Name:- Sneha Agravat
Batch:- 2020-22 (MA sem 3)
Paper:-203 The postcolonial studies
Topic name:- Wide Sargasso Sea as a postcolonial novel
Roll no.:-16
Enrollment no.:-3069206420200001
E-mail Id :- snehaagravat2000@gmail.com
Submitted to:- S.B.Gardi Department Of English Maharaja krishnkumarsinhji Bhavngar University
Introduction:-
In this assignment we will see the Wide Sargasso sea as a postcolonial novel.
As a work of postcolonial fiction, hu how the WideSargasso Sea captures the pathos of a society undergoing deep and bitter change. Jean Rhys chooses to relate the essence of this conflict through the relationship of the white Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway, and her English suitor Edward Rochester. Their relationship is set against the backdrop of extreme racial tension in nineteenth century Jamaica: the harrowing animosity that grows between white plantation owners and newly liberated black slaves, and the suspicion and hatred felt for natives of different Caribbean islands. Even more complex is the position of people of mixed race within this ethnic crucible, people such as Antoinette, who is European to the eye, but who identifies with the culture of black Jamaica. She will never be accepted by the people who view her as a “white cockroach,” a remnant of colonial cruelty, and she stands even less chance of acceptance into the sphere of elitist British society. Her birthplace dually condemns her.
Wide Sargasso Sea as a postcolonial novel:-
As a postmodern novel, Wide Sargasso Sea exemplifies the literary ideals of the period. Rhys’ use of varied narrative voices is one of the most striking aspects of the novel, and this in turn promotes a beautifully expository style, capable of disclosing the personal perspectives of both central characters. This feature becomes of paramount importance as we analyse the relationship between Antoinette and Rochester, two characters who come from diametrically opposing cultures, and yet who exhibit many biographical parallels. As Rhys allows us into the minds of Antoinette and Rochester, we see that they struggle with a sense of belonging, both
culturally, as well as within their families. In a sense, they are each islands, each a
representative of the island culture that they consider theirs, and each a lonely body
adrift in a sea of strangers.
Rhys employs a lush palette of imagery to bring the Caribbean to life, and the
metaphorical implications within the text create a direct and indelible bond between the geographical world and its human inhabitants. It is this connection to place, to the
landscape and to the natural world that will be explored in this essay – the fundamental interconnectedness of biology and the reflection of humanity upon it. Through luxurious descriptions of tropical beauty and sinister desire, Rhys creates a vibrant and vital counterpoint between the natural world and elemental human sexuality; this juxtaposition is expressed through natural imagery and setting,character psychology and themes of colonization and cultivation. These aspects intermingle to accentuate the fragile connection between Antoinette and Rochester, and their relationship with the world around them.
Natural Parallels:-
Two central pillars of Rhys’ narrative foundation focus on the connection between people and their natural environment. The first of these is the metaphor of island topography and human isolation, and the second is the significance of skin colour and the prevalence of colour in Rhys’ depiction of the natural world.The first theme is expressed through the comparison of the geographical and cultural features of England and Jamaica with the characters Edward Rochester and Antoinette Cosway, respectively. From a theoretical standpoint, the roles that Rochester and Antoinette play serve to impress Glotfelty’s point that “all ecological criticism shares the fundamental premise that human culture is connected to the physical world,
affecting it and affected by it”. The interplay between environmental and cultural elements exposes the conflict that Rochester and Antoinette experience, both individually and as a couple. Their physical and psychological attributes can be real or simply perceived, but nevertheless, these characteristics greatly affect how each views the other.
Island Topography – Landscape of the Soul:-
Rochester is depicted as an almost stereotypical English gentleman, greatly at odds with the Caribbean islanders at this period in time; he is cool, emotionally remote and insufferably formal. He refuses island hospitality and has a degrading view of local customs and behaviour. He is the embodiment of the English colonizing spirit. Rochester’s sense of superiority and disdain grows because he “associates the wilderness of his surroundings with excess and danger, because he constantly contrasts it with England’s landscape” (Mardorossian 82). Rochester’s increasingly chill and distant demeanour certainly seems to mirror the literally cold, isolated shores of Britain that haunt Antoinette’s thoughts throughout her marriage to him. Rhys foreshadows Antoinette’s discovery of the drastic difference between England and Jamaica through Rochester’s behaviour, but also through subtle comments woven into her memory. Somewhere in Antoinette’s mind is Aunt Cora’s sentiment that “another English winter will kill her” (Rhys 58). Has this instilled the grain of an idea – the cold that kills? Antoinette struggles with Rochester’s behavioural and cultural climate; his inability, or unwillingness, to understand her culture makes it impossible for him to understand her heart. Antoinette’s idealized notions of life in England are destined to dissolve into disillusion. She cannot thrive in the conditions Rochester creates, and if she goes with him to England and is transplanted there, it will signify her end. Friedman explains that for Antoinette, “geographic allegorization, is … a central constituent of [her] identity”
Colour and Colouredness - The Surface of the Skin:-
The literary utilization of colour and colouredness is of primary importance in a novel that is focused on racial strife. Despite the superficial nature of the colour of the skin, in Rhys’ novel it is nonetheless condemnatory. The conflict between black and white is part of the universal clash between opposites, and in Wide Sargasso Sea“Rhys produces a text that questions the very oppositions that structure it” . Antoinette discovers this polarization at the conventschool:“everything was brightness, or dark. The walls, the blazing colour of flowers in the garden...That’s was how it was, light and dark, sun and shadow, Heaven and Hell...”
(Rhys 57). Even when the similitude of humanity is acknowledged by a character in the novel, it is with cruelty: “So black and white, they burn the same, eh?” (Rhys 44). Such a comment by a black labourer in light of Pierre’s horrific injury and subsequent death in the Coulibri fire shows that although the underlying bond of humanity cannot be denied, personal prejudices can be dangerously entrenched. This hatred is indicative of what Anderson describes as “conflicting inner states…exacerbated by the forces of poverty…and violence” (Anderson 60). To the black labourer, white skin is representative of years of colonial cruelty, abuse and oppression. To a British “occupier” like Rochester, black skin denotes an inferior race; a source of ethnic
contamination. Antoinette’s psyche, however, dwells on either side of the colour boundary, creating a complicated ethnic overlap that she is unable to escape or deny.This hybridity means that “physical and psychic ambivalence is [her] natural dualistic state”.
Fire and the Phoenix:
The Symbolism of Birds and Caged WomenWide Sargasso Sea is permeated with natural imagery, and Jean Rhys very effectively uses elemental opposites to emphasize the psychological experiences of her main characters Antoinette and Rochester. The role of fire in the novel is the most arresting example of Rhys’ use of an elemental force. It represents destruction, foreshadows tragedy, and yet offers purification. Interestingly, Rhys links the all-consuming power of flame with airy avian imagery at key points in the story, and this combination adds a deeper meaning beneath the surface of the narrative.
The Coulibri fire is the first instance of Rhys’ literary warning – her metaphor for what awaits Antoinette both physically and emotionally. Coulibri represents Antoinette’s root structure; as her childhood home, it provides her with a room of her own, a garden to hide in and a centre for the tenuous family life of her youth. Unfortunately, it cannot shield any of its residents from the wrath of the former slaves who come to burn it down.
The Intoxicating Exotic :-
The natural parallels that have been discussed thus far include the metaphor of
humans as islands, the role of colour in Rhys’ narrative and the symbolism of fire and
birds in connection with the experiences of Annette and Antoinette in literal and figurative captivity. Turning to Rochester’s relationship with Antoinette, an analysis can be formed using the continued idea of fire as a textual undercurrent. Three distinct aspects of this unhappy union can be established; the first is the natural but ultimately destructive sexual desire that grows between Antoinette and Rochester. Second is the transformation of Rochester’s desire into feelings of fear and suspicion, whichintensify into loathing for all things he deems strange and exotic. The third stage focuses on Rochester’s response to this drastic change in sentiment and the effect his mental state has on Antoinette. His initiation of psycho-sexual warfare is the beginning of a battle that Antoinette can never hope to win. As their sexual relationship carries them into dark and perilous psychological territory, the ravaging effects of the “intoxicating exotic” become painfully clear.
Love and Lust: Destructive Appetites:-
In this essay’s previous section, Rochester and Antoinette’s arrival at Granbois is discussed, and it is at Granbois that the newlyweds experience their first night together as man and wife. According to custom, frangipani wreaths have been left for them in their bedroom, reflecting “the symbolic boundaries that persist between their cultures” (Winterhalter 224). The disregard Rochester shows for the ceremonial aspect of the flowers is highly symbolic; “in destroying the wreath he claims right over the names that are applied to cultural symbols” (Winterhalter 224). Rhys uses this incident to foreshadow Rochester’s symbolic “crushing” of Antoinette through
his misunderstanding of her character and all the cultural differences that comprise her ethnic “history”. However, in crushing the flowers, an intoxicating scent is released - the incarnation of lust which, as Winterhalter describes, “[overpowers] them both with a heady and sensual fragrance” (224). It is clear that Rochester does not enter into his marriage with deep feelings for Antoinette, but for a moment it seems that the power of his lust might actually tip him over emotional edge into a real state of love. He admits that Granbois “[is] a beautiful place – wild, untouched, above all untouched, with an alien, disturbing, secret loveliness” (Rhys 87), and it
seems most likely that Rhys intends this statement to refer to Antoinette as well.
Fear and Loathing:-
Rochester’s narrative voice never disguises the unease and apprehension he
feels as he journeys into the foreign world of Antoinette’s Caribbean life. His willingness to believe the untruthful letter from Daniel Cosway is not a testament to Cosway’s persuasive power, rather it is an indication of the deep-seated fear that rests in Rochester’s heart, making him overly eager to accept any form of justification for it. Much of Rochester’s insecurity springs from the cultural disjunction between his English world and the Caribbean one he comes to inhabit. Winterhalter suggests that As Rochester’s narrative reaches a close, it attains also a fevered intensity, and although he claims that “all the mad conflicting emotions had gone and left [him]…sane” it is evident that he has instead become frighteningly disturbed. The disjointed quality of the narrative at this point shows an almost crazed internal dialogue as Rochester decides how Antoinette will be dealt with. “They’ve got to be watched” he thinks, “for the time comes when they try to kill, then disappear”. Rochester’s equilibrium is in serious doubt as his section of the novel comes to an end, and Rhys lends perspective to the nature
of madness by allowing Rochester to expose his wild thoughts.
Cultivation and Colonization :-
The previous chapter outlined the progression of Rochester’s emotional and psychological imbalance, and the effect his growing psychosis has on Antoinette’s own frame of mind. As Rochester’s feelings turn from indifference to lust, and from fear to aggressive hate, Antoinette blossoms and then quickly withers as her own psyche disintegrates under the weight of extreme emotional trauma. As each reels from the effects of their traumatic experiences, a new phase in their relationship develops. Rochester adopts a proactive hatred towards Antoinette, and his attempt to cultivate what he sees as Antoinette’s “primitive” nature forms the basis of this chapter. Also central to the theme of cultivation and colonization is the way in which both Rochester and Antoinette represent and are symbolized by invasive species in the Caribbean environment. Finally, the use of gardens and cultivated nature to represent social status and sexuality in England and the Caribbean is contrasted with the wider social reaction to plantation owners in England in the nineteenth century. The development of new moralities in nineteenth century England conflicts with deeply ingrained prejudices and a social hierarchy that struggles to maintain relevance, and these issues provide a wider cultural backdrop for the strife between Antoinette and Rochester. The microcosmic details Rhys provides about their relationship are symbolic of the global scope of imperial domination and the struggle between commerce, politics and national identity in England and its empire.
Conclusion:-
Wide Sargasso Sea is an astute work of post-colonial fiction that encapsulates many complex and large-scale issues. Jean Rhys presents these issues within a text of startling beauty and disarming honesty, weaving into her narrative metaphors for the struggle between man and nature, and between the differing natures of people. Rhys’ central arguments are concentrated into three core issues as analysed in this paper. These main points as discussed are the metaphorical connections between man and nature, especially in conjunction with natural imagery and ethnicity, the changing nature of love and fear in light of differing cultural values, and finally the traumatizing effect of cultivation and colonization on personal and cultural identity. The interplay of sexual politics and psychological deterioration adds an additional layer of complexity to Rhys’ juxtaposition of humanity with the natural world.
Work ciated:-
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment