Within this paper, the "worldmaking" of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" (1847) and Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (1966) is compared. This is especially fruitful because the fictional worlds of these novels are connected: In "Jane Eyre", Mr. Rochester has a hidden wife called Bertha Mason. Wide Sargasso Sea casts this character as its protagonist and covers her journey from childhood into adulthood, when she becomes a part of Jane Eyre's world. After an introduction of Nelson Goodman´s term "worldmaking" and several of its characteristics, the worlds of these two novels are compared, focusing specifically on the respective selection of characters, perspectivization and the semantization of space.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Narrative Ways of Worldmaking: A Selection
3. The Worlds of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea
3.1. Selection of Characters
3.1.1. Jane Eyre and Antoinette Cosway
3.1.2. Brontë's Rochester and Rhys's Edward
3.2. Perspectivization: “There is always the other side, always” (Rhys 81)
3.3. Semantization of Space
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines how the choice of characters, narrative perspective, and the semantization of space construct and shape the fictional worlds of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea. By comparing these two interconnected literary works, the analysis explores how Rhys's novel serves as a "deformation" of the original, recontextualizing marginalized characters and narratives to challenge the patriarchal and colonial structures inherent in Brontë's classic.
- Comparative analysis of character development and protagonist selection.
- Examination of narrative perspectivization and multiple narrator roles.
- Investigation of the semantization of space as a tool for ordering experience.
- Deconstruction of power dynamics between Jane, Antoinette, and their respective male counterparts.
- Evaluation of how Wide Sargasso Sea reconstructs the world of Jane Eyre.
Auszug aus dem Buch
3.1.1. Jane Eyre and Antoinette Cosway
Choosing the protagonist of a particular narrative world is a matter of weighting and greatly influences the way in which said world is shaped. If the choice of protagonist changes, the emphasis of the world changes, and with it, certain characters, events and places are substituted by others. For this reason, Jane and Antoinette/Bertha shall be introduced briefly in their role as either protagonist or minor character in both narrative worlds.
The ordering of Jane's and Antoinette's experiences is mostly chronological. The beginning of each narrative consists of the childhood of the respective protagonist. As such, their childhood experiences can be interpreted “as the 'root' of what happen[s] later” (V. Nünning 221). Jane is an orphan who grows up at Gateshead Hall, England, in the household of her aunt Mrs. Reed. From childhood onwards, Jane is described as poor (e.g. Brontë 187) as well as “small and plain” (294). Instead of love, she experiences verbal and physical abuse early on, especially at the hands of her cousin John Reed (12-14). She is very witty and “a picture of passion” (14), but at Lowood School, with the help of her teacher Miss Temple and her friend Helen, she also develops “a strong sense of self-control” (Jain 121).
Additionally, she acquires a very strict moral code which determines the course of her narrative. After she learns of the existence of Rochester's wife Bertha, she could still become his mistress, but she decides to run away despite her love for him. Nonetheless, Jane Eyre ends with a happy marriage for its protagonist – at the cost of Bertha's tragic ending.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the thematic focus on comparing the worldmaking processes of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, specifically regarding characters, perspective, and space.
2. Narrative Ways of Worldmaking: A Selection: This chapter provides the theoretical framework by discussing concepts like 'deformation', 'weighting', 'ordering', and 'perspectivization' as tools for creating narrative worlds.
3. The Worlds of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea: This chapter serves as the analytical core, exploring how the two narratives overlap and diverge in their construction of fictional reality.
3.1. Selection of Characters: This section analyzes how the choice of protagonist influences the emphasis and configuration of other characters within the fictional worlds.
3.1.1. Jane Eyre and Antoinette Cosway: This part compares the backgrounds and roles of the two female protagonists, highlighting how their differing life paths shape their narrative status.
3.1.2. Brontë's Rochester and Rhys's Edward: This part investigates the discrepancies in the portrayal of the male protagonists and their impact on the women's lives.
3.2. Perspectivization: “There is always the other side, always” (Rhys 81): This section explores how different narrative points of view—and the use of multiple narrators—alter the reader's interpretation of events.
3.3. Semantization of Space: This section discusses how various physical locations and houses are imbued with symbolic meaning that tracks the protagonists' psychological and social development.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, confirming that while the two novels share narrative units, their diverging approaches to worldmaking create distinct, complementary meanings.
Keywords
Worldmaking, Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea, Narrative Perspective, Perspectivization, Semantization of Space, Character Selection, Antoinette Cosway, Bertha Mason, Charlotte Brontë, Jean Rhys, Deformation, Domesticity, Narrative Authority, Postcolonialism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores how narrative worldmaking techniques—specifically the selection of characters, perspective, and space—differ between Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
The study centers on narrative theory applied to literature, covering themes like protagonist positioning, colonial perspectives, gender dynamics, and the symbolic interpretation of domestic environments.
What is the primary goal of this research?
The goal is to demonstrate how Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea functions as a "deformation" of Brontë’s original work, thereby offering a more complex, multi-perspective reality that challenges the traditional narrative of the earlier novel.
Which scientific methods are employed in this analysis?
The author utilizes narratological analysis, applying concepts derived from Nelson Goodman’s "ways of worldmaking" and A. Nünning’s narrative theory to contrast the structural choices in both novels.
What topics are covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body systematically analyzes character selection (including protagonists and male figures), the role of perspectivization in shaping reality, and the symbolic meaning assigned to spaces and houses throughout the characters' journeys.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
The work is defined by terms such as worldmaking, narratology, deformation, perspectivization, postcolonialism, and the semantization of space.
How does the role of the narrator differ between the two novels?
While Jane Eyre relies on a single autodiegetic narrator (Jane), Wide Sargasso Sea employs multiple narrators, including Antoinette and Edward, to provide "the other side" of the story and broaden the narrative horizon.
What is the significance of the "semantization of space" in this context?
The author argues that spaces like Gateshead, Lowood, and Thornfield are not just settings but dynamic, semantically charged elements that mirror the psychological entrapment or liberation of the female protagonists.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Silvia Schilling (Autor:in), 2018, Narrative Ways of Worldmaking in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" and Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/520759
