WIDE SARGASSO SEA

by Jean Rhys

SETTING
Surrounding the Windward Islands (west Indies) Islands mentioned: Martinique (French Influence) Jamaica (English Influence) Dominica (French Influence

An Image

Another Image

Yet Another Image

Published
1966 (great acclaim) Portrays the condition of Jamaica in the 1830 s after the Emancipation Act. Reflection of orthodox West Indies culture & European modernism.

EMANCIPATION ACT

Freedom of the Slaves

British freed its slaves. Areas Caribbean Colonies Result Economy of the Islands was thrown into temporary chaos.

JEAN RHYS

Jean Rhys
Born 24 August, 1890; died 14 May, 1979 Pessimistic view on life aging, racism, colonialism Called the best living English novelist in 1974 Purest of writers * passion for stating the case of the underdog (without passion- formal beauty) * singular instinct for form (without singular instinct too sentimental & emotional) Questioned the codes & traditions of the male dominated society.

Autobiographical Element
Her life hinted in WSS Born in Dominica-spent childhood there Mother a Creole Rootless wandering life Insecure and unsettled

Autobiographical Element-(Contd.)

Influenced by black servants who raised her. Plagued by poverty, illness, alcoholism, she felt the first hand psychological and physical toll of being a single woman in a patriarchal society.

CREOLE
A white of European descent; born and brought up in the West Indies

INSPIRATION
Rhys was inspired by the character of Bertha in Charlotte Jean Bronte s Jane Eyre

Story of a Creole Heiress

Continued

19th century in the West Indies Dowries an additional burden to the creole heiresses. Belonging to decadent, expatriate society Resented by the recently freed slaves

Continued

Shared their superstitions Languished uneasily in the oppressive beauty of their tropical surroundings. Ripe for exploitation Psyche of the main characters are explored Their identities & fears examined.

THE NOVEL-WIDE SARGASSO SEA SKELETAL VIEW There are 3 sections in the novel. Each section is in First Person narration. It is not in chronological order; it jumps through time and space th (Different from the traditional 19 century presentations)

VIEW CONTINUED
Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway MEETS MADNESS ensues

...
Young Englishman (drawn to her wealth, innocence & sensuality) MARRIAGE TAKESPLACE

Torn between his demands and her sense of belonging

Antoinette in a dilemma

Rumors poison husband s mind

SETTINGS OF THE 3 PARTS

PART 1 4 sections - Jamaica (Antoinette s voice) PART 2 9 sections - Granbois, Dominica (Her husband s voice and hers in some places) PART 3 2 sections - Europe (Antoinette s voice)

TITLE JUSTIFICATION

 Out in the middle of the Southern Atlantic ocean is a roughly millionsquare-mile area known as the Sargasso Sea. On the surface of this sea is an enormous mat of entangled, floating algae, kept in place by a combination of ocean currents and lack of winds.

TITLE JUSTIFICATION (Contd ..)

The movement of the currents which surround this sea, including the Gulf Stream, the Equatorial, the Canary and the Caribbean, collude to entrap anything that floats into this area and keep it, mostly, from escaping.

 Dominant plant of the Sargasso Sea is sargassum weed grows attached to rocks in shallow waters grows attached to rocks in shallow waters ends up drifting in the water until it washes up on shore or dies sargassum adapts to this free-floating existence and thrives in open water Lying beneath this surface layer of floating seaweed is miles of desert.

TITLE JUSTIFICATION (Contd ..)

 Sargasso Sea is in complete contrast to the ocean around it. Its currents are largely immobile yet surrounded by some of the strongest currents in the world: The Florida, Gulf Stream, Canary, North Equatorial, Antilles, and Caribbean currents. These interlock to separate this sea from the rest of the tempestuous Atlantic, making its indigenous currents largely disorderly.

 Anything that drifts onto any of its surrounding currents eventually ends up in the Sargasso Sea amidst its expansive weed mats of sargassum. Because of the entropious currents, it is unlikely anything would ever drift out.

NOW APPLY THIS TO THE NOVEL