Critique of Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

After reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys it is apparent that this work of literature has many similarities to the works of post-colonial literature written during this time period. It is also dissimilar in the way that it is derivative of a piece of writing within the literary canon. The way in which the story is in a sense Bertha’s tale conceptualizes the text of Jane Eyre in a completely different manner. Rhys’s work is a reminder that we need to look below the surface to ensure that we do not have such a limited point of view of things.

There is little doubt that this work can be categorized as a work of post-colonial literature. The central issue that Rhys focuses on is the elimination of plantation slavery and the transition to some other set of social relations that would constitute a new Caribbean identity. “The conflicts arise from the way in which indigenous American, Black slave, woman, colonial and children were considered by the colonizer, to differing degrees to be by nature dependent and inferior.” (Drake 98) On the surface the reader bears witness to the discord that happens between the former slave owners and the newly freed slaves.

“This was the result of the Emancipation Act of 1833 which decreed the eventual freedom of the slaves in all of the British colonies and the racial conflicts and social and economic turmoil that surrounded it.” (Erwin 143) Early on in the text, the conflict explodes between the two groups when the ex-slaves set fire to the family’s estate.

On another level, the story is an account of a relationship between a colonizer and his helpless victim. Antoinette becomes easy prey for Rochester because she has always suffered an identity crisis. She resists being “white,” the way that her mother wants her to behave, so instead she attempts to be “black,” by developing close relationships with her servants.

She is particularly influenced by Christophine who is a model for independence and has risen out of oppression by escaping unjust imprisonment. Unfortunately, Christophine is unable to save her and she suffers the same fate as those owned by her family. She is sold into Rochester’s control for the amount of 30,000 pounds.

It is evident that this piece is the quintessential post-colonial piece of literature. It gives voice to a character that has only be known “as the madwoman in the attic” while also accounting an important piece of history. Wide Sargasso Sea gives an emphatic portrayal of the plight of the colonized and those caught in the crossfire, like Antoinette. Her story was tragic, but also triumphant in the end. She torches her oppressor’s home, Thornfield Hall, just as the former slaves had burned down Granbois for the sins of the past that were committed there.