What aspects of Charlotte Brontes Essay -- English Literature:

What aspects of Charlotte Bronte's What aspects of Charlotte Bronte's depiction and use of the character of Bertha Mason are most clearly illuminated by Jean Rhys' depiction and use of her parallel character of Antoinette? In Wide Sargasso Sea, written by Jean Rhys in the 1960’s, is a radical critique of the context of English Imperialism and male dominated society within which Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre. In order to both expose and oppose the parallels inherent in Jane Eyre, Rhys intertwines in her novel the two reading positions of feminist and postcolonialist criticism. Rhys demonstrates how both social and narrative conventions mandate that certain categories of women must be devalued if other categories of women are to assume importance. She does this by exposing to the reader how Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre, in order for her reader to give Jane an assumed importance, devalued by the Creole character Bertha; showing her to be made and giving us Jane’s description of her as â€Å"[she] seemed†¦a woman†¦ [she] reminded me†¦ [of] the foul German Spectre – the vampire† and Rochester’s comment that â€Å"the lunatic is both cunning and malignant.† Rhys, it seems was politically inspired to rewrite Jane Eyre and write back to the empire. Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre which was written British Empire was at its peak. Jane Eyre was a representation of England to the English. Rhys decided to write back, because of being of white West Indian descent herself, she was offended by the representation of the mad Creole in the novel. Although Rhys says that she is not a conscious feminist her novels are always written from a female perspective and in Wide Sargasso Sea, the male character is exposed... ... express and put forward quite assertively. Christophine in particular, is not afraid to tell Antoinette’s husband exactly how she feels towards him/ On page 132 for example, Christophine says ‘I tell her so’†¦always it don’t work for beke. Always it bring trouble†¦so you send me away and you keep all her money. And what you do with her?† and later on further exposes and questions assumptions and values that Antoinette’s husband when she tells him â€Å"Read and write I don’t know. Other things I know.† So we can see the many ways in which Rhys uses the intersections of feminist and postcolonialist reading positions and criticism to expose certain aspects of character. Whether it be through two narrators, leaving one unnamed, showing many different sides to a story and emphasising and exposing the otherness of each are amongst many other narrative strategies.