This essay interrogates the way in which Jean Rhys utilises a backdrop of potent gothic mechanisms and echoes the stricken anarchy of post emancipation colonial rule in 'Wide Sargasso Sea' to enhance the audience’s reading and to enable her protagonist to hold a slanted mirror to the world of 'Jane Eyre'.
Rhys utilises a backdrop of potent gothic mechanisms and echoes the stricken anarchy of post emancipation colonial rule in her writing to enhance the audience’s reading and to enable her protagonist to hold a slanted mirror to the world of 'Jane Eyre'.
At first, it seems incongruous that the vibrant, post colonialist backdrop of 'Wide Sargasso Sea', soaked by the ‘brazen sun’ (1) should be so richly entangled with the shadowy landscapes of the European gothic. 'Jane Eyre' is punctuated by claustrophobic English imagery to add an atmospheric sense of terror, particularly noticeable in Brontë’s description of the violent Thornfield countryside, where the landscape seems animated by some nameless, feral horror; the beck is ‘a torrent, turbid and curbless: it tore asunder the wood, and sent a raving sound through the air, often thickened with wild rain or whirling sleet; and for the forest on its banks, that showed only ranks of skeleton.’ (p.64)
Table of Contents
1. To what extent is a reading of Rhys’ novel enhanced by considering source texts other than Jane Eyre?
Research Objectives and Themes
This academic paper explores how Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea engages with gothic literary traditions and postcolonial contexts to provide a sympathetic back-story for the character of Antoinette/Bertha. The research aims to demonstrate how Rhys utilizes thematic echoes, symbols of the "double," and portrayals of alienation to transform the original character from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre into a complex, multifaceted protagonist who reflects the tensions of a fractured identity within a colonial society.
- The intersection of European gothic imagery and the postcolonial Caribbean landscape.
- The function of the "double" or doppelgänger as a narrative device for psychological disintegration.
- Intertextual connections between Wide Sargasso Sea and Yiddish literature or travelogues regarding the sense of diaspora and "otherness."
- The symbolic role of light, shadow, and nature in signifying entrapment and impending madness.
- The critique of patriarchal and imperialist structures that marginalize the white Creole experience.
Excerpt from the Book
To what extent is a reading of Rhys’ novel enhanced by considering source texts other than Jane Eyre?
Rhys utilises a backdrop of potent gothic mechanisms and echoes the stricken anarchy of post emancipation colonial rule in her writing to enhance the audience’s reading and to enable her protagonist to hold a slanted mirror to the world of Jane Eyre.
At first, it seems incongruous that the vibrant, post colonialist backdrop of Wide Sargasso Sea, soaked by the ‘brazen sun’ (1) should be so richly entangled with the shadowy landscapes of the European gothic. Jane Eyre is punctuated by claustrophobic English imagery to add an atmospheric sense of terror, particularly noticeable in Brontë’s description of the violent Thornfield countryside, where the landscape seems animated by some nameless, feral horror; the beck is ‘a torrent, turbid and curbless: it tore asunder the wood, and sent a raving sound through the air, often thickened with wild rain or whirling sleet; and for the forest on its banks, that showed only ranks of skeleton.’ (p.64)
The genre relies on a distinctive range of features to create and signify the presence of anxiety. It is evident that others, notably Wuthering Heights, use setting and the contrasting play between darkness and light as an invaluable tool in creating the sense of encroaching danger inherent in gothic texts as Rhys does in Wide Sargasso Sea. Emily Brontë’s description of the gaunt landscape which ‘lay in shadow...bare masses of stone, with hardly enough earth in their clefts to nourish a stunted tree’ (Chapter 18) and of Cathy, whose ‘face was just like the landscape...shadows and sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession; but the shadows rested longer, and the sunshine was more transient...’ (Chapter 27) show the crucial, gothic characteristic of light and shadow to enhance a sense of intangible fear in the reader.
Summary of Chapters
To what extent is a reading of Rhys’ novel enhanced by considering source texts other than Jane Eyre?: This chapter analyzes how Rhys subverts traditional gothic imagery to reflect Caribbean instability and explores the intertextual relationships between Wide Sargasso Sea, Brontë’s works, Yiddish literature, and colonial travelogues to define the protagonist's descent into madness.
Keywords
Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys, Jane Eyre, Gothic Literature, Postcolonialism, Antoinette, Bertha, The Double, Doppelgänger, Alienation, Imperialism, Obeah, Identity, Madness, Intertextuality
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper examines how Jean Rhys reconstructs the character of Antoinette/Bertha from Jane Eyre by integrating gothic elements and postcolonial perspectives to provide her with a credible, sympathetic background.
What are the central themes discussed in the analysis?
The work centers on themes of cultural alienation, the psychological impact of imperialism, the nature of the "double" in literature, and the transformation of the "monstrous" female figure.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if reading Wide Sargasso Sea through the lens of texts other than just Jane Eyre—including Yiddish narratives and travel writings—enriches the reader's understanding of Rhys' thematic intentions.
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis, utilizing intertextuality to connect Rhys’ narrative techniques with both classic gothic conventions and postcolonial critiques of imperial power.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers the symbolic use of landscape, the function of the "double" as a representation of a fractured identity, and the influence of cultural displacement on the protagonist's mental state.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
The research is best characterized by terms such as Postcolonialism, Gothic Literature, Doppelgänger, Intertextuality, and Identity Construction.
How does the paper connect Rhys’ work to Jewish literature?
The paper draws parallels between the alienation and sense of diaspora in Yiddish literature, such as Isaac Bashevis Singer’s works, and the marginalized position of Antoinette in the Caribbean.
Why is the "double" so significant to the argument?
The double is used to mirror the "fractured identity" Antoinette experiences while being caught between two cultures, and it serves as a structural device that aligns her with gothic monsters like those in Frankenstein.
What role does Lafcadio Hearn’s writing play in the analysis?
Hearn's travel writing is identified as a likely source for Rhys due to its parallels in describing the "sinister" and "vibrant" nature of the Caribbean, which contributes to the atmosphere of the novel.
- Citation du texte
- Sophia Sharpe (Auteur), 2012, An Enhanced Reading of Jean Rhys' "Wide Sargasso Sea". Considering Source Texts Other than "Jane Eyre", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/319877
