Wide Sea Sargasso
Wide Sea Sargasso is a novel about a woman named Antoinette Cosway and how she is driven to the crazed woman in Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre. It is a story of how a beautiful, wealthy, and unloved daughter is sold into marriage with a man named Mr. Rochester. After they are married, Rochester realizes that he never loved Antoinette and this lack of love and affection plays a serious toll on Antoinette. Being ignored by a man who she loves with all of her being turns her into the crazy lunatic of Bertha Mason.
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys was born with the name Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams and adopted the name Jean Rhys when she became an author. She was born on August 24, 1980 in Roseau, Dominica, an old English colony in the Caribbean. Just as Antoinette Cosway, Rhys was of Creole heritage; her father was British and her mother was a native white West Indian. Her great grandfather was a slave plantation owner in Dominica. After the Emancipation Act was passed, the estate was doomed for failure. Riots led to the looting of the house, and eventually arsonists burned down the estate. The burning of this estate left an enormous impact on Rhys as a person. She went back to visit the ruins and was never the same. The attitude that Rhys adopted after seeing these ruins allows us to have a further understanding of why Antoinette treats Tia and other black characters in the ambiguous way that she does.
Rhys once said, "I have only ever written about myself." This is extremely true. Many of the experiences that Rhys had she used to relate to the character of Antoinette. Both Rhys and Antoinette grew up in predominantly black areas. This led them both to feel out of place and alienated. Antoinette was said to have a slave owning history in her family, and eventually her home of Coulibri was burned in a riot setting. This burning of Coulibri left a huge impact on Antoinette because she lost her home, mother, and all that she had ever known. Antoinette's life was changed forever because of this fire, just as Rhys' life was changed forever after her grandfather's estate was burned. Having married three times, Rhys had some relationship issues as she was able to portray for Antoinette in the story through her dead relationship with Rochester.
Rhys disappeared for some time between 1939 and 1957. She was seen so little that some people believed she had died. She eventually came out of the shadows and published what is believed to be her most famous work, Wide Sea Sargasso, in 1966. After this, she was accredited with being a highly talented and capable author. In 1967, Wide Sea Sargasso was awarded with the W. H. Smith literary award. Due to her strong literary ability and attributions, Rhys was honored as a Commander of the British Empire in 1978. She died one year later on May 14, 1979.
Bibliography:
"Biography of Jean Rhys". Grade Saver. Grade Saver LLC. Web. 5 Jun 2015. http://www.gradesaver.com
Rhys once said, "I have only ever written about myself." This is extremely true. Many of the experiences that Rhys had she used to relate to the character of Antoinette. Both Rhys and Antoinette grew up in predominantly black areas. This led them both to feel out of place and alienated. Antoinette was said to have a slave owning history in her family, and eventually her home of Coulibri was burned in a riot setting. This burning of Coulibri left a huge impact on Antoinette because she lost her home, mother, and all that she had ever known. Antoinette's life was changed forever because of this fire, just as Rhys' life was changed forever after her grandfather's estate was burned. Having married three times, Rhys had some relationship issues as she was able to portray for Antoinette in the story through her dead relationship with Rochester.
Rhys disappeared for some time between 1939 and 1957. She was seen so little that some people believed she had died. She eventually came out of the shadows and published what is believed to be her most famous work, Wide Sea Sargasso, in 1966. After this, she was accredited with being a highly talented and capable author. In 1967, Wide Sea Sargasso was awarded with the W. H. Smith literary award. Due to her strong literary ability and attributions, Rhys was honored as a Commander of the British Empire in 1978. She died one year later on May 14, 1979.
Bibliography:
"Biography of Jean Rhys". Grade Saver. Grade Saver LLC. Web. 5 Jun 2015. http://www.gradesaver.com
Jane Eyre
Based on Chrarlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. The 2011 version directed by Cary Fukunaga. Available on Netflix!!