The Mind's Eye: Focalizing “Nature” in<i>Jane Eyre</i>and<i>Wide Sargasso Sea</i>

Fincham, Gail

doi:10.1080/10131751003755898

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Jane's and Rochester's points of view, the reader is familiar with -and terrified of -her. Rochester maintains Bertha's insanity, the only cause of the catastrophe that followed, but the plot contains indications that imply other circumstances, which may have played a role in the breakdown of their relationship as well (Fincham, G. 2010) ... Bertha and her husband might have a history, according to Jean Rhys. Bertha's existence is shaped by the Wide Sargasso Sea, which serves as a backdrop against which her lunacy is neither startling nor unavoidable.…”

Section: "Antoinette" Bertha Mason As Double Victimized Figure In Bot...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this sense, Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea can be seen as a deconstruction of the original text, in that it portrays Edward as a colonial and misogynist figure, in contrast to Bronte's portrayal of Edward as a romantic and victimized figure, with Rochester speaking of Bertha as an impediment to his happiness. Furthermore, being a Jamaican-English mix, Antoinette is rejected by both sides, which reveals her isolation and sensibility (Fincham, G. 2010). Tia, a Martinique friend from her childhood, with whom she finally breaks up because she humiliates and discriminates against Antoinette because of her color.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Victimized Personas in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Feminism Perspectives

AL-Hasani¹

2023

Rand. Inter. Edu. Ling. Sci. J.

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The Wide Sargasso Sea - (1966). After years of contemplating Charlotte Bronte's Creole madwoman Bertha Mason, Jean Rhys set out to give voice to what is mute in Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Rhys lets Antoinette narrate her tale, revealing the "other side" of Bronte's story: what occurred in the years before and after Mr. Rochester's first marriage in Jamaica. As a twentieth-century West Indian writer, Rhys was able to expose implicit assumptions and ideals in Bronte's writing, such as imperialist England's attitude toward her colonies. The natural environment is a mirror of interior states of being and emotion, a remark on the novel's characterization and action. Even though the two books seem to be identical, they are not. Rhys flips Bronte's Victorian Romantic symbols, Wide Sargasso Sea appears more contemporary and realistic. This paper aims to highlight the victimized characters in both novels and gives a real comparison of the most victimized ones. Both works, respectively, show women fighting patriarchy and injustice at any historical time. From a feminist standpoint, this study compares, Bertha Mason, in the two narratives. Even though Wide Sargasso Sea is a forerunner to Jane Eyre, Rhys expressed a more progressive and revolutionary feminist viewpoint. Bertha Mason is a more victimized female than Jane of the patriarchal system and colonization. These feminist works have left an indelible effect on literature. Most literary commentators have concentrated on Jane, the protagonist of Charlotte Bronte's narrative, on the other hand, there is Bertha Mason, the insane lady on the upper floor imprisoned, as just Jane's evil twin. Bertha has received much less attention than Jane, not as an evil side of Jane, but as a stand-alone figure. This study compares Bertha Mason's representation in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. Bertha, who acts as an impediment to Jane's pleasure in Jane Eyre, is recognized as a victim of society.

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Section: "Antoinette" Bertha Mason As Double Victimized Figure In Bot...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Victimized Personas in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Feminism Perspectives

AL-Hasani¹

2023

Rand. Inter. Edu. Ling. Sci. J.

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Remembering the Future: The Temporal Relationship between Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

Villiers

2018

Journal of Literary Studies

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If you can remember your future, can you change it? In this article, I examine this question with reference to the intertextual and temporal relationship between Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847) and Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea (1966). In Jane Eyre, Bertha Mason burns down the house of her husband, Rochester. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Bertha, who has been renamed Antoinette, is locked in the attic and remembers her past in Jane Eyre which, in Wide Sargasso Sea, is located in her future. She remembers that she must set the house on fire in order to fulfil the role she plays in Jane Eyre, where she is an obstacle that must be overcome before Jane and Rochester can end up together. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys critiques this role of the madwoman by providing Antoinette with a history and an explanation for her madness. This article explores the relationship between the two novels, arguing that, through the intertextual relationship, Rhys subverts conventional notions of time as linear and chronological in order to reject Brontë's depiction of female madness, and to transform the interpretation of the madwoman. Opsomming:As jy jou toekoms kan onthou, kan jy dit verander? In hierdie artikel ondersoek ek hierdie vraag met verwysing na die intertekstuele en tydsverwantskap tussen Charlotte Brontë se Jane Eyre (1847) en Jean Rhys se Wide Sargasso Sea (1966). In Jane Eyre brand Bertha Mason haar man, Rochester, se huis af. In Wide Sargasso Sea word Bertha, wat herdoop is tot Antoinette, in die solder toegesluit en sy onthou haar verlede in Jane Eyre, wat in haar toekoms geleë is in Wide Sargasso Sea. Sy onthou dat sy die huis aan die brand moet steek om die rol wat sy in Jane Eyre speel te vervul -waar sy ŉ struikelblok is wat oorkom moet word voordat Jane en Rochester by mekaar kan uitkom. In Wide Sargasso Sea kritiseer Rhys hierdie rol van die waansinnige vrou deur Antoinette se geskiedenis en ŉ verklaring vir haar waansin te gee. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die verwantskap tussen die twee romans, met die argument dat Rhys, by wyse van die intertekstuele verwantskap, konvensionele idees van tyd as lineêr en chronologies, omverwerp om Brontë se uitbeelding van vroulike waansin te verwerp, en om die interpretasie van die waansinnige vrou te verander."I looked at the dress on the floor and it was as if the fire had spread across the room. It was beautiful and it reminded me of something I must do. I will remember I thought. I will remember quite soon now" (Rhys 1966:121). Towards the end of Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), the protagonist, Antoinette, utters this statement. Descended into madness and locked up in an attic, she begins to remember a future set out for her by the madwoman, Bertha, in Charlotte Brontë's canonical Jane Eyre (1847). Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman about the eponymous Jane, who falls in love with her employer, Rochester. He, however, has a mad wife, Bertha, who stands in the way of their happiness. Towards the end of the novel, Bertha burns down Rochester's house and commits suicide in the process,...

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The Mind's Eye: Focalizing “Nature” inJane EyreandWide Sargasso Sea

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

The Victimized Personas in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Feminism Perspectives

The Victimized Personas in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Feminism Perspectives

Remembering the Future: The Temporal Relationship between Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea

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