A short summary of Wide Sargasso Sea (Part 1) by Jean Rhys
People who have read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte must know the first wife of Rochester, Bertha. In this novel she was characterized as a madwoman locked in the attic. However, not everyone heard about Wide Sargasso Sea written by Jean Rhys. It is a narrative of Antoinette’s (Bertha) life. Also, this novel touches on colonialism, because most scenes take place in Jamaica, Dominica and England. Jean Rhys describes Antoinette and his family “creoles”. “Creole” is European who born in of the colonies. In novel they also called white niggers and excluded by both white and local black people. At the beginning of the story, author tells about impoverished situation of the family. Even though, they are slave owners, they had no money. Novel is full of various relationships between white and black people, creoles, slave-owners, servants etc. I would not tell much about the content. This novel is really worth reading if you are interested in colonialism and post-colonial studies.