Get ready for today’s J villain, because Mr Jephro Rucastle from The Copper Beeches is something else entirely.
From the getgo, it’s pretty obvious this guy is a creep, from when he’s advertising very specific conditions for how he expects his governess to be (short hair and wear ‘an electric blue’ dress), to proudly exclaiming about how his son kills cockroaches with a slipper.
The client, Violet Hunter, has been approached for this job, and Rucastle even goes as far as sending her a letter to ask for her to take the job after she initially declines. He repeats that he’s very firm on her hair being short, but mentions that his daughter, Alice, has a dress for Violet to wear.
Violet excepts the job (the pay must be very good) but immediately regrets it after Rucastle acts even more weirdly. He gives off... I’ve never actually watched the movie but I imagine you would call it ‘Get out’ vibes.
He would make Violet sit in a particular position with her back against the window so he could tell her funny stories, which Violet found hilarious but his wife disagreed. Different types of humour? Maybe, but then Violet saw a man watching her from outside, and Rucastle basically forced her to tell him to go away.
If that isn’t strange enough, Violet then finds a bundle of hair in her drawers. It’s not hers, but does that make it any better?
Of course, this doesn’t link directly to Rucastle, but after he threatens Violet when she goes into the spare room which she describes to be like a prison, it does make him pretty suspicious.
Violet is aware of how creepy he is at least: “—you cannot think how caressing and soothing his manner was—‘and what has frightened you, my dear young lady?’ “But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I was keenly on my guard against him.”
Then, we find out how shitty Rucastle actually is.
Alice, his daughter, was unhappy with him, but found a man she wanted to marry. When she refused to sign papers which meant Rucastle would still get money from her when she married, he basically tormented her so much she got ‘brain fever’. The brain fever also meant her hair had to be cut off, hence the hair Violet found in her drawers. Alice’s boyfriend still stayed with her, so Rucastle decided to lock his daughter up and never let her leave.
Rucastle literally imprisoned his daughter for money.
Not only that, he hired a woman to replace her.
At the end, a dog nearly kills him (unfortunately he survives) but he’s hanging on for dear life, and his daughter gets to marry, so at least it’s sort of a happy ending.
