Terror made me cruel.
During the ghost episode, Lockwood harms a pleading hand at the window. The blunt confession is chilling because it’s ordinary: fear turning a decent person mean. It echoes later scenes where panic or jealousy hardens into violence. The phrasing gives “terror” agency—like a force that acts through people. Brontë suggests that under stress, civilized surfaces crack quickly. Lockwood isn’t evil; he’s weak, which can be just as dangerous.