Consider this. Creole woman goes mad and finds herself locked up in the attic of an old English home. In Jean Rhys' world renown novel "Jane Eyre", the character of Berta Mason is portrayed as a crazed Creole woman that lives in the attic; a fearful character that is evidently looked down upon. As a means of "rewriting" Jane Eyre from a newly found historically accurate perspective, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) attempts to shed light on the intricate character of Bertha Mason, or formally known as Antoinette.
Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette is painted as an outsider to the social groups that surround her, as her hybridity is marginalized and looked down upon by both the black and white community. While her and her family are "white skinned" she does not identify herself with that community as she is Creole, and does not fit in with the black community either as she is "white skinned". In various instances in part one of the novel, we are exposed to the alienation and sense of otherness that Antoinette and her family face. A prominent example of this can be found through the relationship that Antoinette shares with Tia. At the beginning of the novel, Antoinette appears to be almost naive when she speaks of the "white and black community" co-existing. This is highlighted in her friendship with Tia.
""Plenty White people in Jamaica. Real white people, they got gold money...Old time white people nothin but white nigger now, and black nigger better than white nigger." Tia says to Antoinette.
This quote truly portrays Antoinette's lost sense of belonging and presents her as a character that is "out of place" with her community. When considering the cultural context, the novel itself takes place after the Emancipation act in Jamaica which freed black slaves, which further plays on with the themes of alienation as there appears to be evident racial tension between the black and white community.
"I never looked at any strange negro. They hated us. They called us white cockroach. One day little girl followed me singing 'Go away white cockroach, go away, go away.'" says Antoinette.
Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette is painted as an outsider to the social groups that surround her, as her hybridity is marginalized and looked down upon by both the black and white community. While her and her family are "white skinned" she does not identify herself with that community as she is Creole, and does not fit in with the black community either as she is "white skinned". In various instances in part one of the novel, we are exposed to the alienation and sense of otherness that Antoinette and her family face. A prominent example of this can be found through the relationship that Antoinette shares with Tia. At the beginning of the novel, Antoinette appears to be almost naive when she speaks of the "white and black community" co-existing. This is highlighted in her friendship with Tia.
""Plenty White people in Jamaica. Real white people, they got gold money...Old time white people nothin but white nigger now, and black nigger better than white nigger." Tia says to Antoinette.
This quote truly portrays Antoinette's lost sense of belonging and presents her as a character that is "out of place" with her community. When considering the cultural context, the novel itself takes place after the Emancipation act in Jamaica which freed black slaves, which further plays on with the themes of alienation as there appears to be evident racial tension between the black and white community.
"I never looked at any strange negro. They hated us. They called us white cockroach. One day little girl followed me singing 'Go away white cockroach, go away, go away.'" says Antoinette.
Antoinette's character is further characterized by her place in society and her attitudes towards not only how she views herself but also the people that surround her. Having been marginalized and looked down upon throughout the novel, Antoinette's breakdown at the end of the novel is clearly justified due to her troubled childhood and struggle with finding her identity.
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