Wide Sargasso Sea
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jean Rhys |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Postmodern Novel |
| Publisher | Deutsch (UK) & W. W. Norton (USA) |
Publication date | October 1966 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-233-95866-5 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial novel, by Jean Rhys, which acts as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's famous 1847 novel Jane Eyre. It is clearly the story of the first Mrs. Rochester, Antoinette (Bertha) Mason, but the name Rochester does not appear in the book.
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler The opening of the novel is set a short while after the emancipation of the slaves in British-owned Jamaica. The protagonist Antoinette conveys the story of her life from childhood to her arranged marriage to an unnamed Englishman (Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre). As the novel and their relationship progresses, Antoinette, whom he renames Bertha, descends into madness. The novel ends in England, with Bertha's fateful decision to burn down the estate and jump off the roof.
The novel is split into three parts. Part One is narrated by Antoinette. It describes her childhood experience. Also it includes the fact that her mother is in a madhouse, which is consistent with Jane Eyre. Part Two is from the point of view of her husband following their marriage. One of the likely turning points and catalysts for Antoinette's downfall is the suspicion with which they both begin to view each other. Antoinette's old nurse and the man that Rochester comes to trust feed the distrust between the two of them. This increased sense of paranoia tinged with the disappointment of their failing marriage probably triggers what was Antoinette's already precarious mental state. The shortest part, Part Three, is once again from the perspective of Antoinette, now known as Bertha. It traces her relationship with Grace, the servant who is tasked with 'guarding' her in England, and the eventual thought process which leads to the end of her life.
Major themes
Wide Sargasso Sea is usually taught as a postmodern and postcolonial response to Jane Eyre.[1][2] One particularly postmodern innovation is the use of multiple voices (Antoinette's and her husband's—although we assume it's Mr Rochester, he is never given a name) to tell the story; another is the novel's dense intertextual relationship to Jane Eyre. In addition, Rhys makes a postcolonial argument when she ties Antoinette's husband's eventual rejection of Antoinette to her Creole heritage (a large factor in Antoinette's descent into madness). As postmodern and postcolonial literature have taken a greater place in university curricula, the novel has been taught to literature students more often in recent years.
The world in which Antoinette lives is a patriarchal society. The convent where Antoinette is sent by her Aunt Cora represents a matriarchal bubble within this patriarchal world. Her demise can be seen as her spirit being crushed by the oppressive male world around her as her identity is taken away from her by her husband. Her individuality, i.e. her name Antoinette Mason, nee Cosway, is taken away from her: first her surname is taken—she has to take her stepfather's, then her husband's name—then her given name is taken when he renames her 'Bertha'.
Awards and nominations
It won the WH Smith Literary Award in 1967, which brought Rhys to public attention after decades of obscurity. It was also named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.[3]
Film, TV and Theatre adaptations
- 1993: Wide Sargasso Sea, Film adaptation directed by John Duigan and starring Karina Lombard and Nathaniel Parker
- 1997: Wide Sargasso Sea, Contemporary Opera adaptation with music by Brian Howard, directed by Douglas Horton, produced by Chamber Made
- 2006: Wide Sargasso Sea, TV adaptation directed by Brendan Maher and starring Rebecca Hall as Antoinette