![]() Utilising a prose style that feels remarkably modern for a novel published nearly 60 years ago, Rhys' text is masterful in the way in which it utilises ambiguity to construct a plausible origin story for both Cosway and Rochester, which suggests to the reader that ultimately the perhaps unconscious innate racism of Rochester, even with respect to the light-skinned Creole Cosway is at the heart of Rochester's suspicions relating to Cosway's character, which lead ultimately to the fracturing of their marriage, and Cosway's incarceration back in England. Therefore, Rhys draws together her own experiences of the complexities of Caribbean colonialism and racial hierarchy to flesh out a moving portrayal of a character effectively sold into an unfamiliar world, which ultimately rejected her. ![]() ![]() Although Jean Rhys was known to be an admirer of Bronte's classic novel, she was also frustrated with the portrayal of Rochester's first wife (Bertha in Jane Eyre, Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea), as simply a lunatic to be pitied, comparing unfavourably to Bronte's titular heroine. Wide Sargasso Sea is a shattering prequel of sorts to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. ![]()
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