Things Fell Apart in the Sargasso Sea

Note: This was supposed to be done over the summer holiday.

Things Fell apart in the Sargasso Sea

One of the summer readings was the Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys. Now, you are probably wondering about the odd title. Well it is a reference to the purpose of the texts. In the classic, Jane Eyre, by the famous Bronte, the wife of the “honorable” Mr. Rochester is portrayed as a raving monster who is determined to kill. It was believed, by the noble Jean Rhys, that the culture presented by the lunatic was one of barbarians, not the one she had desired to join as a child. She, much like the would-be offspring of Mr. Rochester and Mrs. Mason, was part Creole part English. She learned the customs of a land she had never visited, while being taught of the world around, she learned a language not used by the general population. She experienced an ambiguity of being both a participant and an observer.

Thus, when she saw the demonization of the Creole women, she decided to defend the culture she had experienced and revealed at. She experienced many such dualities as a child. Of being white, but not from Europe or England. Of being a native of the West Indies, but not black, as the majority of the population was. Of being a women in a time of turbulence for women with a voice. She was able to channel the frustrations of the inconsistences of her life, as well as the indefinite pleasures, into her writing. Particularly the personal narrative, the representation of her inner most conflict, in Wide Sargasso Sea.

In essence, the book follows the life of Antoinette Mason, the third generation after the freeing of the slaves, from a family of slaves owners. As such her life is very insecure, and eventually the natives burn down her home, killing her “special” brother in the process. After this her mother goes insane, and the young women is left to eh care of her stepfather, who finds her a suitable marriage with the wealthy Rochester Family. Through her own desire for affection, after the hardships of her life, she ends up destroying her marriage and is forcibly moved to England where she is imprisoned until the events of Jane Eyre.

But, in the end, Jean Rhys is attempting to fight the demonization of her culture, much as Chinua Achebe does in Things Fall Apart.