survive at Jamaica Inn!  Great heroine!

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I was thinking through what you've said, here, and visualizing, again, what we were seeing through Mary's eyes, and feeling what she felt. 

I think I'd be scared out of my wits, if put in this horribly lonely, menacing position.  I feel for Mary's aunt, too, as Mary does.  I want Joss gone for good, and never to return!  But, he comes back and plagues the household, and tests Mary's courage.  He's a brutal man!  Talk about abusive!

Joss is threatening, in DuMaurier's description of him, but Mary stands up to him, never to appear frightened in front of him....he likes that about her. (small consolation, but it helps.)  I do feel that Mary gives her aunt a certain amount of relief, but she also worries her aunt....don't rock the boat, Mary, he hasn't killed me yet, so leave well enough alone!(my voice interpreting dear auntie's)

Mary's courage is a stark contrast to Aunt Patience's:  "....simpering...strained, haunted expression, fixed, almost idiot stare that she wore habitually in the presence of her husband....the nervy, shattered creature of before."

The bar scene was ugly, and that Mary was forced to be part of it was despicable.  It gave me the shivers, I could vividly picture these men, and the smell that emanated from them all....ugh....and Mary not knowing what to expect from this crowd, and from Joss.  He threatens her with physical harm....to keep her mouth shut about what she sees!  But, our Mary sees and hears more than she lets on....and the plot, and drink, thickens.....along with Joss's brain!

[KathyS]

Joss, as I see him, is a multifaceted character.  There is good, and there is evil in this man.  I struggled with him, even to the end of this story.  I think Mary did also.  We, as readers, and Mary, just begin to see this man, and wonder what he is about.  His personal life is a mystery, but soon unfolds before us.  Drink is is nemesis.  Questions start to surface: 

     Who are these men that come to the Inn?  What do they want, why do they meet here?  Is this the evil side showing its colors?  And what do these town folk know, that we don't?

Mary is finding her way, sometimes cautiously, sometimes boldly.  She does walk the terrain, showing us the wide expanse of these moors,  the dangers that lie hidden....the region that DuMaurier wants us to feel, and ingrain within our souls. 

Patience, is a wave, an ocean's current -  we ride on its crest to its heights, and flow on its tides to its lows.  She's a catalyst of emotional tension between Joss and Mary, and us.  I found myself comparing these three people, as they came together each time in a room.  The room takes on a color all of its own...differing in shades of darkness, sinister - brightness, calm.

The conflicts that we see throughout this novel are elements that beat at us, as if a character is saying, "See me! watch me!  feel me!" 

Then the characters, themselves, infuse us with a myriad of issues, whether religious, political, or moral, they seep into this story and become one with this landscape called fiction, non fiction.

I felt myself wanting to walk these moors with Mary, wanting to run as far away from these people as my legs could carry me.  But, Patience keeps us there.  Patience, a name that translates into Mary as having....Patience.

Kathy

[KathyS]

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Melissa_W wrote:

Another quite famous book starts with a description of the weather, too:  Jane Eyre.  I'm on a re-read (via audiobook while driving to/from work) and it starts with "There would be no possibility of taking a walk that day" and then goes on to talk about how dreary a November day it is.

And then, of course, there is the very famous opening "It was a dark and stormy night" - tsk, tsk, these modern writing groups.

Du Maurier's opening does set the scene - lonely, desolate, and not just a little freaky.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_was_a_dark_and_stormy_night

Yes, I brought this up to my, "modern writing group", this morning....Obviously a well used, or overly used, phrase!  Why I was used as their example, I'll never know, but it irritated me enough to ask, why the aversion to weather, as I noted DuMaurier's beginning to them....and further more, My night wasn't dark and stormy!!  Writers, good grief!  I didn't bother to bring anything to read....I wasn't in the mood.

We have one old coot, the initiator of this group, who can't talk about anything but himself!  Drove me nuts...I was in the midst of 'critiquing' one of the other writers, yes, it was my turn....and this guy just had to interrupt me, several times, to talk about himself...nothing to do with this other person's writing!  Geeze, oh hemlock!  The atmosphere in this room, around me, turned fuchsia!  I couldn't wait to get out of there...before I throttled him!  It was a dark and stormy morning!!

[Melissa_W Moderator]

Back when we read Wuthering Heights (August 2007) there was a fast-and-furious discussion about Gothic elements in WH and whether or not it can be considered a Gothic novel.

Now we're back reading another novel with Gothic elements.  Keeping in mind the (rather long) list of elements in Gothic literature, do you think this is a proper Gothic novel or one that just uses the genre to "set the mood"?

[KathyS]

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Melissa_W wrote:

Back when we read Wuthering Heights (August 2007) there was a fast-and-furious discussion about Gothic elements in WH and whether or not it can be considered a Gothic novel.

Now we're back reading another novel with Gothic elements.  Keeping in mind the (rather long) list of elements in Gothic literature, do you think this is a proper Gothic novel or one that just uses the genre to "set the mood"?

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Good question, Melissa! 

To be honest, I didn't view this as a Gothic novel, although, it certainly had a lot of these elements.  I did picture this Inn being a place where sinister and foreboding things happened, but not enough to make me afraid of the place, itself...the characters didn't convey any of that...and the architecture, as I see it now, certainly wasn't what I was expecting, or pictured. 

I fantasized this place as sitting on the edge of a cliff, as in the picture on the book, I was programmed to see that.....so I pictured it to be more Moorish in its architecture.  No hidden passages were seen, just squeaky floorboards, and ticking and chiming of that clock!  Nothing like being reminded of midnight, and not being able to sleep!

The locked room, just another room.  The rooms themselves, almost felt uninhabitable, though...I certainly would be doing some renovating, and re-decorating, if I lived there for any length of time!  I'm surprised people didn't die from the mold!

Yes, I thought about all of this.

The one character who does give me the chills, is the Albino minister....I had a feeling about him, from the very onset of his introduction to the story.   Something about him holds a mystery...too good to be true?   Being an old mystery reader, I've always plotted out these characters in my mind...but, you never know until the very end of these types of books....is he the good guy, or the bad guy?  Since I've now read the book through, I won't give any spoilers away. 

An aside:  The love interest of Mary, yum...I knew there had to be one.....but could I become involved with someone of his character, and his looking so much like his nasty brother?  Don't know if I could....we'll see what Mary decides.

The atmosphere is spelled out, generously, in this novel, but it's spelled out almost too much, to where the Gothic, evil dwelling, doesn't show through.  The actions of these characters were pretty predictable, it was the situations that DuMaurier put them in, that wasn't always predictable. It was in the telling of this story, that made it simply a delicious mystery.   If this makes sense.

[dulcinea3]

I agree that Joss is a bit of an enigma.  He seems pretty irredeemable, but at the same time, there is an occasional spark of humanity.  He's been pretty honest with Mary, telling her about his drinking problem, how he gets when he drinks, his life story, etc.  He warns her because I think he doesn't want anything to happen to her.  The men stay away from her in the bar because they mistakenly take her to be a new 'fancy woman' for Joss, but I think that Joss would protect her from them.  He sees the pathetic creature that his wife has become, but I think he does still have some buried feelings for her, and that regard extends to her niece.  Plus, he does like Mary because she is smart and has spunk.  And then there are those hands - brutal and delicate at the same time.

Near the end of this section, some new characters showed up.  Squire Bassatt and his servant Richard; I don't think Mary will find much help there.  He seems obsessed in catching Joss up to something.  Then there is Jem.  Mary was certainly insolent and rude to him when they met, especially taking the pipe from his mouth and breaking it on the floor.  I loved the comment he made when Joss arrived, about how Mary broke his pipe and refused to serve him!  Mary's attitude towards him seems to change rapidly, though.  At first she couldn't stand him, but by the time he left, after speaking to her again, more civilly, she wanted to confide in him (but didn't trust him enough yet), and recognized that he was better-looking than his brother, and probably how Joss looked twenty years ago.  Finally, the Reverend Davey rescues Mary on the moor.  I suppose if traditional plot twists apply, Jem will turn out to be the good guy and Davey will turn out to be the bad guy!

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

[Melissa_W Moderator]

I wouldn't have put it in the 'gothic novel' category but Lucy does see ghosts (or at least think she sees the ghost of a nun reportedly buried on the grounds) and later finds a nun's habit in the attic (SPOILER for those who haven't read it, it turns out to be a disguise for someone's loverboy).

So a little gothic in places

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dulcinea3 wrote:

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

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[dulcinea3]

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Melissa_W wrote:

I wouldn't have put it in the 'gothic novel' category but Lucy does see ghosts (or at least think she sees the ghost of a nun reportedly buried on the grounds) and later finds a nun's habit in the attic (SPOILER for those who haven't read it, it turns out to be a disguise for someone's loverboy).

So a little gothic in places

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dulcinea3 wrote:

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

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Ah, I had actually forgotten about that bit!  Thanks for reminding me, Melissa!  Yes, I guess that is a Gothic touch!

[Melissa_W Moderator]

There is an interesting parallel between Mary - as she surveys the dark, wet, and cold Cornwall landscapte and reminices happily about Helford - and North and South's Margaret Hale - romanticizing her home at Helstone while travelling to the dirty and strange Milltown.

Although Margaret is at least travelling with her parents while Mary is all alone.

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KathyS wrote:

I was thinking through what you've said, here, and visualizing, again, what we were seeing through Mary's eyes, and feeling what she felt. 

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[dulcinea3]

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Melissa_W wrote:

There is an interesting parallel between Mary - as she surveys the dark, wet, and cold and reminices happily about Helford - and North and South's Margaret Hale - romanticizing her home at Helstone while travelling to the dirty and strange Milltown.

Although Margaret is at least travelling with her parents while Mary is all alone.

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KathyS wrote:

I was thinking through what you've said, here, and visualizing, again, what we were seeing through Mary's eyes, and feeling what she felt. 

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Well, you beat me to that! I have been thinking off and on of that parallel, but was going to wait until I started posting in the second week thread to mention it (I've read the first two chapters of that section, and she is thinking of Helford again).

The descriptions of Helford and Helstone do remind me of each other, and of course the similarity of the names!  Both sunny agricultural villages in the south.  And a great contrast to where Mary and Margaret end up.  Although Margaret ends up in a city or large town, while Mary is out in the wilds of the moors.  And Margaret has moved to the north of the country, while Mary has only moved to the north of the county and is still very much in the south of the country.  This again makes me wonder how different (or similar) the moors of Cornwall and the moors of Yorkshire are.

Another book that I am reminded of while reading the descriptions of the moors is The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, which we read last year on the Classics board.  In both cases, there are references to the primeval character of the barren countryside, how it predates human civilization and remains largely untouched.  Du Maurier does not obsess over it as much as Hardy does, but I have caught several such passages.

[Melissa_W Moderator]

I had not thought of ROTN but it does seem very similar in the level of description.  Thanks, Dulcie

[KathyS]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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Melissa_W wrote:

I wouldn't have put it in the 'gothic novel' category but Lucy does see ghosts (or at least think she sees the ghost of a nun reportedly buried on the grounds) and later finds a nun's habit in the attic (SPOILER for those who haven't read it, it turns out to be a disguise for someone's loverboy).

So a little gothic in places

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dulcinea3 wrote:

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

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Ah, I had actually forgotten about that bit!  Thanks for reminding me, Melissa!  Yes, I guess that is a Gothic touch!

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I hate to be a spoil-sport, but do you guys think we can talk about "this" novel?  If you keep interjecting scenes, and characters, from other novels, I'm going to start wondering what story I've been reading! 

[dulcinea3]

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KathyS wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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Melissa_W wrote:

I wouldn't have put it in the 'gothic novel' category but Lucy does see ghosts (or at least think she sees the ghost of a nun reportedly buried on the grounds) and later finds a nun's habit in the attic (SPOILER for those who haven't read it, it turns out to be a disguise for someone's loverboy).

So a little gothic in places

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dulcinea3 wrote:

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

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Ah, I had actually forgotten about that bit!  Thanks for reminding me, Melissa!  Yes, I guess that is a Gothic touch!

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I hate to be a spoil-sport, but do you guys think we can talk about "this" novel?  If you keep interjecting scenes, and characters, from other novels, I'm going to start wondering what story I've been reading! 

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Sorry, Kathy, but I don't think you are going to break my habit of trying to find parallels and connections between various works that I have read!

[KathyS]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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KathyS wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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Melissa_W wrote:

I wouldn't have put it in the 'gothic novel' category but Lucy does see ghosts (or at least think she sees the ghost of a nun reportedly buried on the grounds) and later finds a nun's habit in the attic (SPOILER for those who haven't read it, it turns out to be a disguise for someone's loverboy).

So a little gothic in places

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dulcinea3 wrote:

Is this novel Gothic?  Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of classifying it like that, although I suppose it does have some elements.  I read that wikipedia entry, and was amazed at some of the decidedly non-Gothic examples they gave at the end - if Villette is Gothic, I'll eat my hat!  Now, Jane Eyre definitely has Gothic elements, but I can't see any in Villette.

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Ah, I had actually forgotten about that bit!  Thanks for reminding me, Melissa!  Yes, I guess that is a Gothic touch!

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I hate to be a spoil-sport, but do you guys think we can talk about "this" novel?  If you keep interjecting scenes, and characters, from other novels, I'm going to start wondering what story I've been reading! 

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Sorry, Kathy, but I don't think you are going to break my habit of trying to find parallels and connections between various works that I have read!

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Fine, be that way....see if I share one of my mugs with you. 

Let's see now....Comparing...Connections.... Parallels....Did you hear the one about the new Bibles that were just published?.....Talk about horror stories!  Changing the text!: Is it censorship, or not????  The characters are unparalleled!

Dum...de da,  dum, dum,....da!

And the price of rhubarb and peanut butter in South Africa keeps going up, and up, and up.....