1. Wide Sargasso Sea
2. Jean Rhys was born in Dominica in 1894. At her sixteenth she moved to England. Later on she lived in, mainly, Vienna and Paris.
3. Wide Sargasso Sea was first published in 1966.
4. A novel, the kind is called 'a novel of literary re-creation'. That means that the author uses an older literary work to create his or her novel. The can make their own stand, or, as you see in Wide Sargasso Sea, pick out a person and tell a story about that person, which has some connections between the 'new' and the 'old' work. Rhys chose Antoinette - the mad woman in Charlotte Bront?'s Jane Eyre, which I haven't read yet.
5. The story is told in the I-form, but it isn't the whole book the same main-character. In the first and the third part is Antoinette Cosway - or Bertha Mason, she has several names - the main-figure. And the second? Edward Rochester is the main-character in this one.
6. Depending on the part of the book, the main-character tells the story. So I know what is going on in the character's mind, but what the others exactly think, is difficult to tell. I - or the character who tells the story only can guess.
7. The story is told chronologically, but sometimes Antoinette 'tells' some flashbacks. The length it covers I find hard to tell, I think about 10 or 25 years, but no more. One thing is certain, almost Antoinette's whole life is written down.
8. No, I both don't really like 'em. Edward is to prejudiced and conservative. Nor does he know something like love, I know it's hard to love somebody you don't know and forced to marry to, but still I don't like him. And Antoinette, I don't know or I like her, I've some doubts. Like she's described I like her appearance, I think. But her inner? She's like a little child, that's a big disadvantage. She can easily be influenced by others, her mind isn't very strong. I think Edward is easy to influence too, but I'm not really sure. The things she needs to cope with, she being a Creole, a husband who doesn't love her, etc.. Those things aren't easy, so I would expect a strong woman, who can resist a lot, at least after a while, but no... Her madness is a case of self-fulfilling prophecy, at least that's what I think.
9. - Place & Time: The story first plays during in 1830's in the West Indies, on two islands called Jamaica and Dominica. In Part Three the story is set in Thornfield Hall, England.
- Society: Antoinette is a Creole, born in a community full of inbreeding. Creoles are hated by the blacks - the by law (1833) freed slaves - and the whites - who think 'light-colored' people are less.
Both place & time and society are important to the story. Nowadays discrimination in general is much less and people who's ancestors where slaves do not hate the white that much anymore. Also important is that Edward comes to the West Indies to marry Antoinette, he just can't get used to the 'unreal' world he visits. Otherwise if Antoinette should be sent to England before marriage it probably would have gone also wrong, might even more worse. So everything influences the story.
10. Eventually I didn't have any idea what the title could mean, but when I read a synopsis I saw the explanation. Wide Sargasso Sea is a calm "sea" in the North Atlantic. When it is covered by a thick tangle of Sargasso seaweed it's hard low-speedships to get through. Such a ship represents Antoinette, she isn't resistant to the problems - the seaweed - she meets.
11. The marriage between to completely different people is, at least that's what I think, the theme, this includes the impotence of Antoinette to cope with her problems and her environment.
12. Well, what happened wasn't something unexpected. She was insane, and seeking for something, but she - and me too - didn't know what. But she wasn't happy at all, so it's a kind of logical she commits suicide. I think it was the best, she was unhappy and she 'made' others unhappy, so with her death she 'solved' that problem.
13. Really 'impressing' was the 'attack' by black Negroes on Antoinette and her family.
'I did not see my mother move she was so quick. She opened the door of my room and then again I did not see her, nothing but smoke. Mannie ran after her, so did Mr. Mason but more slowly. Aunt Cora puts her arm around me. She said, 'Don't be afraid, you are quite safe. We are all quite safe."
...
'Somebody yelled, "But look the Black Englishman! Look the white niggers!", and then they were all yelling. "Look the white niggers! Look the damn white niggers!" A stone just missed Mannie's head, he cursed back at them and they cleared away from the rearing, frightened horses.' (Pages 33 and 35)
14. In the beginning Antoinette is living with her widowed mother, her little 'lunatic' brother Pierre, black-magician Cristophine and Godfrey. Antoinette's mother doesn't pay much attention to her, so Antoinette searches for and finds that in Cristophine.
Then Antoinette's mother marries Mr. Mason and the hate people have against them 'explodes', their house is set on fire and when they escape Pierre dies. Antoinette's mother goes crazy and is locked up somewhere. Antoinette is send to a school of nuns, she stays there for about 18 months.
If Mr. Mason is dead, Richard arranges a marriage between Antoinette and Edward Rochester. They do and spend their honeymoon at Granbois Estate. First they can get along with each other quite well, but then... Edward receives a letter from Antoinette's illegitimate half-brother Daniel Cosway, he tells Edward about madness in the Cosway-family. Edward is influenced by Daniel and starts to hate his wife. Antoinette notices and asks Cristophine to make a mixture and they make love again, but Edward finds out about the drink and thinks Antoinette tried to poison him and 'publicly' makes love to a servant - Am?lie. Antoinette gets very angry, gets drunk and attacks Edward. Cristophine tries to explain the situation, but her try fails. They leave Granbois Estate depressed.
Now the story is set in Thornfield Hall. Antoinette is looked after by a, special hired, servant: Grace Pool. At night when Grace is asleep, Antoinette 'steals' the keys of her room and walks round in the house, once she meets another woman - Edward new wife?. Later when Richard Mason visits her, she attacks him with a knife. If Antoinette escapes once more she sets the house on fire and kills herself.
15. Well, what I think of this book is a bit uncertain. A disadvantage is the psychology in the book, I do not love that, but much books 'contain' psychology, so I'll need to get used to it. A problem is I haven't read Jane Eyre yet, that's something I'll sure need to do, my opinion about this book will be more bases on good reasons and interpretations, etc.
Till now, I think it's a not so bad book, it deserves about a 5? or a 6, maybe. Why?
- The book is too psychological
- The book didn't really pulled for my attention, the things that happened didn't really interest or bother me. One exception: when Antoinette leaves her room in Thornfield Hall the tension rises and I get more interested.
- I could not identify myself with one of the persons, probably because I can't imagine myself so well how things looked like and (other) people treated each other that time.