Skip to main content

Why? Sargasso Sea: A Poor Prequel

Wide Sargasso Sea

Book Review by Margaret

Jean Rhys

Rating: 5/10

Date read: 17 February to 2 April


    Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 novel written as a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’, which serves as a postcolonial and feminist perspective on Bertha’s backstory. The novel presents themes such as ‘Victorian paternalism, sexualised racism and the complex social and political history of the West Indies’ (British Library). 

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Bertha, who is called Antoinette Cosway originally, and Rochester. It begins in Antoinette’s early childhood in her crumbling West Indian family estate and follows her life up until her imprisonment in Thornfield Hall. The story focuses on Antoinette’s relationships with those around her, particularly her mother, her maid Christophine and Rochester himself. The narrative is incredibly sensual and highly charged with anger, fear, bitterness, madness and erotica. This is enhanced by the exotic setting and the reader’s knowledge that all does not turn out well for Antoinette in the end.

I chose to read this book due to my AS Level studies in ‘Jane Eyre’, as it provides a wealth of useful contextual information in understanding and analysing Bronte’s original novel. However, I found the story itself very flat. The writing style was so disconnected and obscure that it was nearly impossible to engage with the characters or events. It is true that this writing style accurately and cleverly reflects the state of Antoinette’s troubled mind and her erratic behaviour, but I found it so incomprehensible as to actually act as a barrier between the reader and any sympathy for Antoinette. Thus, although the novel presents a perfectly valid case for Antoinette (Bertha), in humanising her and explaining her horrific state in ‘Jane Eyre’, it is completely sabotaged by the incoherent narrative.

It is to be confessed on my part that I am not of the Gilbert and Gubarian tribe in my opinion on Bertha and Rochester’s relationship in ‘Jane Eyre’. I cannot believe that Bertha’s madness was purely a result of ‘racism’ and ‘the patriarchy’– even ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ shows her generational and innate tendency towards mentally and emotionally unbalanced behaviour, not to mention her incredibly traumatic childhood. Thus, I am biased in Rochester’s favour in this respect (though many of his actions are inexcusable, though not unforgivable). I find it difficult to take Rhys’ interpretation of Bertha in ‘Jane Eyre’ very seriously, especially when it is presented in such an incongruous and outlandish manner. 

While I agree that the novel succeeded in leaving upon the reader an impression of the great injustice of Antoinette’s life, and the great injustice of Rochester’s treatment of her, I did not feel that it was sufficiently well-written or reasoned out to be considered impactful. Thus, my low rating– yet I must allow for the sublime use of the story’s setting to create the intensely sensual atmosphere which colours the story, a perfect complement to the plot.

Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) - IMDb

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Love and Lies of Mr Rochester

How far do you agree with the statement ‘Jane is subjected to unacceptable levels of manipulation and deceit at the hands of Mr. Rochester’? By Margaret It is certainly true that Mr. Rochester subjects Jane to extreme and nearly intolerable levels of manipulation throughout Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel   Jane Eyre . Indeed, it is one of the central themes of the book, and almost none of the major events of the story would have taken place if Rochester had not deceived Jane regarding a certain skeleton-in-the-closet, or in this case, wife-in-the-attic. However, the question remains: are Rochester’s attempts to manipulate and deceive Jane in any way acceptable?             The first and most notable of instance of Rochester’s deceit and manipulation towards Jane is when he brings Blanche Ingram to Thornfield. From the first mention of Miss Ingram, she is described as “‘beautiful’, ‘accomplished’” and “‘graceful’”. Mr. Roche...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Closed Like Confessionals': Larkin on Mortality in 'Ambulances'

  Explore how Larkin presents mortality in ‘Ambulances’ By Margaret   Larkin’s poem ‘Ambulances’ presents themes of mortality and the meaning of life through death. The grim tone of the poem is set in the first line when Larkin describes ambulances as ‘Closed like confessionals’. This religious element seems very bleak in this context, giving an impression of intimacy and truth, both things which are present at the moment of a person’s death. This immediate yet subtle introduction of the theme of mortality chills the atmosphere of the poem, which uses the image of an ambulance to embody the reality of mortality.          Inevitable and unpredictable reminders of our mortality are also emphasised in this poem, using the ambulance metaphor. In the first stanza, Larkin states that ‘All streets in time are visited’ by the ambulance, and that they could stop at ‘any kerb’, presenting mortality as an ominous, lingering presence which is p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blood or Bodies: Which Part of The Odyssey is Most Horrific?

  Which part of Odysseus’ journey do you feel is the most horrifying?   By Margaret  Odysseus’ journey from Troy to his home in Ithaca is full of dramatic, dangerous and exhilarating events. Many of these events involve gruesome and appalling acts of violence and result in the deaths of some of Odysseus’ companions, leaving the survivors in great distress. There are three main events in ‘The Odyssey’ which could be considered the most horrific: Odysseus’ encounter with Laestrygonians (from which Passage B is taken) , Odysseus’ encounter with the monster Scylla, or Odysseus’ encounter with ‘the tribes of the dead’ .    In Passage B, an exploration party sent from Odysseus’ crew is ‘confronted by Antiphates’ wife’, a giant , terrifying woman who immediately summons her husband, ‘the famous Antiphates’ , upon meeting the men. Antiphates ‘promptly [makes] his murderous intentions clear ’ and snatches and eats one of them men. The other men flee back to the ship ...
Post a Comment
Read more