Jamaica Inn

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1935

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-9

Chapters 10-14

Chapters 15-18

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Moors

Moors are a unique landscape in the British Isles, characterized by plains, marshes, and rocky hill/outcroppings called tors. The moorlands are described as “a silent, desolate country though, vast and untouched by human hand,” through which “[s]trange winds blew from nowhere” (41). When the wind does not blow, “there was a stillness in the air, and a stranger, older peace, that was not the peace of God” (30). The moors of Jamaica Inn are symbolic of the wild nature of the country in which Mary finds herself, as well as the isolation and danger that she faces there. The moors are the optimal location for Joss’s smuggling ring due to their isolation and proximity both to the ocean and the high road. Joss and his men are all natives to the area, meaning that they know the secret paths and byways that can lead one safely across the moors or where one can hide oneself when they need to lie low, such as when the group botches their final wreck and disbands. Du Maurier also uses the moors as a plot device to introduce Mary to Francis Davey, a character closely associated with the moorlands, foreshadowing his attempt to kidnap Mary and flee with her into the moors. The vicar believes that he is living in the wrong era; he feels more closely associated with the pre-Christian history of the British Isles. He laments that “[t]he silence is gone, even on the hills. I thought to find it in the Christian Church, but the dogma sickened me, and the whole foundation is built upon a fairy-tale. Christ Himself is a figurehead, a puppet thing created by man himself” (224). The moors are the closest he can get to the old times. However, the indifferent nature of the landscape proves that even people accustomed to it can be led astray. Matthew Merlyn, for example, drowned in Twelve Men Moor when Jem was young. Francis Davey likewise is taken off guard by a sudden fog on the moors as he flees with Mary, ultimately leading to his death.

Joss Merlyn’s Hands

Joss Merlyn is a massive man, standing nearly seven feet tall, and is shown to possess great physical strength. Throughout the novel, du Maurier shows Mary dwelling on several of Joss’s features: his mouth, which is similar to Jem’s; his teeth, his one positive feature not yet ruined by alcohol; and, especially, his hands. Joss’s hands are surprisingly delicate for such a large, powerful man. On her first night at the inn, Mary notices this when Joss slices bread. By this point, she has already formed the opinion that he is dangerous; he seems to be nothing more than a brute and a blowhard. When she sees the dexterity of which he is capable, “to Mary there was something almost horrifying in the change from rough brutality to fastidious care. It was as though there was some latent power in his fingers which turned them from bludgeons into deft and cunning servants” (26). Joss’s hands are symbolic of the cunning enterprise he heads; they show that there is more to Joss than meets the eye. He is not just a brute, but he is capable of heading lucrative and deadly operations that require brains as well as brawn. If it seems incongruous that such a large brute of a man has such dexterous, delicate hands, the effect is purposeful. Joss turns out to be the underling of Francis Davey, who, on the surface, appears much less dangerous and much more delicate than Joss. Joss’s hands symbolically betray the fact that he works for Davey. Joss’s criminal accomplishments are not executions of his own design but the vicar’s; for all of his bravado, Joss’s actions are not his own. When Joss actually does act on his own, leading the wreckers to score one final time on Christmas Eve, he proves an incompetent leader. Without the vicar’s “hands” in the operation, Joss botches the job, dooming himself.

The Spirit of Adventure

Throughout Jamaica Inn, Mary is filled with the spirit of adventure, a motif that appears whenever she comes against an adversary like Joss or Francis Davey, or when she subverts gendered expectations by behaving boldly or recklessly. She first experiences this when drinking the well water at Jamaica Inn which invigorates her spirit, emboldening her to question Patience about Joss. Mary’s spirit of adventure pushes her to take risks, such as going with Jem to the fair on Christmas Eve. When Francis Davey kidnaps Mary, he tries to get her to come along voluntarily, chiding, “Come, where is that spirit of adventure which you have made your own? Where is your courage, and your gallantry?” (227). These words allude to the features of protagonists of 19th-century adventure novels contemporary to the period in which Jamaica Inn is set. While Mary thinks of the spirit of adventure as something extraneous to her, it is in fact a part of her. It indicates her courageousness and independence—that part of her personality that refuses to bend to Joss’s will like Aunt Patience and instead opposes him, despite the danger that brings. It structures the narrative arc of the novel since it drives the romantic plot and the novel’s resolution; it is the part of her that resonates with Jem’s personality, and it is the main reason why Mary leaves with him at the end of the novel for the uncertainty and adventure of a life on the road, rather than going back to the safety and conformity of Helford.