Themes in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Essay examples

Themes in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys The main themes in Wide Sargasso Sea are slavery and entrapment, the complexity of racial identity and womanhood or feminism. In all of these themes the main character who projects them are Antoinette and Christophine. The theme slavery and entrapment is based on the ex- slaves who worked on the sugar plantations of wealthy Creoles figure prominently in Part One of the novel, which is set in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. Although the Emancipation Act has freed the slaves by the time of Antoinettes childhood, compensation has not been granted to the islands black population, breeding hostility and resentment between servants and their white employers. Annette,†¦show more content†¦In this manner, power structures based on race always appear to be on the brink of reversal. The theme of womanhood intertwines with issues of enslavement and madness in Rhyss novel. Ideals of proper feminine deportment are presented to Antoinette when she is a girl at the convent school. Two of the other Creole girls, Miss Germaine and Helene de Plana, embody the feminine virtues that Antoinette is to learn and emulate: namely, beauty, chastity and mild, even-tempered manners. Mother St. Justines praises of the poised and imperturbable sisters suggest an ideal of womanhood that is at odds with Antoinettes own hot and fiery nature. Indeed, it is Antoinettes passion that contributes to her melancholy and implied madness. Rhys selected the first decade of 19th century as the best possible period in which her novel would take place. The story is set just after the emancipation of the slaves, in that uneasy time when racial relations in the Caribbean were at their most strained. So, the combination of the period used the themes exposed by Rhys go hand in hand, being the themes a consequence of the period used to manifest such themes. They both are relevant to one another and will be as far as this novel goes. The main symbols that are identified are a bird, forest, trees, and her garden at Coulibri Estate. The bird in this novel is Coco, Annettes pet parrot, enacts Antoinettes own doom. With his wings clipped by Mr.Show MoreRelatedThe Theme of Misunderstanding in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea876 Words   |  4 PagesThe Theme of Misunderstanding in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea In both classical novels Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte a Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys the theme of misunderstanding is represented very widely. Both Victorian era dramatical romantic fictions have some impact in them from their respective authors. 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