Intro to Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

Companion novel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

English 12 and AP Literature: Thursday, September 19

Aim: To introduce and learn about the context of Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea.

Do now: Pay attention! No need to take notes—I will post this PowerPoint on my web site.

Author: Jean RhysBorn in 1890 in Dominica, a Caribbean

island, to a Welsh (from Wales, in the U.K.) father and a “white Creole” (born in the West Indies, of European descent) mother.

Left Dominica in 1907 to pursue an education in England; was a bitter critic of English values.

Wrote Wide Sargasso Sea over the course of 21 years; published in 1966.

Setting of Wide Sargasso Sea1840s in West Indies (Jamaica)The Sargasso Sea is in theNorth Atlantic Sea. It has weakcurrents and little wind. Manylegends mention how ships losttheir way in the weeds of the Sargasso Sea and

werenever heard from again. Bertha is a white Creole. Her family owned

black slaves, now free, who make up most of the population. This is a time of post-colonialism.

Time shift from Jane EyreWide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Jane Eyre, is told

from the perspective of Bertha (i.e. Antoinette Cosway), and explains the chain of events that lead Bertha to become the “mad woman in the attic.”

Jane Eyre takes place 1798-1808, but Rhys shifts the time period forward. Why? The British Emancipation Act of 1833 freed slaves in the Caribbean. Former slave-owners (including Antoinette’s family) were supposed to be compensated for lost slaves, but weren’t. Free blacks weren’t compensated either. All of this led to racial tensions on the islands. WSS takes place post-emancipation, in the 1840s.

3 parts of Wide Sargasso SeaPart 1: Takes place in Coulibri, Jamaica, told from

Antoinette/Bertha’s perspective, describes her childhood.

Part 2: Takes place in Granbois, Dominica, alternates between Bertha’s and Rochester’s (unnamed) perspectives, describes Bertha’s descent into madness and the marriage’s downfall. Both spouses mistrust each other; Bertha’s nurse Christophine mistrusts Rochester.

Part 3: Takes place in England at Rochester’s mansion (“Great House”), told from Bertha’s perspective in a stream of consciousness, traces the disintegrating marriage and Bertha’s relationship with Grace Poole.

Q’s to consider while readingIn what ways does Rhys give voice to “the

madwoman in the attic”? How does she account for Antoinette Cosway’s transformation to the Bertha Rochester whom we see in Jane Eyre? What factors contribute to the change?

WSS is considered a postcolonial novel, meaning it looks at issues of power, politics, and culture related to the western Colonizers controlling the colonized. How do these issues play out in WSS?

WSS gives voice to Bertha, but what about the black ex-slaves of the West Indies? What is their role in the novel?

What do you make of the title: Wide Sargasso Sea?

Wide Sargasso Sea: Opening Let’s start reading the text.

What exactly is going on here? What kind of language is used?

Character list worksheet: Cheat sheet and reading assignments.

HOMEWORK:Exam tomorrow on Jane Eyre.Please also bring in WSS—if you finish the

exam early, you can get started on your weekend homework.

For Monday: Bring in Wide Sargasso Sea.

AP: Read Part 1, pp.9-37English 12: Read pp.9-16, 22-28, 33-37. The

skipped sections cover Annette marrying Mr. Mason and then Aunt Cora sending Antoinette off to a convent school.