Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea

Now this was a novel that I had never heard of until I started my degree and from its description, I was not entirely thrilled with the prospect of studying it, but my god I was wrong. The novel quickly became one of my favourites on my degree reading list due to the numerous themes, intriguing characters, and a backdrop of a Caribbean island. But it was not only that. After I found out this novel is perhaps a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, I was so intrigued with the characters present within both novels.

The novel is about a rich Englishman (who is a second son) and has travelled to Jamaica to marry the daughter of a plantation owner, Antoinette. But a couple of days into the honeymoon, the just-married- bliss is long gone and left with betrayal, false accusations, and suspected madness. It has been summarised by numerous critics and even the author herself admitted that this novel is indeed Jane Eyre’s prequel due to the numerous similarities, but it is also a novel in its own right. If this is the case, the unnamed suiter in this text could perhaps by Mr Rochester and Antionette is perhaps his first wife, Bertha, who was from the Caribbean and also was said to be mad. This may confuse you as the names of the two females are different, but within Wide Sargasso Sea, Rochester decides Antionette is a foreign name and he does not like it, therefore he decides to give her a new, English name. Although the new name is not mentioned after this, we can guess it is Bertha.

The text in its own right demonstrates how one small element of doubt can destroy something so beautiful and fragile. The novel encompasses both traditional values but also talks of Jamaican voodoo and culture.

The title refers to the large sea which is directly between Jamaica and England. The Sargasso Sea is notoriously known for its multiple shipwrecks and different depths which could be a metaphor for the protagonists within the novel. Perhaps the message is you can try and merge the two cultures, but it will only end up in disaster and pain.

I honestly feel so sorry for Antionette. She is only young and forced to marry a guy much older than herself and move to England where she knows no one. She tries to keep her husband happy, but the honeymoon bliss was never going to last. Another reason I feel bad for her is due to her heritage. Antoinette is not British, she white Jamaican born on the island. This makes her an outsider as she is not black but is native to the island, but she is white, but she is born in this country. She is discriminated by both races and she is left very much friendless.

This is a tale full of romance, heartbreak, betrayal, isolation, sacrifice and fear. The novel encompasses numerous emotions and identifies struggle both mentally and physically.

I love this novel, its beautifully dark considering its setting but despite it being a short ish novel it is packed through of thoughts and feelings and it really does touch the reader to the core. This is one novel I truly recommend reading, not matter what genre you are interested in.