Wide Sargasso Sea is a sensuous, fast paced, exotic novel based on the life of Bertha (Antoinette) before she was moved to England by Rochester. It is Antoinette's chance to tell her part of the story. The book tells us things straight and without unnecessary flamboyancy's, it is a book which opens up the whole new world of the Caribbean to the reader, who can immerse themselves in it wholeheartedly. This is absolutely not a book which can be described as tepid- the characters and the setting are passionate, strong, vibrant; which makes the read an exciting journey.
The novel is inevitably compared with Jane Eyre, and there are certainly links to be made between the lives of Jane and Antoinette, but the style in which they are written are like two sides of a coin. The fact is, Jean Rhys is writing of a wildly different culture to Britain, as she herself explores with the character of the very English Mr Rochester. In part II we watch as Rochester struggles to acclimatise to the vividness of the Caribbean, and then we see the clashes of the two cultures come to a head. If anything, this book highlights the incompatibility of Antoinette and Rochester, and tries to explain the reason why Antoinette went insane, and why she ended up under lock and key by Rochester in England. It is a book which won't let us just blame Antoinette for her insanity.
The book contains a whirlpool of emotions- passion, anger, regret, sorrow... the list goes on. Jean Rhys never explains them explicitly, she lets us as the readers feel and see them for ourselves, so on first reading it may seem strange that there are so little adjectives and paragraphs of description- but this is all part of Rhys' subtlety. Very much like the way of the Caribbean people, the face of the novel seems bland and ordered, but bubbling underneath is the fiery emotions which make the book the success that it is.
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9 comments:
I like your analysis of the two sides of the coin- I had not thought about how it contrasts Jane Eyre, only how it was similar. I agree with your idea that Antoinette went insane by no fault of her own- I too think that she was driven to it by Rochester.
Do you think it is entirely due to that though- do you not think that she would have gone insane had she been in a loving relationship in a comfortable place. Nature vs Nurture if you know what I mean.
I like your review, if I was reading that as someone who had not read the book, I would want to now lol If that's what you were going for..especially with sentences like 'The book contains a whirlpool of emotions- passion, anger, regret, sorrow... the list goes on'.
I reckon Antoinette wouldn't have gone insane, or at least not so quickly. I think she always had the potential to be mad, but something needs to spark it off.
I don't think she went mad exactly, but that she let out all of the emotion that she was holding in one go. Perhaps not a brilliant idea :)
Do you think that it could be possible that Antoinette did not have a mental problem but she was made out to have one by Rochester. What I mean is, i think that Antoinette wasn't mad but because Rochester thought she was, he said that every mistake she made was because of insanity. I think that possibly Antoinette's cousin who told Rochester about the "insanity" could have made it all up in an effort to make Anotionettes life hard for her. Antoinette was hated by most people on the island so maybe her cousin was just trying to hurt her like everyone else wanted to. It is true that if you get told something over and over again, you start to beleive it. could this have been what happened to Antoinette???
I like your point about the strength of the novel is what lies beneath. You also describe reading it as a journey. Where do you end up?
Some good commenets ahead of me here. I think Ben's point is worth considering. I'm inclined to agree.
A well written and thought-provoking review.
i also beleive that Antoinette was not truly insane but simply passionate in a time when women weren't allowed to show emotion. This can be seen with her mother, most people can understand that after the trauma of losing your son you may want to rant and rave a little... but she was immediately locked away and pronounced mad. It is almost as if when a woman became difficult she was locked away for ease of life (it would appear to most that Rochester locks bertha away so he does not have to cope with her)... What signals to you that Antoinette is genuinely crazy?
Yes, I think you're right peoples that Antoinette isn't insane- we only hear that from Rochester, and I think he's too biased to be trusted.
Rochester only starts to think about Antoinette as being mad after his visit to see Daniel, and Daniel seems slightly malicious, so maybe he just made it up. On his wall is a sign thing that he speaks to when Rochester comes in, it says "Vengence is mine". Maybe he was just trying to destroy Antoinette and Rochesters relationship because of past grievances?
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