Wide Sargasso Sea: A Novel (Bloomsbury Classic) (Textplus) (Penguin Student Editions)

by Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys's reputation was made upon the publication of this passionate and heartbreaking novel, in which she brings into the light one of fiction's most mysterious characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Set in the Caribbean, its heroine is Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Rochester. In this best-selling novel, Rhys portrays a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.

• ISBN10: 0393308804
• ISBN13: 9780393308808
• Publish Date: 19 August 2010 (first published October 1966)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 7 March 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: WW Norton & Co
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 176
• Language: English

Reviews

[kerrydarkeyes]

An intriguing glimpse into the mind of Jane Eyre's "Bertha" - but at points I felt lost by the narration, which was appropriate for Antoinetta's perspective, as her mind fractures further and further, but even in Rochester's POV, some of the dialogue or references made me work harder than I expected to try and understand what was being said or happening. Still, worth the read and confirms Rochester as a real piece of shit.

[brokentune]

I put off reading Wide Sargasso Sea because all the reviews I read – mostly before joining GR – only focused on this book being a prequel to Jane Eyre, and I was afraid this might be another piece of fan fiction.
Man, was I wrong!

I’m not sure if knowing the story of Jane E. actually helps reading this book. It might help with the ending - if you don't like cliffhangers, that is.

WSS does work perfectly well as a stand-alone book. I thought the connection with Jane Eyre enabled Rhys to focus on the characters and develop the atmosphere and emotional development of Antoinette and Mr. Rochester rather than having to spend much time on developing a captivating plot. And the creation of an atmosphere is what Rhys manages - in a way not dissimilar to Daphne DuMaurier - perfectly. It drew me right into the story.

There also is one observation about Wide Sargasso Sea I just can't get out of my mind: The use of alcohol - in what seems to be quite large amounts - as a sedative for the troubled minds of both Antoinette and Rochester seems to be ubiquitous, and I cannot help but wonder if this was a description of Rhys' own coping mechanisms that led to her alcoholism.