Charlotte Bronte & Jean Rhys
Bevin O’Connor and Michael Hayashi
“
“Jane Eyre” and “Wide
Table of Contents:
-Biography
-Overview
-Analytical
Essays
-Stylistic
Elements
-Critical
Reads
-Quiz
-Works Cited
Author Bio:
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys was born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams in the British colony
of
In 1907 Rhys left
the island for schooling in
Jean Rhys died on
May 14, 1979, in
Biography of Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte
Bronte was born on April 21, 1816 to Rev. Patrick Bronte and his wife Maria
Bronte in
In
1844
Two years after the initial publications of the
“Bells” Charlotte and Anne revealed their true identities to their publishers.
The same year as this triumph, however, was the death of their now alcoholic
brother, Branwell. This death was first followed by the death of Emily, and
then by the death of Anne the following year. In 1849
Plot
Overview of “Wide
Jean Rhys's literary masterpiece “Wide
Sargasso Sea” was inspired by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and is set in the
lush, beguiling landscape of
The narration
of the novel abruptly changes from Antoinette to
Again, the narrator switches, this time
back to Antoinette. She wakes stuck in a
red room, not remembering what happened—
Overview
of “Jane Eyre”
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, begins
with the introduction to the main character, and narrator, Jane Eyre, as a
child. The reader soon learns that Jane is an Orphan, living with her aunt,
Mrs. Reed, and her three cousins John Reed, Georgiana Reed, and Eliza Reed –
who hate everything about Jane from her plain looks to her rebellious nature.
Soon Jane Eyre leaves her Aunt, and benefactress, and is sent to Lowood
Institution – a charity school run by the cruel and merciless Mr. Brocklehurst,
who hates Jane as much as her benefactress Mr. Reed did. However Jane enjoys
her stay at Lowood, befriending the wise and gentle Helen who soon dies of
Typhus fever. Through the eight years Jane spends at Lowood she develops into a
rather accomplished young woman, well learned in French, Literature, math,
sewing and other areas that qualify her as an “accomplished lady”
When Jane Eyre
is eighteen she finally feels the need to leave Lowood and attempt to support
herself on her own. After advertizing
her accomplishments and qualifications, she soon gets a job as a governess for
a young girl, Adele, at Thornfield Hall, owned by the proud and shrewd Mr.
Rochester. Jane feels at home at Thornfield Hall in a way she never felt with
her aunt or at Lowood – she finds herself drawn to the master Mr. Rochester
through a connection that she has never experienced with any one before, and
Mr. Rochester shares the same feelings towards her. While their relationship
grows stronger and their love for each other develops, strange events occur at
Thonfield Hall. One day Jane hears an insane laugh ring through the halls, and
is told that it one of the servants named Grace Pool. Another even more
horrific incident occurs when, in the dead of night, Jane awakens to strange
sounds outside her room and on investigation finds that Mr. Rochester’s bed has
been set on fire – which she puts out quickly.
Mr. Rochester’s love for Jane grows and
finally he asks her to merry him. Jane consents, however during the ceremony
two men interrupt the wedding and accuse Mr. Rochester of already having a wife
and it is in this revelation that the mystery of Thornfield Hall is finally
disclosed. The many strange occurrences that had been afflicting the estate
were not caused by the servant Grace Pool, but by Mr. Rochester’s wife who
needed to be kept locked in the attack on account that she was violent,
unpredictable, and completely mad. Crushed by the news that she can not legal
marry Mr. Rochester, as he still had a wife living, though crazy, Jane leaves a
broken hearted Mr. Rochester and soon finds herself living at Moor House, a
humble old house occupied by the Rivers Family: Diana, Helen, and St. John.
Stylistic Elements of “Wide
1. Symbol: Symbol
is a prevalent device used throughout “Wide Sargasso Sea.” Nature serves as a ‘security blanket’ for
Antoinette. It allows her to feel safe
from society; safe from those who are racially/culturally discriminatory.
·
“There was a
smell of ferns and river water and I felt safe again…” (pg 33).
·
“I lay thinking,
‘I am safe’…. There is the tree of life in the garden and the wall green with
moss. The barrier of the cliffs and the
high mountains. And the barrier of the
sea. I am safe” (pg 27).
2. Allusion: The
Coulibri estate, where Antoinette spends her childhood, has a beautiful
garden. In the novel, Rhys alludes to
the Garden of Eden through her description of the Coulibri garden.
·
“Our garden was
large and beautiful…-- the tree of life grew there. But it had gone wild” (pg 19).
3. Motif: Fire is
a recurring motif throughout “Wide Sargasso Sea.” In the novel, fire represents the
destruction, the damnation, and the smoldering of passions. Beginning with the Coulibri estate being
burned to the ground, fire imagery is a recurrent motif through, ending with
Antoinette’s dream.
·
“ We watched the
sky and the distant sea on fire—all colours were in that fire and the huge
clouds fringed and shot with flame” (pg 88).
4. Theme: Power
reversal creates ambiguity among the social hierarchy of the social
structure. In the novel, Antoinette is
dependent on her servants, mainly Christophine, a black woman. When Antoinette needs advice and help with
her loveless marriage, she seeks Christophine.
Also, when during
·
“…‘I’m so
afraid,’ I said, ‘I do not know why, but so afraid. All the time. Help me.’” (pg 116).
·
“You are a damn
hard man for a young man” (pg 156).
5. Point of View: Jean Rhys writes the novel with
different characters as narrators; beginning with Antoinette, then
Stylistic Elements of Jane Eyre
1). Academic diction:
Charlotte Bronte uses academic diction throughout Jane Eyre such as:
“The
want of his animating influence appeared to be peculiarly felt on day that he
had been summoned to Millcote on business, and was not likely to return till
late” (179).
2). The motif of Fire vs.
Ice: Charlotte Bronte uses the image of fire to describe Jane’s spirit and all
the things that ignite her spirit such as Mr. Rochester who’s “black eyes
darted sparks” (p. 196). Ice, in contrast, is often used to represent things in
the story that are antagonistic to Jane’s fiery spirit, such as the personality
of St. John, who is often described as having a personality that is cool and
distant, and possessing rigid feature and a piercing ice-like eye.
3). Bronte makes use of figurative language
throughout Jane Eyre in order to convey the emotions and situations of the
story:
“I
saw his solemn eye melt with sudden fire, and flicker with resistless emotion.
Flushed and kindled thus, he looked nearly as beautiful for a man as she for a
woman. His chest heaved once, as if his large heart, weary of despotic
constriction, had expanded, despite the will, and made a vigorous bound for the
attainment of liberty. But he curbed it, Ithink, as a resolute rider would curb
a rearing steed” (p. 341). In this example Bronte makes use of personification,
simile, and imagery to convey the passion of the scene.
Another Example of figurative language: “I looked at my
love: that feeling which was my master’s – which he had created; it shivered in
my heart, like a suffering child in a cold cradle; sickness and anguish had
seized it….” (p. 277). Again Bronte uses personification and imagery to convey
the emotion of the character.
4). Bronte makes use of two
main symbols throughout the novel:
1. The red room: Room represents everything that traps
and stifles Jane’s character such as religion, class, gender, and her horrible
aunt.
2. Bertha Mason: The crazy wife of Mr. Rochester not only
represents the trapped nature of a woman’s life in the Victorian age, but also
alludes to
5). Bronte uses long
compound-complex sentences to add to the academic, scholarly style of “Jane
Eyre”:
“Robert
here entered, and Bessie laid her sleeping child in the cradle and went to
welcome him: afterwards she insisted on my taking off my bonnet and having some
tea; for she said I looked pale and tired.” (P.214)
Cultural
Read: “Wide
Cuban, Japanese, Indian, Jamaican, English, Irish,
Chinese, German, and Italian are just a few of the many races belonging to the
multi-faceted gem in which we call home.
It would be difficult to dream a world without the diverse ethnicities
and without the celebration of mixed cultures; however, in both “Wide Sargasso
Sea” and “Jane Eyre,” this hard to imagine world becomes a reality— the clash
of cultures creates social hostility, suppression, and has the power to become
fatal to those who are affected.
Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” and Jean Rhys’ companion novel, “Wide
Sargasso Sea,” make known the insolubility of separate cultures through the
narration of the lives of Jane Eyre and Antoinette Mason, who both experience
alienation from their own communities, cultural disunity, and social
enslavement.
Antoinette
Mason and Jane Eyre, each unique in their situations, similarly become
alienated from their own worlds, living as trapped outcasts during their
childhoods. Being a White Creole, having
European connections through ancestors and having been born in
During
the eras in which both novels were written, marriage was an extremely critical
step in a woman’s advancement into strict social hierarchies. Although the sacred marital bond usually
secured a woman’s social and monetary future, in turn, women became enslaved
into the marriage. Victorian marriages were not viewed as an equal partnership
between a man and a woman; rather, the husband was the dominant, controlling
figure while the wife expected to be quiet and submissive to her husband's
wishes. In “Wide Sargasso Sea,”
Antoinette’s father arranges for her to marry an English man,
In
both “Wide Sargasso Sea” and “Jane Eyre,” deep rooted racism and nationalism
are enforced to discriminate against those who are culturally unfamiliar. In “Wide Sargasso Sea,”
All
in all, the novels, “Wide Sargasso Sea” and “Jane Eyre,” explore the
destruction of individuals by the means of conflicting cultures.
Jane Eyre
and Wide
Quiet, polite, accomplished, beautiful, ready to please
when needed and just as quick to retreat into the background when dismissed –
these are the characteristics expected of a woman in the 1800s. With these
social standards in place, what kind of life could an intelligent, spirited,
independent minded woman lead? The two main options open to a woman of this
time period was the life of a spinster, or the life of a wife. Two related
novels, “Jane Eyre”, by Charlotte Bronte, and “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys,
provide a window through which the struggles and expectations of woman in the
1800s can be viewed. Bronte’s tale reveals her opinion that a woman can have
just as much, if not more, intelligence, perseverance, strength, and
independence as a man – with the story’s resolution consisting of the heroines
triumph over her own obstacles and ultimately saving the hero of the novel.
Rhys novel – while containing no less feminine voice – shows the harsh end many
women come to due to the overwhelming and impossible standards of society, the
end result – a broken spirit and destroyed mind. Though written in different
time periods, bothBronte and Rhys usetheir rhetorical prowess tovoice their
feminist views on the mold into which woman areoften contorted into.
Underneath
the plain exterior of Jane Eyre, the main character from Bronte’s novel “Jane
Eyre” is the epitome of feminist characteristics. The book, written in 1847,
has been said to be the “first feminist novel” (The Victorian Web, Par. 2). From the beginning of the story, when
Jane is but a child of ten, she already exhibits a strong character, rebellious
to all she feels as unfair treatment: “I must resist those who punish me
unjustly” (Bronte, p. 54). Through the development of Jane into a young woman,
Bronte reveals how her strong mind is growing and uses the independent
character to voice her opinions of the ridiculous standards placed upon women.
Jane states that women “feel just as men feel” and that they “suffer from too
rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer”
(Bronte, P. 104). This revolutionary feminist statement is accompanied by the
equally bold assertion that it is “Narrow-minded in their more privileged
fellow-creatures to say that they out to confine themselves to making puddings
and knitting stockings, to playing piano and embroidering bags” (Bronte,
P.104). The character of Jane Eyre not only realizes the unfortunate position
her sex is placed in, but also bravely states her disgust at the treatment
women who attempt to rise above this feeble position receive – claiming that it
is “thoughtless” of men to “condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do
more or learn mote than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Bronte,
p. 104). This characterization reveals Bronte’s own frustration with the social
limitations placed on woman – inevitably making it impossible for them to
become more than housewife or spinster. Jane’s own independence is shown
repeatedly throughout the novel.First, she forsakes her own love in order to
avoid a demeaning position as a mistress, stating “I care for myself” – her
self respect will not allow her to sink to that lowly level (P. 296). Later,
she refuses the proposal of a man who she does not love and who does not love
her, asserting that as long as she does not sell her independence to a loveless
marriage, she will still have her “unblighted self to turn to” (Bronte, P.
380). Bronte’s final statement of the power that women posses, comes with the
end of the novel, in which it is Jane who saves her love, Mr. Rochester, from a
loveless, hermit-like fate. In Bronte’s revolutionary novel it is the heroin
that saves the hero, proving that the character of Jane Eyre was truly a
“departure earlier nineteenth century female characters” who were often nothing
more than “beautiful, ignorant, and dependent” (Introduction: Feminism in Literature, Par. 3).
“Wide
Woman
in the time period that these novels are set in had no rights – they were
viewed as more than pets, however the standards they were forced to live by
molded them into nothing more than moving, breathing, talking dolls. The only
semi-acceptable way for a woman to express herself was through writing, which
Charlotte Bronte did with Jayne Eyre. While Jean Rhys wrote “Wide Sargasso Sea”
in 1966, not in 1847 like Bronte, woman were still attempting to gain status
equal to men and her novel reveals the nature of the struggle a century before
her. Both these novels, connected through a common character, act as a voice
for feminist ideals and a criticism of the ridiculous social standards forced
upon woman.
Analytical Reads: “Wide
Reader Based:
- While reading the novel I was did feel an
emotional connection. I felt sorry
for Antoinette during her childhood when racial tensions developed into
violence. Even today there still is
discrimination and it hurts to see how uncompassionate human being can be
towards one another.
Biographical:
- Jean Rhys reveals many aspects of her personal
life within her novel “Wide Sargasso Sea”.
With the knowledge as Rhys’ own life, one will easily recognize
elements of personal experiences in the novel, and will be able to
understand the ambiguity of some of the text.
- Just as the Coulibri estate was set fire, Jean Rhys’ great grandfather’s
plantation in
- Both Antoinette and Rhys have culturally diverse
parents; one from
Historical:
- On the first page of the novel Antoinette
recalls hearing Mr. Luttrell say that he is “still waiting for this
compensation the English promised when the Emancipation Act was
passed”. This sets the stage for
the racial tension and violence that Antoinette experiences and a child.
Analytical
Reads for “Jane Eyre”
Reader Based:
·
The reader sees
the cultural contrast between
·
The reader
empathizes with the plight of women during the Victorian Age.
Biographical:
·
Charlotte Bronte
had an extremely strict and religious father who forbid much social interaction
of his children. Evidence of this influence in the novel are the characters of
Mr. Brocklehurst, the self-rightous, hypocritical master of Lowood school who
directs a tyrannical religious order over the students conduct, and St. John,
Jane’s cousin who is obsessed with self-sacrifice and morals.
·
Brocklehurst
states that it is his “mission to mortify these girls the lusts of the flesh”
(p.61).
·
St. John states
that he finds it “strange” that everyone does not “burn” to devout themselves
and their lives entirely to serving God as he has done (p. 375).
Historical:
·
The low status
of woman in the time period is reflected by Jane’s struggle to become an equal
to Mr. Rochester. Evidence of this is on Page 238 when Jane refers to herself
and her condition as “poor” and “obscure” and than goes on to say that her soul
is speaking to Mr. Rochester’s soul, free from the restrictions of gender, and
that this makes them as equal as if they “stood at God’s feet”.
Quiz
1. Bronte uses the symbol of ______________ ______________ in “Jane Eyre” to represent the trapped
nature of a woman’s life in the 1800s.
2. Evidence of Bronte’s history with extreme religious
figures is evident through the characters of ______________ and
________________.
3. The motif of _________ and __________ is evident
throughout “Jane Eyre” when Bronte conveys Jane’s personality and those
antagonistic to her.
4. Jane and her sisters originally wrote under the
pseudonyms of ________, ________, and ____________
5. Bronte’s first novel that was reject for publication
was called “_________ ___________”
6. Bronte and her brother wrote stories and poems set in
the imaginary world of _____________.
7. The character of _________ ___________ is the epitome
of feminist characcteristics in “Jane Eyre”.
8. Jane Eyre obtains a job as a ______________ and this
is how she meets Mr. Rochester.
9. The _______________ is a symbol for all the things in
Jane’s life that she is trying to escape.
10. Jane leaves
Mr. Rochester to preserve her dignity and autonomy because she discovers that
Mr. Rochester is still ______________ .
11. Jane rejects the proposal of _____________ because
she does not love him, she still loves
_____________.
12. The symbol of
_________ _____________ also represents British imperialism.
13. Bronte uses
the element of _________ __________ in order to convey emotions and situations
of the story.
14. Jean Rhys and the character, Antoinette, from “Wide
Sargasso Sea,” are similar in what way?
A.
They both were in love with B.
Both had horses while growing up.
many men.
C.
They both were of European D.
They are not similar in anyway.
and West Indy decent.
15. When
A.
Bertha Mason B.
Jodi Maghakian
C.
Louise Adams D.
Bonnie Jones
16. Compensation for the
___________________ was promised by the English, but
were never paid.
17. While in
18. Jean
Rhys’ novel, ___________________, won the W.H. Smith Award and the
Heinemann Award.
19. Antoinette
has an ____________ marriage to
20. Antoinette seeks advice
from ___________ and is given a _________________.
21. After the fire, Antoinette enrolls at the
___________ where she learns about female saints and womanhood.
22.
23.
depraved past.
24. _____ is not only
destructive, but also a prevalent motif throughout the novel.
25.
The novel ends with _________ about to reenact her ______.
Works Cited
Bronte,
http://www.enotes.com/feminism-literature/bronte-charlotte.
Bronte,
Cody, David “Charlotte Bronte: A Brief Biography”. 1987 12 pars.19 April 2006. The
Lewkowicz, Sherry. “The
Experience of Womanhood In Jane Eyre and Wide
http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/caribbean/dominica/rhys/lewkowicz14.html
Rhys, Jean. Wide
Steyer, P.J. “Jane Eyre, Proto-Feminist
vs. ‘The Third Person Man’”. The Victorian
Web1996. 9 pars. 31 March 2008
http://victoianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/steyer7.html
Victorian Web.http://victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/bronthbio.html