Companion novel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
English 12 and AP Literature: Thursday, September 19
 Aim: To introduce and learn about the
context of Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea.
 Do now: Pay attention! No need to take
notes—I will post this PowerPoint on my
web site.
Author: Jean Rhys
 Born in 1890 in Dominica, a Caribbean island, to a
Welsh (from Wales, in the U.K.) father and a “white
Creole” (born in the West Indies, of European descent)
mother.
 Left Dominica in 1907 to pursue an education in
England; was a bitter critic of English values.
 Wrote Wide Sargasso Sea over the course of 21 years;
published in 1966.
Setting of Wide Sargasso Sea
 1840s in West Indies (Jamaica)
 The Sargasso Sea is in the
North Atlantic Sea. It has weak
currents and little wind. Many
legends mention how ships lost
their way in the weeds of the Sargasso Sea and were
never heard from again.
 Bertha is a white Creole. Her family owned black
slaves, now free, who make up most of the population.
This is a time of post-colonialism.
Time shift from Jane Eyre
 Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Jane Eyre, is told from
the perspective of Bertha (i.e. Antoinette Cosway), and
explains the chain of events that lead Bertha to
become the “mad woman in the attic.”
 Jane Eyre takes place 1798-1808, but Rhys shifts the
time period forward. Why? The British Emancipation
Act of 1833 freed slaves in the Caribbean. Former slaveowners (including Antoinette’s family) were supposed
to be compensated for lost slaves, but weren’t. Free
blacks weren’t compensated either. All of this led to
racial tensions on the islands. WSS takes place postemancipation, in the 1840s.
3 parts of Wide Sargasso Sea
 Part 1: Takes place in Coulibri, Jamaica, told from
Antoinette/Bertha’s perspective, describes her childhood.
 Part 2: Takes place in Granbois, Dominica, alternates
between Bertha’s and Rochester’s (unnamed) perspectives,
describes Bertha’s descent into madness and the marriage’s
downfall. Both spouses mistrust each other; Bertha’s nurse
Christophine mistrusts Rochester.
 Part 3: Takes place in England at Rochester’s mansion
(“Great House”), told from Bertha’s perspective in a stream
of consciousness, traces the disintegrating marriage and
Bertha’s relationship with Grace Poole.
Q’s to consider while reading
 In what ways does Rhys give voice to “the madwoman
in the attic”? How does she account for Antoinette
Cosway’s transformation to the Bertha Rochester
whom we see in Jane Eyre? What factors contribute to
the change?
 WSS is considered a postcolonial novel, meaning it
looks at issues of power, politics, and culture related to
the western Colonizers controlling the colonized. How
do these issues play out in WSS?
 WSS gives voice to Bertha, but what about the black
ex-slaves of the West Indies? What is their role in the
novel?
 What do you make of the title: Wide Sargasso Sea?
Wide Sargasso Sea: Opening
 Let’s start reading the text.
What exactly is going on here? What kind of language is
used?
 Character list worksheet: Cheat sheet and reading
assignments.
HOMEWORK:
 Exam tomorrow on Jane Eyre.
Please also bring in WSS—if you finish the exam early,
you can get started on your weekend homework.
 For Monday:
 Bring in Wide Sargasso Sea.
 AP: Read Part 1, pp.9-37
 English 12: Read pp.9-16, 22-28, 33-37. The skipped
sections cover Annette marrying Mr. Mason and then
Aunt Cora sending Antoinette off to a convent school.