Jane was undoubtedly taught everything she believes to be true and right by her mother. And her mother believed that it was a black person’s place to be reverent and respectful to her white mistress and master–this was how someone of Jane’s color and station was to get by in life. Jane has carried on with this belief because she is treated well (at least that’s how she sees it) in the Carteret household; she has no reason to want change. What was good enough for her mother should be good enough for her, right?
Some might agree with Jane’s compliance because it does grant her favor among the white people, but complacency is always dangerous when in the face of injustice because it hurts not only oneself, but also those who come after.
My Thoughts on African American Literature 
Exactly, Rachel. She seems to have been conditioned to see her, and her race’s, worth in terms of white approval or favor. That’s bound to result in a lot of self-denial and internalized racism. What’s at stake, as you mention, is that it’s not just her own life that her views affect. Those views help prop up the system of oppression that made her the way she is in the first place and they ensure the perpetuation of that system. No wonder the younger nurse doesn’t care for Jane. She wants to let go of those old views and build a new future.
LikeLike