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A young, mixed-race servant at Granbois, Amélie is the source of much chaos and controversy throughout the latter half of the novel. She is very manipulative and uses her position in the house to turn Rochester against Antoinette. Ironically, Rochester recognizes that Amélie is “sly, spiteful, [and] malignant” during his early days at Granbois, but she still manages to convince him that his wife poses a serious threat to his status. One way in which she does this is by feigning innocence and acting coy, an attitude which allows her to get close to the people she serves. Amélie pretends to cry, for example, after Antoinette hits her, and this response earns her sympathy despite the fact that she retaliated with her own derogatory language and physical violence. She also has a keen awareness of Antoinette’s precarious social position as a white Creole woman, information which she readily uses to her advantage. Leading Rochester toward Daniel Cosway and repeatedly telling him “I am sorry for you” are both strategies that allow Amélie to emphasize what she believes are Antoinette’s worst qualities. Although she does not explicitly describe why she has such a strong dislike for her mistress, Rhys implies that Amélie adheres to the same complex social hierarchy the other characters in the novel. Humiliating Antoinette, then, ensures that she remains at the bottom of that hierarchy.
The most significant moment for Amélie occurs when Rochester, infuriated by Antoinette’s attempt to poison him, chooses to sleep with her while his wife is in the next room. This incident serves as a major turning point for all of the novel’s central characters, irreparably damaging Antoinette and Rochester’s marriage. While Amélie does not bear sole responsibility for Rochester’s act of infidelity, she certainly takes steps to ensure that it occurs. She builds on their already flirtatious relationship by gently caring for him while he is sick, and she reiterates that she feels bad for him. Between this behavior and Rochester’s desperation to get back at his wife, their sexual encounter seems almost inevitable. They both ultimately succeed in making Antoinette suffer, but neither one gains anything meaningful out of their time together. Despite the financial gift that Rochester offers her the next day, Amélie decides to head to Rio to live among rich men while he must continue to deal with Antoinette.
