I read Jane Eyre many, many years ago, when I was around 13 or 14 I think – long enough ago that I don’t recall exactly the experience of reading the novel itself beyond vague memories of the language being stuffy. I’ve seen iterations of the novel in many different movies and television shows over the years – I think most of us know the basic story by now (and if you don’t, Wikipedia will gladly spoil the novel for you, or provide a sufficient reminder of the plot). This novel serves as a sort of fan-fiction prequel. And, if you’re a 40-something-year-old lady, like me, rather than a kid of 13 or 14, you might be rather glad to see THIS novel focus on the origin of the ghostly apparition who lives in the attic, as opposed to the ingenue who falls in love with her employer. Not that there’s anything wrong with focusing on Jane! But in retrospect, one might be forgiven for feeling that the original story really missed an opportunity to explore a truly juicy story – I mean, excuse me but her fiancé had a whole ass wife living in the damn attic?! – in favor of the more commonplace love story. Bertha is little more than a complication, or a plot device – but Jean Rhys refuses to allow her story to end there.
Wide Sargasso Sea introduces us to Bertha, nee Antoinette Cosway, born in Jamaica to English parents. The story follows Anionette from her childhood through her marriage to Rochester, including her transition to Bertha and the “mad woman in the attic”. Britain abolished slavery in 1833, and the novel deals directly with the impact of slavery and post-slavery in Jamaica. We see the world from Antoinette and Rochester’s point of view, alternating perspectives, but our sympathies always align most closely with Antoinette (even when that is fraught because the novel deals directly with race).
This book deepens the lore of these characters, giving additional depth to the story. I very much hope one day someone goes even farther and continues to explore the world of this novel (what must Christophine’s life have been like?). That said, after reading this novel I felt that I couldn’t help but like the ideas far more than the actual reading. It could have been related to many things happening in my life while I was reading it (we are closing out the school year in a far more chaotic fashion than I would like or am accustomed to; our dear cat died unexpectedly) but I felt like reading this was a chore. If it had not been such a short novel I almost certainly would have abandoned it. Whether that is mostly attributable to my frame of mind or something about the quality of the writing, I can’t really say. I wasn’t in love with the language and occasionally found aspects of the story difficult to follow. I might give it time and revisit it again in the future – but this review will have to stand for today.
