Book Review
Title: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Genre: Classic, Literary Fiction
Rating: 3.5 Stars
All I knew about Wide Sargasso Sea before getting into it was that it is an alternative look at Jane Eyre which is actually one of the few classics I have every enjoyed although it was in manga format but I was still excited to pick up this novel. This novel isn’t very long and as I am quite familiar with the story of Jane Eyre my review of Wide Sargasso Sea isn’t going to be long. We are introduced to Antoinette Cosway and the novel is told in three part, her childhood, her marriage, and the events leading up to what happened in Jane Eyre.
In part one we learn of Antoinette’s childhood in the West Indies and how horribly her family were targeted especially after the laws were introduced banishing slavery and how hard the white people especially were targeted. Antoinette’s father died when she was young leaving her mother to look after her and her brother living for five years in poverty before her mother was able to get remarried. After her mother is remarried and life becomes better for them, Antoinette seems to be doing well despite the fact that the bullying she experiences hasn’t stopped. Her mother is worried that their home is no longer safe but her stepfather doesn’t want to leave. This back and forth argument continues until their house is set on fire and Antoinette’s brother is injured and eventually dies. This destroys her mother and her mother’s marriage as she won’t allow her husband to touch her because he didn’t heed her warnings about how badly they were hated in Spanish Town. Her mother is sent away and Antoinette ends up in a convent since her stepfather isn’t around much and she remains here until her stepfather decides to marry her off to Mr. Rochester.
Here we move into part two where we learn Mr. Rochester only married Antoinette for her money and he doesn’t love her at all. However, Antoinette has fallen in love with him especially after they spend the night together and is doing everything she can to make Mr. Rochester love her back but it isn’t working. Eventually, Antoinette turns to a family friend and asks for aid but when this doesn’t work she is advised to leave Mr. Rochester but Antoinette doesn’t feel she can. As time passes, she becomes more and more distressed but the fact Mr. Rochester doesn’t love and this reaches its breaking point when he begins taking lovers and not allowing her to do the same. After he witnesses Antoinette angers he drives away everyone he believes is responsible for Antoinette’s behaviour effectively cutting her off from everything and everyone she loves while he enjoys himself with Grace Poole.
Here we move into part three which provides a little more context for the beginning of Jane Eyre and the events that take place within that book. While I love Jane Eyre and the way the characters are betrayed there, Mr. Rochester comes off as more callous and colder here casting Antoinette aside in favour of someone else without thinking about what she wants and needs shutting her away from the world turning her into a ghost before she is even dead. Overall, Wide Sargasso Sea would be a very interesting read for Jane Eyre fans but for people who don’t like classics or don’t read them the purpose of the novel might not be apparent but it was still worth the read.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk
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