Jamaica Inn

As the property owner of Jamaica Inn and the novel’s main antagonist, Joss Merlyn is a brutal, violent man standing nearly seven feet tall with broad shoulders and a rugged, weathered appearance. Joss’s character has been tarnished by guilt and his addiction to alcohol, though his former charisma is visible at times beneath the corruption. Mary recognizes that if he were a younger man, she would likely fall in love with him. Now, however, Joss’s wife, Aunt Patience, has changed significantly due to Joss’s abuse and tyranny. He hence epitomizes violent misogyny. Joss is the ringleader of a group of smugglers and wreckers. He has murdered many men, and their phantoms haunt him during his bouts of drinking; these specters are a feature of the Gothic tradition of which du Maurier became part in the 20th century. Joss recognizes that alcohol has ruined him, but he drinks compulsively. Despite his abusive behavior, Joss respects Mary because of her courage; he sees her as a worthy adversary. His soft spot for Mary saves her from even worse abuse at the hands of his colleagues, highlighting the pervasiveness of misogynistic abuse in the group of which he is a leader.

While Joss styles himself as the leader of the smugglers and wreckers, he actually works for Francis Davey, the accomplice to the murder Mary overhears in Jamaica Inn. However, Joss keeps this a secret from everyone. Through Joss’s reactions to others’ suggestions that he works for someone else, du Maurier explores constructions of masculinity and emasculation since Joss asserts his violent power over women when his sense of sovereignty is threatened. Neither Joss nor the Vicar ever explains how they met, but Davey makes it clear that he is the brains of the operation, while Joss, Harry, and the others are the brawn. Joss’s hubris proves to be his undoing. He repeatedly ignored the vicar’s insistence that they must stop wrecking, and Joss’s fatal mistake is the final wreck on Christmas Eve. Joss hence does not exhibit much character development throughout the novel; he is violent and hubristic until Davey murders Joss for his disobedience.

Jem Merlyn is the youngest of the Merlyn brothers and the main romantic interest of Mary Yellan. At times, Mary finds Jem both desirable and detestable. On the one hand, Jem is a criminal: Horse thievery is not as dire as wrecking—it is a comedic element of the novel at several points—but it still puts him afoul of the law. On the other hand, Jem is open by nature; his lack of a refined upbringing manifests as a type of roguish honesty. This is reflected by the fact that action on the wild and open moors that involves Jem results in safety and happiness, such as saving Mary, or going away with her at the end. Throughout the course of the novel, his and Mary’s relationship is complicated by Joss. Though Jem claims not to care for his brother, Mary cannot overlook the fact that they are both Merlyns—even Jem’s physical similarities to Joss make him suspect. This culminates in Mary suspecting him of being Joss’s accomplice, or even the mysterious ringleader of the smugglers and wreckers.

Though he is a criminal, Jem claims to never have killed anyone, something which Mary comes to doubt. Du Maurier uses Jem to leave the reader in suspense throughout the novel as red herrings that she plants are related to him, especially when a fortune teller says that Jem has blood on his hands. When Jem is forced to abandon Mary on Christmas Eve in Launceston, it threatens to cool their relationship. However, when Jem sees the cuts and bruises Mary sustains on the night of the final shipwreck, Jem vows to kill Joss. This not only makes him a prime suspect in Mary’s mind for the murderer of Joss and Patience, but also grants him some of the qualities of a traditional romantic hero. This culminates when Francis Davey is revealed to be the real murderer, and it is Jem who comes to Mary’s rescue. He kills the vicar and saves Mary, bringing his fortune to fruition. Jem’s idea of a wild and free life on the road appeals to Mary’s sense of adventure, and she leaves the area with him at the end of the novel.

Patience Merlyn is Mary’s aunt, her mother’s sister. Mary remembers Patience as a youthful, vivacious woman. However, it has been many years since Mary has heard from Patience. Her letter inviting Mary to live after the death of Mary’s mother is the first indication that a great change has taken place in Patience. After years of abuse and torment from her tyrannical husband, Joss, Patience has been negatively impacted. Everything about her appearance—from her thinning, wispy hair, to her nervous habit of working her mouth—is reflective of her broken spirit. Patience’s self-conscious awareness of her own mouth reflects du Maurier’s focus on images of mouths as externalizations of character throughout the novel, including the Merlyn brothers’ “cruel” mouths and Mary’s fixation on her lips after Joss touches them. Patience’s mental state continues to be impacted throughout Jamaica Inn.

Mary describes Patience’s behavior as “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” (24). Patience is loyal to Joss, despite his brutal behavior. Caught in the cycle of abuse, Patience makes excuses for Joss’s addiction to alcohol and his bad behaviors, indicating that she does believe that there is good in Joss. Mary’s sympathy for her aunt runs thin as the novel progresses, eventually becoming a veiled disgust for Patience’s weakness and willingness to cover up for Joss’s crimes. Patience hence symbolizes for Mary her own possible future in this place. Patience dies alongside her husband, a tragic figure, ultimately unable to claim any agency of her own.

Francis Davey is the Vicar of Altarnun, a town near Jamaica Inn and North Hill. Davey is an enigmatic character—a self-described “freak” due to his albinism and his distaste for the modern world. As the villain of the novel, he is the foundation for the novel’s theme of “Freakdom” and Villainy. He has pale white skin and hair, which frames his face and contrasts with his black vicar’s attire. His features are described as bird-like, and his most notable features are his pale white eyes and penetrating gaze. Mary initially sees the vicar as an ally against Joss; his position as a man of God makes him seem trustworthy, and he does initially have a reassuring attitude. However, the vicar’s behavioral quirks begin to cast doubt on his character and motives, signaling hints to the reader that Mary does not yet notice.

The vicar harbors a passion for the wild moorlands, first demonstrated when he rescues Mary from the moors and takes her home. The frenzied way in which he whips his horse across the moors foreshadows his propensity for violence. When Davey reveals himself to be the criminal mastermind behind Joss Merlyn’s smuggling and wrecking ring, he expounds on his personal philosophy to Mary. Davey feels that he was born centuries too late. He romanticizes the pre-Christian era; he attempted to achieve a type of spiritual stillness by joining the church but was unable. He sees himself as a wolf preaching to sheep. Through him, du Maurier features another element of the Gothic tradition: that of the unexplained, which is represented in the mysteries of “pagan” ritual paraphernalia on the moors. The vicar appears to have romantic feelings for Mary. He kidnaps her, fleeing into the moors, promising her he will show her the world; like Joss, Davey hence also epitomizes the gendered power dynamics in the novel in which men attempt to exert power and authority over women. Francis Davey is shot and killed by Jem Merlyn atop a tor in the moorlands.