RebeccaMary Yellan is about to find out that life is not always as nice as it was when she lived on the farm with her mother. They did they best they could, but after her mother died, there was nothing for her there. She promised her mother that she would go to her Aunt Patience. However, on the trip out, she finds that Jamaica Inn is not a respected place, but no one can tell her exactly what is wrong with it. A promise is a promise after all, and she can’t break her word to her mother.
When she arrives, she finds her aunt is very changed from what she remembers. Gone is the confident woman and in her place is a scared, jumpy woman. Her uncle is very clear with how things will work – give him no trouble, ask no questions, and she will be fine. Talk back or challenge him in anyway, and she will be in a world of hurt. Mary is not one to back down from a challenge, but there is something about her uncle that scares her, almost as much as the change in her aunt. Now Mary is determined to figure out what is going on at the Inn, and if she can, get rid of her uncle once and for all. But first she has to figure out what is behind the door at the end of the hall that is always locked..
This week we are reading Chapters 1-4
Questions:
- Mary contemplates leaving the Jamaica Inn the first night she gets there. Why did she decide to stay?
- Her Uncle Joss is quite a character. What is it about him specifically that puts Mary on edge?
- There is a huge change between the Patience that Mary remembers and the one she sees now. Do you think her youth can make her remember things differently?
