Racism in wide sargasso sea. Wide Sargasso Sea Themes 2022-10-15
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Racism is a prevalent theme in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, a novel that serves as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Set in the 1830s, the novel follows the life of Antoinette Cosway, a mixed-race woman living in the British West Indies. Antoinette is constantly subject to racism and discrimination because of her mixed-race heritage, and this theme is explored in various ways throughout the novel.
One way in which racism is evident in Wide Sargasso Sea is through the treatment of Antoinette by the white colonizers living in the British West Indies. From a young age, Antoinette is seen as inferior because of her mixed-race heritage, and she is constantly subjected to ridicule and prejudice from the white community. This is particularly evident in the way in which the white colonizers view Antoinette's mother, Annette, who is of African descent. Annette is treated as an outsider by the white community, and Antoinette is often seen as an extension of her mother, inheriting the same stigma and discrimination.
Another way in which racism is explored in the novel is through the character of Antoinette's husband, Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester is a white man who marries Antoinette, and he is initially attracted to her because of her exotic and mysterious nature. However, as the marriage progresses, Mr. Rochester becomes more and more resentful of Antoinette, viewing her as a burden and a liability. This is partly due to the fact that he is not used to being with a woman of mixed-race heritage, and he is uncomfortable with the societal expectations that come with such a relationship. As a result, Mr. Rochester begins to distance himself from Antoinette, eventually leading to their eventual separation and Antoinette's descent into madness.
Finally, racism is also evident in the way in which the character of Antoinette is depicted in the novel. Throughout the novel, Antoinette is depicted as being otherworldly and exotic, with a distinct "tropical" appearance that is meant to set her apart from the white characters in the novel. This exoticization of Antoinette serves to further reinforce the idea that she is different and inferior, and it contributes to the discrimination and prejudice that she faces throughout the novel.
Overall, racism is a pervasive theme in Wide Sargasso Sea, and it plays a significant role in shaping the experiences of the main character, Antoinette Cosway. Through the depiction of Antoinette's experiences with racism and discrimination, Rhys' novel highlights the damaging effects of prejudice and the importance of challenging and dismantling systems of oppression.
Otherness and Alienation Theme in Wide Sargasso Sea
She had to laugh! During her time in the convent, Antoinette looks up to the nuns as figures of virtue that are to be followed and admired. Rochester finds the tropics and the fragility of European imperial enterprise disorienting and threatening. Both tactics failed since, as Jane puts it, her conscience personified strangles her passion for Rochester. This passage, narrated by Antoinette in Part Three, reflects several significant themes regarding her captivity in Thornfield Hall. Discuss the way in which Jean Rhys uses different locations in the narrative. Who at first glance is not an attractive man by any means.
The "Wide Sargasso Sea" Blog: Race and Gender in "Wide Sargasso Sea"
Readability F 55% Feminism in Jane eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea A patriarchal society is a world in which men are the sole decision makers and hold positions of power and the highest authority. . I remember watching myself brush my hair and how my eyes looked back at me. Paul Monaghan directed and devised Obeah Night, performed at La Mama, Melbourne, in 1993. Relations between the Crown and the Colonies before the stamp act were already stressed. Nobody should be treated differently or have their rights taken away because of their skin color.
Although the fire evidently causes destruction, Rhys also suggests it to be a form of escape for Coco the parrot from the oppressive coloniser, Mr Mason. They were also being blamed for robberies and shootings because white southerners used them as an escape goat, which could be considered racism. Slavery was a common practice through out the English Empire until the 1830s. In addition, this identification of this group as ravenous pests sets them apart, both alienating and displacing them in Jamaican society. In the end, however, after all the abuse she suffers under the hand of Mr. But we were not in their ranks. Its ideal is presented in stark contrast, again and again, to its reality.
Though race and gender may seem to have disappeared in the modern world, Jean Rhys craftily exposes the hardships of racial and sexist biases. During this time, the black people were oppressed by white people. Woman in the Attic 1987 , by Gabby Brennan and Polly Croke, directed by Peter Freund, and performed by Whistling in the Theatre at the Anthill Theatre in Melbourne, blends adaptations of both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. These two forces have been the driving cause behind many events - Society, government, culture, and war. This metaphor arguably reflects the violent, aggressive attitudes of the black people, mirroring the liminal status of the Creoles. Their Eyes Were Watching God Character Analysis 2253 Words 10 Pages St.
She acts freely according to her values and morality. Although, Jane was punished for her actions, she does not regret fighting John back. They had little freedom and were unable to be self-sufficient. Rochester, showed that racism still existed in this post-slavery area when he kicked Christophine off of the island when she spoke up against the injustice that Rochester was causing to Antoinette, with her affection and with her money 1071-1072. This comment precedes a odd formation of friendship between the two girls, but a nasty round of comments follows at a playdate at the pool.
Feminism in Jane Eyre and the wide sargasso sea Essay Example
Its ideal is presented in stark contrast, again and again, to its reality. Discrimination is prevalent when people that are different are called names. Look at those damn white niggers! The Masons do not make a separate financial settlement on Antoinette, leaving her no means if she abandons the marriage. At the time it was published in 1947, Brontë issued her book under the alias of a male, Currer Bell. She believes it is her destiny to fulfil the vision and escaping from the room, she sets the house on fire. Not only were the black people were oppressed but also women were oppressed.
More specifically, the development of the inter-dependent themes of trauma, exploitation, as well as female vulnerability, which all in the case in question pertain to one single character, also latently extend over to the wider social issue of colonialism and its entailing negative repercussions, in this case as it applies to the Caribbean and the British Empire. According to an article concerning the emancipation of Jamaica in the 1800s on jamica-guide. Oppression and imprisonment are unsustainable. Smith Award for Writers and the W. Without a name, she does not know what to call herself; without a face, she becomes a ghost. Cosway was an alcoholic whose sugar estate failed because of economic decline and the slaves being freed.
In furtherance, although they have a strange relationship, seeing that Christophine was given to her mother as a wedding present, she and Antoinette still share a nurturing relationship which Mr. Rochester, she is not allowing herself to be controlled by a man. But Rhys tackles a more important point: an overall racial hostility between everybody living in Jamaica during the novels time period with no one to blame. Although Jane had been working for him for a while, she never met him until an accident that forced them to unexpectedly meet. What am I doing in this place and who am I? It provided them with a chance to re-invent and be rid of previous negative ideology concerning their identity.
Rochester pleaded passionately for her to stay, revealing his unfortunate history and even threatening to use physical force to restrain Jane. Mason in order to rise to the former life she once held, and Antoinette sought Mr. They seem to exclude Antoinette through their repetitive use of racialised insults. No more false heavens. They see her, not unreasonably, as a member of the colonial elite whose wealth and power is built on the sweat of Black slavery. The same word that is used against black people has been turned around on whites as a way of keeping them in a lowly place.
However, we first take a look at the impact of racism in the novel's development. However, they both picked sides in this instance, ongoing with his black side and the other with his white side and blood relation. McLaurin try to remove the concept of fear so that both communities could see them selfas people and as equal races. But in any case, Bertha does eventually become mad, and such traumatic experiences, the product of deep-seated racial tensions, must have had at least some effect on her already delicate psychological condition. This is a big way that Jane proves herself as a strong and beautiful woman because she never judges a book by its cover.
