The Importance Of Character Demeanor In Wide Sargasso Sea

To set the stage in “Jane Eyre” our Protagonist, Jane Eyre is deceived by Mr.Rochester, one of the antagonists in order to “protect” his love, Jane. Mr. Rochester’s deception begins

In the novel, setting is important towards the interiors, as the vast majority of the novel is set within the closed, confined space, the interior, of the

Every story has a setting. Whether it is in this world or one that is completely imaginary, the setting of any story is necessary in order to understand the characters. The characters in the following three short stories are shaped by their setting and would not be the same if the setting was different. Over the course of each story it is easy to see how vital the setting is in order for the reader to fully understand the characters and their lives. Therefore, while the reader reads these stories they must analyze how the setting affects the characters, the obstacles that the setting creates, and what it tells us about the characters.

We first encounter this relationship between Jane and Rochester during their first dramatic meeting. She encounters him when he falls off his horse and she is required to give him assistance. Jane’s first impression of his face is that ‘He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow’. This may portray the dimness in his face awaiting to be enlightened by a woman which, in this case Jane. Further on in this chapter, unaware of who he is, on her return home, Jane is amazed to discover that the gentleman she assisted in the road was her employer, Mr. Edward Rochester. Jane’s future relationship with Rochester is most clearly set out in their first meeting. Although without any money, reserved and socially dependent, Jane is not

One way the setting has an impact includes the characters. The safe beach is an example of how the setting can impact the character. According to the story, “The boy . . . turned his eyes, which had a frown behind them, toward the bay and back again to his mother” (1). Jerry’s mother wants him to stay at the beach. She feels like the setting of the bay is dangerous, but Jerry feels the pull to explore the more dangerous bay. Secondly, the setting of the water gives Jerry a hard time. Jerry is trying to hold his breath under water so that it will not be hard to breathe while he is swimming (3). He is trying to learn how to control his breathing so he can swim better. He tried to put stones on his arms so he could stay under the water to help him. Also, another example is the tunnel. According to the author, Jerry “…tried to push himself in. He had got his head in, found his shoulders jammed, moved

Three specific examples of how setting influenced the actions and attitudes of the characters are: The isolation from a civilized world, the mysteries of an unfamiliar place, and different social types being forced to live with one another. How these examples are to be proven will be developed in the following paragraphs.

The way diction is crafted in a novel establishes the atmosphere and the mood of a setting for the reader to interpret. Craig Silvey’s, Jasper Jones, published in 2009, is a novel that uses specific language conventions to create certain moods for the reader. Craig Silvey’s clever use of diction to shape the different settings of summer heat, the glade and Jack Lionel’s house has established a particular mood for the reader to interpret in the novel. The narrative conventions used to shape the setting invokes specific thoughts from the audience to associate that setting with a particular mood or atmosphere.

On page 83, Mr. Rochester has a “massive head”, “granite-hewn features” , “great dark eyes” and fine eyes too”. The reader is supposed to think of him as someone who is a predator towards Jane because of his mean looking and dark features and because of Jane’s past experience with men in power. Readers are supposed to be wary of Mister Rochester.

In the novel, setting is important towards the interiors, as the vast majority of the novel is set within the closed, confined space, the interior, of the

Things can happen in some places and the tale of them will be interesting. The same story laid in another city would be ridiculous. Setting situates the story`s events, characters and mood through place, time and weather. Without the different dimensions of setting, a story would not have the diversity to introduce new or changed characters, define their true identities, compare societies and reveal hidden emotions. Through Morrison`s Sula, setting is used as the key factor behind every event that occurred.

During Rochester’s courtship of Jane she likens him to a sultan, saying: "The eastern allusion bit me again: ‘I’ll not stand you an inch in the stead of a seraglio,’ I said; ‘so don’t consider me an equivalent for one; if you have a fancy for anything in that line, away with you, sir, to the bazaars of Stamboul without delay; and lay out in extensive slave-purchases some of that spare cash you seem at a loss to spend satisfactorily here" (267; ch.24). Jane is not reluctant to speak of "slave-purchases" if they are in Stamboul rather than Jamaica. Even with the integral connection the story has to Jamaica, Jane refuses to make a direct reference to the slave trade in that area. Rochester goes on to make clear references to Jane as being his slave, "it is your time now, little tyrant, but it will be mine presently: and when once I have fairly seized you, to have and to hold, I’ll just--figuratively speaking--attach you to a chain like this" (269; ch.24). By turning to the East, Bronte is incorporating the sexual dominance that goes hand in hand with slavery in that region at that time. This allows her to make a strong point and still suits her purpose better than the image of British colonization in the Caribbean, which carries more abrasive connotations.

Despite all his faults in Jane Eyre, the one virtue he maintains in that story is sorely lacking in the Wide Sargasso Sea, his personal integrity. “Nor was I anxious to know what was happening behind the thin partition which divided us from my wife’s bedroom” (Rhys 140). “You bring that worthless girl to play with next door and you talk and laugh and love so that she hear everything. You meant her to hear.’ ‘Yes that didn’t just happen. I meant it’” (Rhys 154). A man who is capable of treating Antoinette in such a way, of purposefully “breaking her up” as Christophine would say, makes one wonder if he is even capable of redemption in Jane Eyre. His little encounter with Amélie could be ascribed to his intoxication on the voodoo love potion, though by the time he sleeps with Amélie many hours have passed including a trip to the ruined house and a nap in its eerie surroundings. Furthermore, Rochester’s actions are inherently selfish. Motivated solely by greed, he seems to be unwilling to let Antoinette have even a small portion of happiness. He had the option to leave with at least half the dowry and let her move on with her life, but chooses instead to keep both her money and mind locked away in the attic of a cold, colorless castle. Regardless of whether this depiction of our Mr. Rochester is canon or not, Jean Rhys effectively makes us despise the new Rochester all by solely changing the

   Jean Rhys' complex text, Wide Sargasso Sea, came about as an attempt to re-invent an identity for Rochester's mad wife, Bertha Mason, in Jane Eyre, as Rhys felt that Bronte had totally misrepresented Creole women and the West Indies: 'why should she think Creole women are lunatics and all that? What a shame to make Rochester's wife, Bertha, the awful madwoman, and I immediately thought I'd write a story as it might really have been.' (Jean Rhys: the West Indian Novels, p144).  It is clear that Rhys wanted to reclaim a voice and a subjectivity for Bertha, the silenced Creole, and to subvert the assumptions made by the Victorian text.  She does so with startling results.

Charlotte Bronte presents Rochester in many different ways. He comes from a rich family, and has a sophisticated personality. His attitude and behavior from the start of the book and the end of it has a dramatic change. Rochester corresponds to the mould of a Byronic Hero however, with his brave and humble actions, he starts to become less attractive as a hero. Moreover, one could argue although he is an unconventional hero he is appealing in both physical and mental ways. However, another could argue against this and find no attractive views of Rochester.

In 1966, Jean Rhys published her novel ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’. The story depicts the life of Antoinette Cosway, her marriage to a mysterious Englishman, and her eventual descent into madness. The story is a prequel to ‘Jane Ayre’ by Charlotte Brontë, and gives the woman in the attic a voice. This essay looks at the use of narrative in ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’, and evaluates how this informs the interpreted meaning of the text.