Wide Saragasso Sea

Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about "Wide Saragasso Sea" by Jean Rhys, Jean Rhys as a author of Wide Saragasso Sea and theme of 'Mad Women in the Attic' with the example of Annette and Antoinette.

About the Novel :-

Wide Saragasso Sea is the well known novel written by Jean Rhys in 1966. Main themes of this novel is post - colonialism and feminism. The novel is mainly known as a prequel of Charlotte Bronte's novel titled Jane Eyer. Jane Eyre is a marriage story of a man named Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, But Wide Saragasso Sea is the story of Mr. Rochester and his wife Antoinette Cosway.

The novel was originally published in October 1966.Genre of the novel is Postmodern novel.The novel Set in Jamaica, Dominica and Thornfield Hall, 1830s–40s.Major characters of the novel are

1)Daniel Cosway,

2)Edward Rochester,

3)Christophine,

4)Antoinette Cosway,

5)Annette Cosway.

The novel is contains 176 pages. Wide Sargasso Sea explores the power of relationships between men and women and discusses the themes of race, Caribbean history, and assimilation.The novel written is in three parts. Part One takes place in Coulibri, a sugar plantation in Jamaica, and is narrated by Antoinette as a child. In which she told a story of her father's death, her mother's remarriage,and unhappy relationship, then how her mother get abused, madness of her mother, and death of her mother.

Part two  alternates between the points of view of Antoinette and her husband during their honeymoon excursion to her mother's summer estate Granbois, Dominica. This part is about marriage life of Antoinette. Her healthy relationship in beginning, then distrust of Mr. Rochester, she was abused by her husband, betrayal from husband, hurting her by calling Bertha, implied madness on her and finally they leave Granbois. Part Three is the shortest part of the novel. it is from the perspective of Antoinette, renamed by her husband as Bertha. The story traces her relationship with Grace Poole, the servant who is tasked with guarding her, as well as her disintegrating life with Mr. Rochester, as he hides her from the world. The story traces her relationship with Grace Poole, the servant who is tasked with guarding her, as well as her disintegrating life with Mr. Rochester, as he hides her from the world. The novel ends when Antoinette dreams of flames engulfing the house and her freedom from the life she has there, and believes it is her destiny to fulfill the vision. Waking from her dream she escapes her room, and sets out candle in hand.

About Jean Rhys :-

Jean Rhys was Born on 24 August 1890, Roseau, and Died on 14 May 1979, Exeter, United Kingdom. She was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she was mainly resident in England, where she was sent for her education.In 1919, Rhys married Willem Johan Marie (Jean) Lenglet, a French-Dutch journalist, spy, and songwriter. She was married thrice and Willem is first of them.second she married to Leslie Tilden-Smith, an English editor. In 1947, Rhys married Max Hamer, he was the last one whom she married.

Her Notable works are, 1)Good Morning,2) Midnight,3) Wide Sargasso Sea etc. Her first book is a collection of short stories, The Left Bank (1927), was followed by such novels as Postures (1928). Read more about her (here).

The Madwomen in the Attic : Annette - Antoinette.

During the 19th century, women condition was poor. Mainly in European and American women in the nineteenth century lived in an age characterized by gender inequality.Women were expected to remain subservient to their fathers and husbands. Their occupational choices were also extremely limited. Middle- and upper-class women generally remained home, caring for their children and running the household. Lower-class women often did work outside the home, but usually as poorly-paid domestic servants or laborers in factories and mills. Influence of this women condition we find in literature also, 19th century was a period when Large number of women writers started writing  and in the nineteenth century that gender-consciousness and feminist attitudes first came to the forefront of the literary imagination, changing forever how the works of female authors would be written and regarded.

In the novel Wide Saragasso Sea, we find same situation of women And their suffering. Women in Attic means women in cage. Women forced to being caged by narrow minded, patriarchal society. Male think themselves superior than women and believed that women should be domestic, should know households and should tack care of their childrens and home. If we see nineteenth century literature, we find dominated male behavior towards females. In wide Saragasso sea, Annette and Antoinette both are a kind of house wife. Not only they both but all the women in the novel excepting Christopher is seems like domestic wives or we can say womans.

Women in Wide Saragasso sea are not free. But we find most of them as a dependent on male characters. The act of marriage is also taken as a symbol of security. For example here in the novel females married because of financial support. This we see in Annette, after the death of her husband she has poor financial condition so she get agree to marry Mr. Mason for financial stability. Marriage was conducted at that time for several purposes like financial stability, social status, inheritance, money, luxurious life etc. This all are the characteristics of Victorian mentality. In Wide Saragasso sea we find Antoinette married Mr. Rochester because she has big amount of inheritance and according to society women cannot capable to handle this much fortune, man is needed. Antoinette also we find dependent on her husband, for it many times Christopher warned her too.

Ultimately this behavior and dependence of women lead them towards madness and they get proved as MadWomen in the Attic. This we can understand by two examples from novel, first is Annette, mother of our female protagonist Antoinette. She has traumatic past, as her husband died in young age, make her alone also she suffered by financial problems. And to solve that, she get married to other man. But unfortunately, she get no love but ignorance from him. Which resulted as a madness in her. She also face deaths of her closeones like her first husband, then her son. Which also ruined her mental health. Her madness lead her to abused by servants, who are in the service of her. Antoinette became witnessed of that. She died in very pitiful condition. Just like madwomen in Attic.

Antoinette is also example of Madwomen in Attic. She was a free minded, childish girl in the beginning. Living with full joy. But after the marriage her behavior get started changing.she wasn't mad but madness was implied on her by her husband. Ignorance, and betrayal from husband resulted as her ill mental health. Mr. Rochester explore physical relationship with black girl, which broke Antoinette from deep. On basis of doubt Rochester started ignoring her, abusing her, make her feel inferior, and at last harassed her. Which play vital role in her bad mental condition. He started calling Antoinette as a Bertha.and implied another identity on her by force.

We find that Antoinette is not able to leave Rochester because all her fortune after marriage belongs to Mr. Rochester. All this traumatic situations caused madness of Antoinette. Her loneliness lead her to hallucinations and madness which caused her deaths.

This examples are proving the points of madwomen in the Attic. I hope my blog will be helpful to you. Thank you! Watch this video about Madwoman in the Attic in Wide Saragasso Sea.