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A review by angelicathebookworm
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Rhys does a great job of portraying Mr Rochester in a way that is different from that of the original text but is still entirely believable. It’s definitely a perspective of the character that I will keep in mind when I come to re-read Brontë’s classic since I was never really a fan of Mr Rochester, to begin with. I also found Rhys’ inclusion of Antoinette’s constant lack of belonging anywhere—she never gains acceptance but rather floats between the European and the Jamanian cultures of her childhood—as an intriguing possibility for her descent into madness whilst shedding light on an important, and not just postcolonial, theme. It’s a very rich, layered text and I think if you’re going to read it I’d suggest reading Jane Eyre first and then take your time with reading Wide Sargasso Sea so that you can really absorb the various details, meanings, and identify those connections with Jane Eyre.
I found Rhys’ prose in this particular text quite disjointed and confusing. There were quite a few times where I found myself stopping and having to re-read a sentence several times to be able to understand it which I found quite jarring. Rhys seems to have created a disorientating feeling through the prose quite possibly to emphasize Antoinette’s descent into madness through the inclusion of dreams, nightmares, incomplete sentences, and a blurring of different first-person voices. While I understand and appreciate why Rhys does this, it isn’t the kind of writing style I enjoy normally. One of my biggest criticisms with this novel is the inclusion of first-person narration from Rochester. It’s very apparent that he’s an unreliable narrator and so we don’t get to view him as the antagonist that Antoinette sees because that would never be his own view. I think I would have much preferred it if it were written entirely in Antoinette’s voice. Overall, I quite liked themes that Rhys explored and the meanings behind the text but execution, at least for me, is not one that appeals to me.
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I found Rhys’ prose in this particular text quite disjointed and confusing. There were quite a few times where I found myself stopping and having to re-read a sentence several times to be able to understand it which I found quite jarring. Rhys seems to have created a disorientating feeling through the prose quite possibly to emphasize Antoinette’s descent into madness through the inclusion of dreams, nightmares, incomplete sentences, and a blurring of different first-person voices. While I understand and appreciate why Rhys does this, it isn’t the kind of writing style I enjoy normally. One of my biggest criticisms with this novel is the inclusion of first-person narration from Rochester. It’s very apparent that he’s an unreliable narrator and so we don’t get to view him as the antagonist that Antoinette sees because that would never be his own view. I think I would have much preferred it if it were written entirely in Antoinette’s voice. Overall, I quite liked themes that Rhys explored and the meanings behind the text but execution, at least for me, is not one that appeals to me.
For more reviews like this one, check out https://angelicacastilloking.wordpress.com/
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism