Wide Sargasso Sea—Reconstruction and Subversion to Jane Eyre

【Abstract】Jean Rhys’s greatest work Wide Sargasso Sea（WSS） written as a prequel to Charlotte Bront?’s novel Jane Eyre. In rewriting it， Rhys challenges Jane Eyre and critiques the orthodoxy of western civilization from post-colonial perspective. WSS adopts a different narrative strategy from multiple perspectives， managing to decompose and reconstruct the already text and subvert the classic colonial narrative discourse embedded in Jane Eyre.

【Key words】Rewriting; Subversion; Wide sargasso Sea

【作者簡介】童敏（1983-），女，漢族，陜西西安人，西安外國語大學英文學院2016級在讀研究生，研究方向：英語語言文學。

1. The Motivation of Rewriting

In Jane Eyre the images and story are told by Jane and Rochester. Bertha is mentioned first in that novel by being heard her laughter. “I heard a strange， ghostly laugh… I heard the laugh again. It did not sound human to me.”（Bronte， 95） Then， she shows up four times as a madwoman. Nonetheless， the four mad behaviors of Bertha are only described by the narrator， Jane Eyre. Bertha is reduced to be “the absence of presence”（O’Coonnor， 144）， an object bereaved of voice. To Jane， Bertha is not but a demon depicted as “Fearful and ghastly to me- It was a discolored face- it was a savage face. ”（96） Besides， Rochester imparts Jane “Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family”（137） According to Rochester’ narration， his father arranges him the marriage and he obeys under the seduction of Bertha and her family; yet he justifies further that he is oblivious of Bertha’s 30，000 pounds dowry. Thus， Bertha’ image is passively decided by Rochester and Jane. Indeed， their views to Creole woman Bertha are imbedded in the value judgment of the whole European whites and it is just a specific representation of the view that the westerners hold to the alien.

2. The Strategy of Rewriting

In WSS Rhys had Bertha and Rochester respectively relate the story from the first person point of view， so readers can know what they go through， their feelings and thoughts， especially the process to descend into her madness. The novel has three parts. Part one takes place in Coulibri， Jamaica， narrated by Antoinette. Describing childhood experiences， she elucidates her mother’s mental instability and her mentally disabled brother’s tragic death. Part two alternates between perspectives of her husband and Antoinette during their honeymoon excursion to Granbois， Dominica. Daniel， Antoinette’s brother， impugns Antoinette’s reputation and mental state and demands money. Rochester believes in the destructive accounts and he becomes visibly unfaithful to her. Antoinette’s increased sense of paranoia and the bitter disappointment of her failing marriage unbalance her already precarious mental and emotional state. Thus far， we can learn that Antoinette is forced into the brink of madness and the Englishman reveals himself that he marries her only for her 30，000 worth dowry. Narrated from Rochester， the part creates an irony that he tries to justify himself only to reveal his true intention and selfishness and hypocrisy. Meanwhile， he uses her mother’s name to call her， implying that she has “gene for madness” （Rhys， 115）， which finally drives her into insaneness. Part three is from Antoinette， tracing her disintegrating life with the Englishman， as he hides her from the world; he makes empty promises to come to her more， yet sees less of her. He even strays away to pursue relationships with other women—and eventually with the young governess， Jane Eyre.

3. The Significance of Rewriting

Still， confronting these， Bertha in Rhys’ chooses to resist and fight it back. The fire set by the White Creole is meant to take revenge to the white British. She rejects “the man’s voice and his name for her and instead chooses her black friend， rekindling their childhood ties through the fire.” （Emery， 59） Just like Rhys herself suggests， Antoinette’s action of burning Thornfield Hall is viewed as a rebellion and subversion to the colonial authority.

4. Summary

WSS， from the perspective of the colonized ， responses resoundingly to the colonial narration of Jane Eyre. Through giving Bertha a life and voice， it reverses the colonial discourse that Bertha is an inborn madwoman. Through decomposing and reconstructing the already text， WSS subverts the classical colonial discourse embedded in Jane Eyre ， supplements the erased history and gives the muffled their identity and voice， creating a paradigm for the postcolonial literary writing.

References：

[1]Bronte，Charlotte.Jane Eyre.Ed.Beth Newman[M].Boston：St. Martin’s Press，1996Print.

[2]Emery，Mary Lou.Jean Rhys at“World’s End”：Novels of Colonial and Sexual Exile[M].Austin：University of Texas Press，1990Print.

[3]O’Coonnor，Teresa F.Jean Rhys：The West Indian Novels[M].New York：New York UP，1986.Print.

[4]Rhys， Jeans.Wide Sargasso Sea[M].New York：Penguin Books Ltd， 1969.Print.