Madness In Wide Sargasso Sea

Think back to your own childhood. Could you imagine being a child, and not having a care in the world, but then, as quick as the snap of a finger, that all changes because of a thoughtless mistake made by your parents? In The Glass Castle it is revealed that as Jeannette grew up, she endured hardships inflicted upon her by her own parents. However, if Jeannette had not gone through these things, she never would have gained the characteristics that she values present day. Although Jeannette Walls faced hardships and endured suffering during her childhood, these obstacles formed her into a self-reliant woman who proves that just because you do not have as much money as other families, you can still achieve success in your life.

Isabelle-Marie to being nothing but an ugly girl. When Louise looks at Patrice she only sees the

Between pursuits of her love interest, Amelie takes it upon herself to help the other characters in the film. Through her interactions with the other characters, A great contrast can be seen between the title character and the supporting cast. Whereas Amelie seems to bend the rules of reality with her imagination, many of the other character are locked down by their inability to imagine other possibilities. In helping these characters, Amelie's imagination also expands their imaginations and beliefs.

Her father's rampant drinking and inability to hold a job, coupled with her mother's lack of responsibility causes Jeannette to inwardly question her role in society.

In addition, Marie’s braveness comes out the way she deals with Sister Leopolda who is an old grizzled nun with an uncanny sixth sense for the presence of the devil. When Marie arrives and starts taking classes, she faces total opposition from Sister Leopolda. Sister Leopolda sometimes sniffs devil out of the dark corners of her classroom. Marie spends time performing chores for the nun but Sister Leopolda teaches her that she will always struggle to keep the devil out of her heart. Marie’s success at the convent is dependent on her relationship with Sister Leopolda. For Marie, her struggle against the nun is a larger than life; battle of good versus evil. Marie believes that she stands out from the rest of the students. What begins as Marie’s fear of the devil’s influence becomes a more complex understanding of how a fear can coexist with desire. Sister Leopolda soon becomes a stand in for the devil as she and Marie face off with each other. At first, Marie is abused only mentally by Sister Leopolda, but later on she is physically abused. For example, one day Sister Leopolda stabs Marie through the hand and

Blais utilizes another in-book relationship, one between Isabelle-Marie and Michael, to further reinforce the point that relationships rooted in superficial misconceptions only end in suffering and pain. In this specific case, it leads to the brutal beating and abandonment of Isabelle-Marie at

In The Glass Castle, despite her father’s hope to raise Jeannette until he felt he was ready to let go, Jeannette made a life-changing decision to settle in New York City. There she was able to live her own life away from the constant bickering between her parents. Before then, Jeannette was indeed showing signs of being independent such as constructing her own set of braces (Walls 201). However, it wasn’t until she physically moved out that it was clear she had become her own person. For example, the day Jeannette had presented her father with a Christmas present. As her mom had plainly pointed out, “You [Jeannette] buy him all these nice new

In Jean Rhys' novel Wide Sargasso Sea, whether Antoinette Cosway really goes mad in the end is debatable. Nevertheless, it is clear that her life is tragic. The tragedy comes from her numerous pursuits for love and a sense of belonging, and her failure at each and every one of these attempts.

When Antoinette’s husband takes her to England, he locks her up in the attic and leaves her without a sense of self. Antoinette says that "There is no looking-glass here and I don’t know what I am like now…. Now they have taken everything away. What am I doing in this place and who am I?" (107). Without being able to see herself through a looking-glass, Antoinette doesn’t understand who she or what her purpose is, which is very upsetting for her. This loss of self- identity causes Antoinette to act out and worsens her mental health issues. When Antoinette sneaks out of the attic and sees herself in the looking-glass, she says she sees “the ghost, the man with the streaming hair” (???). After being locked away, she is unable to recognize her own physical appearance. Through this description, Rhys is showing that Antoinette’s identity has been completely taken away from her and recognizing the importance of knowing who we are. As, without an identity, Antoinette no longer has a purpose for

The idea of lack of humanisation and identity is woven in throughout the novel as Bertha is often described in an animal like manner which under normal circumstances would not be associated with a Lady of great wealth like

An interesting insight into grasping the un-similarities of how Antoinette and Jane portray their roles as woman are by noticing their spiritual beliefs. Growing up, Jane would often show signs where she would leave her insecurity in the faith and power of religion.

As the narrative moves into part II, Rochester takes over from Antoinette as narrator.  Also, the feelings of displacement and problems of identity are shifted onto him.  Rochester, at Granbois, experiences a complete lack of power normally exercised by the English gentleman, at once having to deal with the strange otherness of the West Indies and cope with the rejection by his father and brother.  According

this is a dangerous place for them to be in, and that, like Eden, the

Marianne’s display of responsibility is not consistent, and is very different than her sister’s; unlike Elinor, Marianne lives a

Jane and Antoinette are both ostracized by their respective communities as a direct result of their social positions. Jane is an orphan with no money and no close relatives. Although she is clearly a bright and unique girl, she is treated as an outcast due to her orphan status. She refuses to accept their low opinion of her however, and maintains “The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God, sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now”, illustrating her desire to persevere through