Rochester’s renaming of Antoinette, calling her ‘Bertha’, signifies the possession and ownership that Rochester feels he has over Antoinette; the renaming, similar to that of renaming an animal, shows the extent of control that Rochester has over her, as well as ‘owning’ her physically, retaining her money and land, he owns her identity, having the power to turn Antoinette into ‘Bertha’, which Antoinette is conscious of, “you are trying to make me into someone else”. Furthermore, as well as illustrating the extent of power that a male patriarchal society has over women, it shows Antoinette’s value to Rochester, the ability to rename (again like an animal) shows Antoinette as becoming objectified, of little value. Also, the transition to ‘Bertha’ symbolises the metamorphoses Antoinette has been subject to; from the pleasant, beautiful, young girl at the beginning of the book ‘pretty like pretty self’ to the now, monstrous, beast of a woman that features in Bronte’s work ‘her hair hung… murder in her eyes”.

Naturally, Antoinette rejects Rochester’s attempts to rename her “you are tying to make me into someone else”; this shows Antoinette as an opposing, independent, female character towards the attempts of control that Rochester, and the patriarchal society, attempt to make of her. This shows that Antoinette is both conscious of Rochester’s attempt to control her “that is not my name”, but also, it shows Antoinette as fighting this; attacking the stereotype of passivity from female characters, especially in defense of male dominance.

Arguably, Antoinette has been on the brink of insanity from the beginning of the book, both regular deaths, Mr. Luttrell, Her Brother, her father, and rejections from her mother, step father and society would have left her mentally unstable. Furthermore, Antoinette’s attraction towards Rochester in the period of time where the pair were sexually active, and on mutual terms, left her susceptible to a considerable amount of psychological damage when Rochester finally rejects her, and sleeps with a young black girl. Rochester, from Antoinette’s perspective, was the one loving figure in her life; Rochester was the only presence that Antoinette has ever had a physical relationship; this final rejection (coupled with taking to drinking) was the last snare that would destruct Antoinette’s already fragile mentality. (“Don’t you love me?” “No, I do not.” “She laughed at that, a crazy laugh.”)

Rochester takes her to England because, although he has caused Antoinette’s lunacy, he remains possessive over her; although it is not specifically said, Rochester hints at leaving Antoinette in the Spanish islands because “she has gone her mother’s way”. However, after Josephine mentions that Antoinette will ‘marry again’ and ultimately forget Rochester he states ‘a pang of jealousy shot through me”. Rochester knows that in England he is able to use his prosperity to hide Antoinette away, furthermore, he knows that unlike the socialism of the Spanish towns vibrant community, the relatively silent English community would only ever hear of Antoinette as a rumour (as is shown within Bronte’s work).

A feminist critic might argue that Rochester being unnamed is Rhys attempting to show the character as ‘all men’. By leaving the character anonymous, it allows for easier relation to the male race as a whole- or as male patriarchy as a whole.

8-14

When Rochester touches the rose 'the petals dropped', Rhys uses this as a symbol for the destruction of nature, purity, and ultimately, innocence. The Rose offers a symbol for Antoinette, she is wild compared to Rochester's Upper-Class English sensibilities and arguably part of nature; it is nature that Antoinette feels comfort in, nature provides the mother care that Antoinette's biological mother failed to provide; while Annette 'pushed her away', Antoinette is welcomed by the nature surrounding the Caribbean islands. When Rochester destroys the rose he is also destroying nature, this foreshadowing his destruction of Antoinette. The idea that 'the petals dropped' expresses the delicate nature of the rose, and with this the delicate nature of Antoinette. However, unlike the rose, Antoinette is not delicate physically but mentally; her mental capacity is on the verge of collapse like her mother. Just as Rochester easily destroys the rose, he can easily destroy Antoinette through rejection; Rochester is the symbol of male dominance and destruction, like Annette, Antoinette is doomed by the dominance of man tied through marriage. Rochester is the parallel of Mason with Anette.

Rhys uses features of the landscape to symbolise Antoinette; Rochester describes seeing a ravine hidden within the islands precipitous landscape, "one side the wall of green, on the other a steep drop below", this illustrates the idea that, although Antoinette on the surface seems beautiful, natural and ultimately 'sane'. Yet, like the steep drop that lies behind the 'wall of green', Antoinette has the darkness of insanity suppressed under her cover of sanity and beauty. Rhys continues the threatening association with nature with "those hills will close in on you", "an extreme green" - this resonates the idea that lunacy is inherited, and so natural, to Antoinette. The hills close in on Rochester as lunacy closes in on Antoinette's sanity. Furthermore, the language Rochester uses in association to nature is almost always negative, Rhys uses this to portray Rochester's inability to accept both Antoinette's culture and her home 'too much purple, extreme green'; Rochester is made uncomfortable by the islands inability to be tamed, also Antoinette's wild nature ('throwing like a boy') as it represents a threat to Rochester's male dominance- (highlights the divide between the two even further).

Antoinette's 'uncertain mind' is highlighted in doubts as to whether 'poisonous snakes' inhabit the island, repeatedly changing her mind as to whether they do or not, Antoinette's fragmented mind means she is unable to string concise sentences together. She is obviously conscious of her depleting mentality as she expresses this doubt to Rochester 'Afraid of what? Everything. Nothing. I'm afraid of what might happen" 'what might happen' is Antoinette losing her mind, falling into insanity as did her mother.

Daniel Cosway informs Rochester through a letter of the families inherited insanity, as well as illustrating the Cosway's somewhat, corrupt, past involving slavery and promiscuousness, adultery.

Antoinette becomes utterly dependant on Rochester; Rochester is the only figure in Antoinette's life that has shown her any type of intimate affection, naturally, she must cling on to this as her mother's rejection has left her insecure about her ability to 'love' or be 'loved'. For Antoinette, the sex Rochester gives her each death equates to love, she believes that she loves Rochester and vice versa, thus becomes  dependant on him as a source of protection, security, he tells her she is 'safe'; for Antoinette this represents the first time she has ever actually been 'safe' in her life. Unfortunately, for Rochester sex equates for nothing but pleasure and does not feel the same affection for Antoinette as she to him, from this point Antoinette is doomed. Rochester will eventually break from Antoinette as he will grow bored of her pleasure, as Antoinette is dependant on him this will force her into lunacy; repressed feeling of rejection from her mother, father and society will flood her mind, Antoinette will become 'Bertha'.

Ben Allen

Wide Sargasso Sea, Part Two 1-7.

The opening lines of part two are now narrated by, whom we assume to be Rochester from ‘Jane Eyre’, and are undoubtedly pessimistic; the list-like language that the speaker uses, each point separated by a short pause, creates a slow rhythm that mimics the feeling of dread that, evidently, Rochester feels: ‘So it was all over, the advance and the retreat, the doubts and hesitations.’ The language that the speaker uses emphasizes the end of a life rather than a ‘new beginning’ that a wedding symbolises; Rochester views the imminent life with Antoinette as doomed rather than hopeful. The speaker references the wedding ceremony ‘for better or for worse’, yet, due to the underlining pessimism in the language used previously, the reference is read in a satirical tone- emphasizing the negative ‘for worse’.

Rhys uses pathetic fallacy to emphasize the feeling of dread, the narrator describes finding ‘shelter’ under ‘heavy rain’; however, the rain could also symbolise the release of emotions that would normally be associated with a marriage, the release of tears and joy; the pair shelter under it as their marriage is utterly emotionless.

Amelie is laughing at Rochester because she recognises the corrupt nature and sense of ‘doom’ that surrounds their loveless marriage; she urges that the pair ‘be very happy’ sarcastically, since it is obvious that the pair have no emotional connection to each other. Rochester recognises that Amelie can see through his charade, he blames it on his recent ‘fever’ and attempts to persuade himself that he ‘is not [himself] yet’. Yet, it is Rochester’s own inability to love Antoinette coupled with his ‘doubts and hesitations’ that make the marriage doomed.

Antoinette speaks to Rochester ‘anxiously’; this could symbolise Antoinette’s eagerness to please Rochester, we could argue that since her mother’s rejection, she is determined to make the marriage with Rochester work, she cannot face another rejection, simply yearning for love and protection.  So, although it may be clear that Rochester has no emotional attachment to her, Antoinette conforms to the role of ‘the caring wife’ in an attempt to please him and form some kind of emotional bond, an attraction. Alternatively, this could also symbolise Antoinette being submissive to Rochester; although Antoinette matches Rochester in structure she is undoubtedly below him in status; she feels the need to please him, illustrating the dominance that Rochester has over her, simply because he is male.

Rochester reluctance to accept Antoinette’s culture is shown in the negative language he uses to describe the tropical island and its inhabitants; he describes the sea as ‘creeping stealithy’ upon him, as if he feels threatened by the islands inability to be tamed- after all Rochester grew up in the civilised upper-class English society, so naturally feels threatened by an island that seems ‘wild’ to him. Furthermore, he sees the colourful nature of the Jamaican people as ‘gaudy’ rather than positively ‘vibrant’; his refusal to enter the house of the island native shows his reluctance to socialise and accept the culture that surrounds him, he would rather be soaked by the rain than enter the ‘hut’ owned by an individual who would probably be his slave back in England. Interestingly, his use of the word ‘hut’ rather than ‘home’ to describe the woman’s residence could also show Rochester’s distance from the culture that seems so ‘Alien’ to him, ‘they are not English, or European either’.

In this section it is easy to feel empathy for Rochester as the ‘outsider’; we could argue that he is neglected of having a voice in Antoinette’s culture in his inability to understand the social norms of the culture so alien to him. Furthermore, he cannot even understand his company’s conversations; they speak in a ‘French patois’, which divides him from the community further. Rochester illustrates his distress himself describing how (the rain soaking him) ‘added to my feeling of discomfort and melancholy’.

Wide Sargasso Sea Q’s

The burning of Coulibri foreshadows the fire at the end of the novel, both Antoinette’s dream of burning the house, and the fire that destroys Thornfield in Jane Eyre. However, we could also argue that the burning of Coulibri symbolises the ‘burning passion’ that inherits Antoinette’s character, Antoinette holds a passion inside her that captivity cannot extinguish; she is both fiery in temperament but also in her overt sexuality. The ‘red dress’ that she adores later in the novel is a symbol of her sexual nature ‘I looked at the red dress on the floor and is was as if the fire had spread across the room’; Rochester detests and finds Antoinette ugly when wearing the red dress as it emphases her sexual nature, something that Rochester Is afraid of. Yet, Rochester is sexually aroused when he sees Antoinette in her white dress, because white traditionally symbolises the purity and chastity in a woman, the ‘virginal bride’. Rochester is attracted to her here because, unlike the overt sexuality presented in the white dress, the virginal bride is a symbol Rochester is able to relate to, coming from an upper class, English, family. The burning of Coulibri is also a physical portrait of the ‘fire’ destroying the workings of Antoinette’s mind, driving her to lunacy, insanity.

‘We stared at each other, blood on my face, tears on hers. It was as if I saw myself’. Antoinette is searching for an Identity because her family, particularly her mother, has rejected her. Psychoanalytically, we can argue that Antoinette has begun projecting her perception of herself onto the faces of others in an attempt to see if she will become accepted by them. We could also argue that, in Antoinette seeing herself in Tia, she is actually idolizing Tia, and the black community as a generalization; Antoinette realises that, although the Black people are in poverty, they are living a life free of patriarchal oppression ‘there is never a wedding’. Antoinette recognizes the destruction caused through marriage; Mason, metaphorically, ‘clipped’ the wings of Annette and refused her right to freedom, which caused her lunacy.   

 

On waking up, from the burning of Coulibri, we learn that Antoinette has been unconscious for the majority of six weeks after becoming sick; presumably the house burning down has caused her to break down physically. It is notable that after this the narration becomes particularly fragmented; Antoinette repeatedly skips large fragments of time and key information begins to be given to the reader in a casual form: ‘she died last year, no one told me how’; the informal delivery of this information symbolises how Antoinette has become numb emotionally, foreshadowing her  lunacy. Also, the cold delivery of this information rejects any form of empathy from Antoinette, it is clear that the emotional bond between Mother and Daughter has been severed. This kind of fragmented, reported narrations reflects on Antoinette’s diminishing mind; as he mental capacity weakens, as does her ability to tell the story; this is why Rochester is given the narrative voice in the second part of the novel.

On leaving Aunt Cora’s house Antoinette becomes subject to bullying from a young black girl and an albino black boy; this again reflects on how Antoinette has become marginalised by not only the upper class whites, but the black community also. She is seen as the ‘other’ even by an albino black (we would assume he would be marginalised to some extent from the superstitious black community). Furthermore, this event symbolises the danger that lies outside for Antoinette; the outside world, for Antoinette, is filled with hate and prejudice.

The act of the nun washing Antoinette’s wounds is symbolic of cleansing; the cleansing of her wounds is a biblical reference to Jesus washing the feet, and the act of cleansing the subject itself is supposed to rid the subject of their sins, or wounds suffered through acts of hatred and prejudice. In this instance the Nun cleanses Antoinette’s wounds in an attempt to heal some of the psychological wounds created through the rejection of Antoinette’s mother, by taking up a motherly role.  It is important that the role that Jesus played has been replaced by a Nun; it represents how Antoinette feels safe within the confines of a matriarchal environment, the convent. The outside world represents danger, as it is a male dominated patriarchal society, Antoinette is susceptible to the dangers of the patriarchal world; being poor, the only way she can achieve financial comfort is through marriage. The convent represents an escape from this, a relief, ‘the convent is my refuge’.

At the end of part one, Antoinette has the recurring dream of being chased through the forest by ‘someone who hates’ her; it is significant that Rhys structures the dream at this point in the novel, as it represents the dangers Antoinette faces in leaving the safety of the convent, the matriarchal society that protected her for a short while will be replaced by the dangers of the outside world, the patriarchal world. Furthermore, the dream foreshadows the imminent arrival of Rochester; we would assume that the person with her in the dream is Rochester.

If we were to give a psychoanalytical reading of the dream, we can see, in comparison to the first dream, that here Antoinette is following the mysterious figure instead of being chased by him; we could argue that this is a physical demonstration of how Antoinette begins to become submissive to Rochester later in the novel. Instead of embracing the passion that Antoinette embodies, eventually Antoinette becomes subverted to Rochester in an attempt to reconcile his love for her. The idea that she is ‘following him’ could be seen as an attempt for her to win him back. Alternatively, we could read it as Rochester leading the relationship, embracing the dominant male role and leading her towards entrapment. The dress that Antoinette wears is obviously a wedding gown ‘white and beautiful’; this foreshadows the wedding to Rochester later in the novel and, again, shows Antoinette becoming submissive and abandoning her liberates female state.  Furthermore, within Antoinette’s dream it states how ‘the tree threw’ her; this contrasts to how Antoinette previously found protection in nature, however, nature is now rejecting Antoinette. She is a complete outsider, isolated by nature and humanity.

 

Wide Sargasso Sea Context.

Jean Rhys was a white Caribbean woman, so naturally, she felt empathy for the character Charlotte Bronte depicted in 'Jane Eyre'; Bertha was simply the lunatic hidden away from society, she had no voice and was simply the antagonist to the protagonist within the story. Jean Rhys was disappointed in this portrayal of the Creole woman and felt that, like herself, she needed a voice, and at least deserved a 'backstory'; 'Wide Sargasso Sea' was Rhys's response to Jane Eyre, a prequel, an attempt to build on the history of Bertha/Antoinette whilst allowing us to feel empathy for the marginalised woman, rejected by her mother, wanting to be loved. While Jane Eyre only shows the woman as a lunatic; Rhys's novel takes the reader deeper into the psychology of the character, giving her a voice and a different perspective to allow us to feel empathy for the isolated character.  Rhys wrote Wide Sargasso in the 1960's; feminism was a big movement at the time and women were beginning to find a voice within the patriarchal society. Issues with race were beginning to be questioned, and the idea of freedom was everywhere thanks to post war euphoria. All of these elements can be traced within Wide Sargasso and probably provided a huge influence: Wide Sargasso could be read as a feminist text, giving a marginalised, Creole, woman a sense of 'freedom' and a voice; also questioning race issues 'White Cockroach'.

Another reason that Jean Rhys could of written Wide Sargasso is because of her own connections with the character. Like Bertha, Rhys had her own troubles immigrating to England, she hated the Country (visible in her descriptions of England within W.S) but didn't count herself as Creole either, she was a self proclaimed outsider ("i don't belong anywhere"). She would of been surrounded by numerous ex slave families when living in Jamaica, so would of seen some of the Race issues shown within the novel first hand. Rhys also had a drinking problem, she married numerous times and became a mistress to many men on many occasions, constantly moving around the world; like Bertha, we could argue Rhys's behaviour shows a need of love, company.

How does Rhys's use of pronouns compare with Bronte's?

Both writers use pronouns to separate the protagonist from their company, they become marginalised by the language used. There is never a 'we' only ever 'they' and 'I', both writers neglect to include their characters from collective speech, always keeping them apart; they are always the outsider looking in.

Answers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common jobAnswers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common profession for the middle-class Victorian woman, simply because it required a high level of education and held a reasonable amount of respect towards the position, this enabled unmarried women to earn a living without degrading themselves to lower-class work. However, the role of the governess was a problem for the Victorian upper-class, suddenly upper-class families were employing ‘educated’ women in their homes along with the servants and lower classed employee’s, however, they could not allow them to stay with the lower class workers because they were of a higher class, similarly they could not have the Governess stay with them because they were of a higher class, the position made it hard to stick to the rigid class system put in place. Poovey refers to the governess position as ‘the fate that awaited any middle class women who failed to marry’ because the Governess role was the only option for a single woman, of an educated nature, to earn any reasonable amount of money, as the norm for a Victorian woman was to live of the money inherited from her husband. The role is also noted to ‘most closely approximate’ the role of ‘that of the wife or mother’

Bronte used the role of the Governess for two reasons, Firstly: the novel is part biographical of Charlotte herself, Charlotte, being a governess, would be able to write from a Governess’ perspective accurately. Secondly: The Governess role was a role that showed an independent woman, taking her future into her own hands, as Jane is a character seeking liberation from the Reed’s oppression the Governess role is ideal for the character, enabling her to write her own future rather than awaiting a husband, especially since she notes herself as ‘plain’ (doubting anyone would want to marry her). This decision was innovative, within Victorian Literature, to give the protagonist the role of the Governess as it idolizes an independent woman fighting against a male dominated patriarchal society. Women were expected to marry and live off of the wealth of a husband, Bronte focuses the reader on a character breaking this norm, this is how Jane Eyre could be read as an early feminist text, Jane is equal to Rochester, men and women are equal.

As soon as Jane becomes a Governess Bronte marginalizes all of Jane’s encounters with Adele within the story, this is because Bronte wishes the reader to focus on the protests the role presents rather than the job itself. Instead of a functioning teacher, we are supposed to focus on how Jane is going against ‘the norm’ in society by taking the position, challenging gender roles, Bronte incorporates the role to make psychological arguments rather than to show the function of the role.

The role of the Governess challenges the original readerships perception of the ‘sexual hierarchy’, suddenly women were becoming less submissive and taking working roles that could often equal or even surpass many roles of working men. Women now became competition for working class men in scarce jobs, because of the ‘depressed 1840’s’. Women were previously expected to stay at home and take up traditional women’s roles of wife and mother, working class men now argued against this new threat for work.

It is significant that Jane abandons the role of the Governess as it furthers Bronte’s illustration of a woman pushing the boundaries of the Victorian Ideology, towards women. The original readership would recognize that Jane abandoning her position puts her in a state of vulnerability, exposing herself to the male dominated society, However,  it would appear to contradict the intention of becoming a governess, to become independent, as she becomes dependent on the moral services of John Reed.

By concluding the novel with Jane marrying Rochester, Bronte seems to contradict the intentions of having Jane as the independent female character, as she has conformed to the norms of the Victorian society by marrying a wealthy man. However, it is also important to note the Bronte attempts to reconcile Jane’s independence. Jane is now Rochester’s equal, she is his carer, she also remains Adele’s teacher. 

1.Brontë uses pathetic fallacy within this extract to express an unsettling mood ‘driven to shelter by the wind’ ‘augment its rush and deepen its roar’; this disconcerting feeling mimics Jane’s feelings towards her relationship with Rochester, as she subconsciously feels it falling apart; whether she is beginning to recognise Rochester’s concealment of Bertha or recognises that she, as a lower class women, could not (in the eyes of a Victorian reader) marry Rochester because he is a higher class, the original readership would deem this as being unnatural. The harsh wind and rain is an example of the pathetic fallacy used to symbolise the disruption in society caused by Jane and Rochester’s proposed marriage.

 2.Within the extract, Brontë again refers to the motif of ‘Fire and Ice’, the cold wind and rain juxtapose Jane’s fiery personality; while the rain is a cold force wishing to attack Jane,  Jane again shows her independence and fiery nature, fighting against the elements. The idea that she is ‘fighting the elements’ from a feminist perspective could show Jane’s want of liberation, fighting against what was thought as ‘natural’ and ‘right’: marrying Rochester who was of a higher class, while still retaining her independence. However, Bronte also uses Jane as the ‘ice’ against the ‘fire’ that is the burning tree; the tree is split and burning, yet Jane remains calm and speaks to it ‘as if it were a living thing’, the idea that in this situation Jane is the ‘ice’ reflects on Helen Burns’ stoic teachings from earlier in the book. Incidentally, Jane talking to the tree ‘as if it were alive’ could also foreshadow Bertha later in the book, the conversation with the tree a sign of lunacy.

3.Bronte language is reflective of the Gothic genre, using phrases like 'gaped and ghastly' 'monster splinters' wreck and ruin', all evoking images of horror and destruction particularly 'wreck and ruin' which illustrates the idea that Jane is falling apart, something is being destroyed, all of this is very dark language reflective of the Gothic as a whole. Bronte also uses the phrase 'cloven halves' this could be a reference to the Devil's 'cloven Hooves' again provoking dark imagery of the Devil and Hell, religion is also a generic feature within Gothic texts.  

4. The Chestnut tree's destruction is a symbol of the destruction of Jane and Rochester's relationship, 'torn apart' because of the Fire that is Bertha. However, the fact that the 'firm base' and roots remained strong foreshadows the survival of the relationship, the 'firm base' is the idea that Jane's relationship is fixed on a 'firm basis' of intimacy towards each other, that cannot be broken. 

5. Along with the survival of the relationship foreshadowed through the reference of the 'firm base' and rigid roots, Bronte also foreshadows Bertha in this extract. She personifies a female moon, the moon being 'lunar' spurs the idea of 'lunacy', an insane mind, Bertha. The moon 'buried herself again instantly' behind the clouds, as if it were Rochester ushering Bertha back into her room, concealing her, out of sight out of mind. The tree burning is itself foreshadowing the burning of Thornifield 'it stood black and driven'.

6. Psychoanalytically, through Jane's direct conversation to the tree, we can see that Jane holds a s overwhelming sense of optimism, she is able to see life in something that is completely dead: 'scathed as you look, there must be a little sense of life in you yet' we could argue that Jane is actually referring to her relationship with Rochester, even though she cannot be with him she still finds the little life left within him to revive their love, adapting to be his carer, retaining independence 'you did right to hold fast to each other'. However, while being optimistic of it's survival, she is also critical in stating that 'you will never see birds again' or have 'green leaves'; again we could argue that Jane recognises that her relationship with Rochester will never be the same again, Rochester will never be fully healthy and they may never get over what Bertha did to their relationship (this would all be foreshadowed as is hasn't happened yet)   Jane is able to realise that, while there is hope, things will never be the same again. 

8. Bronte uses the imagery of the tree splitting in an attempt to express the unnatural act of Jane and Rochester's marriage in consideration of the rigid class system of the time, a view that the original readership would of shared. The class system in the Victorian era was expected to be set from birth, and the idea for a member of an upperclass family to marry someone of a lower class was deemed 'unnatural' Bronte expresses this literarily in the visual form of the tree being split in two, the tree, a natural thing. Jane progressing to a higher class would be 'breaking' the social norm, thus the tree breaks in half to represent to break in the social hierarchy. However, the idea that the roots remain intact portray how, although Jane does 'dent' the social class expectation, her damage will in no way be permanent; the class system will forever be rigid simply because of the natural greed the human race contains. Here, we could argue, that Bronte is taking the didactic approach to teach the, rather pessimistic lesson, that whatever we do, the social norm may never change.