WSS Essay Outline

Prompt A

The relationship between men and women, and the differences in their role in society, are central considerations in many works of literature. Discuss the part they plan in Wide Sargasso Sea.

Thesis Statement

In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys uses Rochester and Antoinette’s marriage to represent the relationship between men and women in the patriarchal and postcolonial society, showing how racial identity affected the dynamic between the two genders through portraying Rochester as an economic and moral superior. This post-colonial feminist lens allows Rhys to effectively write back to the mad character of Bertha in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and offer an opposing perspective that challenges the common misinterpretation of women in non-Western cultures.

Body Paragraph 1 – Economic Dominance

Topic Sentence: Rhys uses Rochester’s economic control over Antoinette to highlight an important aspect of how men asserted power over women during the time.

·         The only reason he marries her is for money so from the beginning, their wedding is based off of economic gain.

·         Christophine advices her to leave the marriage but Antoinettte cannot because according to English law, the man has full power over the womans finances.

·         Economic powerlessness is just another way that Antoinette lost her power in the marriage.

·         The economic power that the English man had over the Creole woman (Rochester and Antoinette) represents the role of colonialism on the minority groups.

Body Paragraph 2 – Womanhood and madness

Topic Sentence:  The relationship between womanhood and madness is highlighted in the novel as Rochester labels Antoinette as mad, thus allowing him to justify his ill treatment of her and allow Rhys to contrast her with the character of Bertha in Jane Eyre.

·         Labeling Antoinette as mad is a way for Rochester to assert his power in the patriarchal society.

·         Anything that she did that may seem odd to him (such as lashing out and throwing a wine bottle at him), he contributes to her racial identity.

·         Part 3 is the most prominent with this aspect of the novel because she is looked at and treated as an animal – such as how she is shown in Jane Eyre.

·         Giving Antoinette a rich background and deep childhood allowed Rhys to effectively write back to the Bertha in Jane Eyre that was labeled as mad. This characterization of Antoinette in part 1 of the novel justified her “madness” and mental deterioration at the end of the novel.

·         There is often a contrast between womanhood and madness. Antoinette being a creole woman allowed Rochester to come to conclusions that she’s crazy.

·         Her sexual desired were also looked at as animalistic and considered to be a result of her Caribbean culture – in that way, her moral madness is questioned. (Rochesters sexual desires are not questioned, even when he sleeps with another woman).

·         The concept of “women and madness” is often looked at in Victorian literature so Rhys takes that concept and applies it to a non-Western lens.

Body Paragraph 3 – Antoinette as an “alien” and colonial other.

Topic Sentence: By showing how Rochester looks down on Antoinette as a result of her racial identity, Rhys uses these characters to represent the post-colonial society of the time and disprove the notion of Western societies that non-Western women are often looked at as animals.

·         Her racial identity was a big contributor to the dynamic in their marriage.

·         The feminist lens in this novel incorporates post-colonialism because it challenges the concept of non-Western women that is often thought.

·         Antoinette was less than a woman in Rochester’s eyes – as seen through narration in part 2 of the novel.

·         Rochester looks at Antoinette as having limited knowledge of the world – fails to realize that she only has limited knowledge of his world.

·         In the Victorian patriarchal society, the lower power given to women was often justified due to their “incompetence” – something that Rochester accredited to Antoinettes racial identity.

·         Rochesters sense of power comes from the patriarchal and postcolonial ideologies about how men and women should interact at the time.