Wide Sargasso Sea Part III
Jumping off of burning buildings...
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 12:12 PM
17 comments
Jumping off of burning buildings...
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 12:12 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
The England that everyone described to her did exist to her because, being locked in the room in the attack, she could never see what England held. Her dreams were forshadows of what everyone in the house and their actions brough her to do - burn the house down. One other thing - I thought that it was really strang that she could not remember meeting people. Almost like they were druging her. Strange. Any theories as to what was going on that was not directly mentioned.
Part 3 was rather short and interesting. In the beginning of part 3, Antoinette explains how she is in a place that doesn't seem like England with this strange women named Grace Poole. I think it is pretty funny how Grace would look at Antoinette before she hid her little canvas bag with all the money around her neck. Also, the first part where Grace really didn't want to take care of Antoinette but she was offered double or triple the amount shows how greed for money leads people to make decisions. For example, Rochester married Antoinette for money, Mr. Mason wanted Rochester to give him money, and now Grace falls into taking care of Antoinette because she wants money also.
The event where Mr. Mason gets bitten by Antoinette is portrayed so differently in WSS. In Jane Eyre, Antoinette just seemed like a crazy lunatic who bites people. In WSS it seems like Antoinette's actions of that night was stemed from the drink that the man gave Antoinette to make her fall asleep. (181) When Antoinette woke up she didn't even remember anything. Thus, there's a distance between the Antoinette that she knows and the "madwoman" Antoinette. This connects to what everybody else was saying about how Antoinette is sort of confused by her own identity.
I think Antoinette sort of regretted not going off with Sandi because it seems like he was the only one who genuinely cared for her happiness. In WSS, Rochester just seems so cruel. He just abandoned Antoinette, leaving her in a room with a complete stranger and not even visiting her once. It just seemed so unjust because Antoinette wasn't insane yet. I think anybody who is stuck in a room for years would turn insane. Thus, I believe Mr. Rochester could have helped Antoinette to not be insane if only he tried. In Jane Eyre, Rochester makes it sound like Antoinette was insane and that he had to keep her locked up. The real reason why he kept her locked up because he wanted a new life and wanted to keep her a secret so that she didn't ruin his search for "love." Locking away Antoinette sort of reminds me of slavery. Thus, it sort of brings the whole perspective towards the past.
I got sort of confused in the end. So, she was dreaming of setting fire to the house and then she woke up with determination to do so? I don't know it was just really odd but I really liked how it ended.
I felt extremely saddened after I finished reading Part III of this novel. When reading Jane Eyre, I had gotten goose bumps every time the narrator would describe Antoinette/Bertha. I did not have any sympathy for her and only thought of her as the “madwoman in the attic.” (And sadly, I actually showed sympathy for Mr. Rochester). But now, after reading WSS, I feel so much sympathy for Antoinette. She was unwillingly trapped in the dark, cold room. Mr. Rochester would torture her so, even though Antoinette had no intention of hurting him or ruining his life. If only given the chance, she wanted to say to him, “I give you all I have freely…and I will not trouble you again if you let me go” (179). But the cruel Rochester refused to see her even once making his doings the real reason for her madness.
In addition, I was really amazed at Antoinette’s strength. She seemed to always be hopeful despite her horrible living conditions. She would imagine being free one day or being able to reunite with her Aunt Cora or Christophine. And the red dress she had always made her remember the past which gave her comfort and warmth. Also, though she acted crazily sometimes, it is evident that she is quite clever—as she was smart enough to steal the keys from Grace Poole whenever she was drunk, to write and hide a letter to Richard Mason, and to exchange her locket for a knife.
And about the final scene of Antoinette jumping off the burning building, I don’t feel like it is so much an act of insanity. It is rather the only way, she feels, to free herself. By burning the house, she was repaying Rochester for all he had done to her and she was releasing all the pain and suffering she had felt because of him. And by jumping off the building, I think she wanted to escape and end her miseries. Even if she was able to leave Rochester’s house successfully, it would be impossible for her to be happy again. Taking her own life away, before Rochester took it away, seemed to be her only resort.
I agree with Maggie that WSS definitely present Antoinette in a better light than in Jane Eyre.
In Jane Eyre, Bertha Mason (Not Antoinette) is presented as a deranged lunatic who simply lashes out at men and eventually burns Thornfield down. Since Bertha Mason is depicted as a monster-ish figure, I believe Rhys wanted to show the corruption that Rochester inflicted upon Antoinette to turn her into Bertha.
Along with the fact that Rochester completely changed Antoinette is the idea that Rhys wanted to further extend Bronte's critique of male oppression presented in Jane Eyre. In WSS, Rochester completely takes control over Antoinette’s life in order to feel like he was getting justice for the wrongs he faced from his family and Richard Mason. Rochester is by no means justified in his actions, but one can see why he felt controlling Antoinette may have given him a better sense of control in his own life.
I think the description of Bertha in the attic draws an even clearer parallel between her and Jane. Like Jane, locked in the red room, Bertha has visions of being saved from misery. It is interesting to see how things have come about; bertha is no longer some crazy woman in the attic, but someone to be pitied, a real person who is suffering because of the horrible nature of another.
I agree with maggie's comment about the motivation that money gives people to do things they may not want to. The sum she is offered also shows how desperate Rochester is to get rid of his past at any expense. It is somewhat ironic how he originally married bertha in order to obtain wealth, but by the end of the novel he spending large sums of money to get her out of his life.
It is interesting how all of Bertha's actions occur in dreams...it's as though she has no control over herself and is led solely by her anger and sadness. Perhaps, in this way, Rhys gives Bertha a better name in that we cannot truly blame her for what she does, since she is not fully conscious and is driven to her actions by desperation, fear, and anger.
Now with more perspective from part 3, it seems as if Antoinette is really sane after all. Based on her actions toward the end of the part two, I had believed that she was indeed mentally disturbed due the treatment she received from society at large-- but especially from Rochester (though not to the point that I thought of her as the enraged beast-like animal, as she is portrayed in Jane Eyre). However, judging from the fact that Antoinette still has clear mental faculties and questions the justness of her current situation—“I…wonder why I have been brought here” (179) she ponders almost hopelessly—her sanity is basically assured. Even before this point, when Rochester had already determined that she was indeed mad and was taking her off to England on a boat, Antoinette’s reactions to this treatment—smashing things across the porthole so “it would break and the sea come in” (181) represents not an act of insanity but one of desperation: the desperation to free herself from the snares that Rochester has placed on her. Furthermore, the interaction she has with the man who gives her a drink on that same night—“ ‘It isn’t like it seems to be,” says Jane of the drink, to which he replies, “I know. It never is” (181)--, seems to carry a deeper meaning that simply in reference to the libation. This quotation could also be in reference to Antoinette’s own situation: while on the surface she may seem to be mad, by examining the situation from Antoinette’s perspective the reader comes to see that it “isn’t like it seems to be” and she is actually sane, though hopeless and desperate through no fault of her own. Therefore, that could also be another reason that Rhys chose to use the alternating perspectives throughout the story, in order to portray that what may seem to be one way from the surface is actually quite different when judged from the perspective of the person who is directly going through the event.
In regards to what Maggie was saying about Antoinette being confused about her identity, I think that Rochester crushed her old identity—and thus dehumanized her and asserted his control over her by dictating who she could be—by first calling her Bertha and then through putting her through the many ordeals that he did. Antoinette even says that when Rochester began calling her Bertha she began to take on this new identity that he was giving her, and she thus “saw Antoinette drifting out of the window with her scents, her pretty clothes, and her looking glass” (180, a being removed from herself altogether. “Antoinette” is associated with her old life—with being beautiful and living a happy, if not completely blissful, existence in the land she loved more than any person, someone who is no longer a part of her; “Bertha” is the new person that Rochester has created, this ugly and tattered and worn-down creature that wants escape more than anything and questions her own identity: “what am I doing here and who am I?” (180). The fact that, as Antoinette describes, there is no mirror in the attic where Rochester has trapped her seems to symbolize this identity crisis, as she can no longer physically perceive who she is.
Going along with what Kate was saying about Antoinette’s perception of England, Antoinette must have fostered long ago her notions of what constituted England—some fairy tale land of beauty where she believes all her problems could be solved. In section two, Antoinette needs to create this vision of England, claiming that “[she] will be a different person when [she] live[s] in England and different things will happen to [her]” (111), it seems, in order to have a sort of safety valve for her unhappiness, much in the same way that many people from different countries use the US: longing to come here to start afresh and run from all their problems at home. It’s almost as if she thinks that by running away from her home country, which is so inextricably linked with her identity (as I was discussing in my blog for the second section), she could get rid of her problems and fundamentally alter who she is. Now that she has finally come to this supposed “safety valve,” she cannot believe, and refuses to believe, that this is the England of her imagination because it did not bring with it all the hope for a better future that she had envisioned but instead only misery trapped in a horrid attic. While she is a “different person” in England, it is not the happier person she had believed she would be but rather Rochester’s own abominable creation. In addition, Antoinette’s misconceptions about England could again stem from her culture clash with the white European culture—she cannot completely understand this culture and hence cannot completely perceive what England or Europe is like.
Also, going along with what Cora said about the red dress allowing Antoinette to remember the upbeat past, I think also the dress represents to her a time when she was “Antoinette” and not “Bertha,” a time when she knew her identity. It’s the only tangible remnant of her past existence, of the “cinnamon and dust and lime trees” (185) she associates with her home and times when she was truly happy. It’s also the only remaining proof that she was once a woman named Antoinette-- hence the reason why she is so paranoid that they altered the dress behind her back and why she keeps repeating that “If I had been wearing my red dress Richard would have known me” (187).
I also feel really bad that Sandi and Antoinette couldn’t have a real relationship together. They had apparently been seeing each other covertly for a long time, perhaps even before Antoinette and Rochester had been married (Amelie had made a comment earlier about rumors that Sandi and Antoinette had been married, which could have been an insinuation of their relationship). She actually derived true happiness from her time spent with Sandi, unlike, of course, from that spent with Rochester after she realizes he simply doesn't love her and begins to treat her harshly. I’m wondering why she didn’t just leave Rochester for him. What do you guys think? I bet it was a combination of Rochester already having a great deal of control over her (and also, he owned all her possessions and her money) and perhaps also the social stigma of an interracial relationship. Not to keep harping on this one topic, but on the latter note, it would again portray how her racial identity is “othering” her by keeping her from interacting with Sandi.
To answer Maggie’s question about what happened in the end of the novel, Antoinette has a dream in which she burns down Rochester’s house, and then afterwards she sets out to do it. Towards the beginning of this section, Antoinette had questioned “why [she] had been brought here. For what reason?” (179), and by the end of the book “at last [she] know[s] why [she] was brought here” (190)—to exact her revenge upon Rochester and punish him for all the harm he inflicted upon her. Though Rochester tried to strip her of her power and her identity, he has not yet destroyed her will, and she will thus try to take away his power as well; also, as she had said before, she will make Rochester pay for the unhappiness he caused her. When Antoinette is burning the house in the dream it is the ultimate release for her; I think she is also able to somewhat recapture her old identity as all the images of her old life flash by her. My question is: what is the significance of her seeing Tia at the end of this vision? It seems that Antoinette is always running back to Tia: even after the girl had insulted her, Antoinette tried to run to her when her house was burning down, only to have Tia throw a stone at her; now Antoinette is running to her again. I didn’t actually watch this podcast, but this situation is reminding me of the “Allure of the Mean Friend” one, or what I would imagine it would be…
Oh yeah...YAY FOR LAST BLOG OF THE YEAR! Admit it, Ms. Clapp, we were your best AP class... :)
Well, part three does truly display Antoinette in a different light, certainly more sympathetic and showing her to be more human, not the dark creature, "walking on all fours" she was displayed as in Jane Eyre. Although really short, this part of Wide Sargasso Sea seems to be the most vital to me. Previous knowledge of the book told us that it was going to be Jane Eyre through the eyes of Bertha Mason, and it seemed to me that all the prior events in this book (pre-part three) were just back story that led up to the ending, which was the meat of the book. Seeing what Bertha went through and how she coped with being essentially locked up was an entirely different perspective on the seemingly light tale that was Jane Eyre. Seeing the darkness that was encompassing Thornfield totally changes you perspective on Jane Eyre forever. As much as you wanted Jane to marry Rochester while reading Jane Eyre, you can't possible encourage their "Unholy Union" anymore after reading this book. What I really enjoy in part three is the first person perspective of Bertha, and you really see her delusions as she can't even piece together her days until she puts strong thought into it. I really love her whole repetition of "I'm not sure what I am supposed to do right now," and then she figures it out in the end: BURN! I really enjoyed reading this book and thought it did justice to the character of Bertha Mason.
I loved the way this book just gave you a whole new look into the life of Bertha Mason/ Antoinette. This made me so sympathetic and sad for Bertha and all that she has gone through. This version of Bertha/Antoinette perceived her as a real person opposed to a monstrous beast in Jane Eyre.
Similarly like Maggie mentioned, I’ve noticed that throughout the entire book money has been a driving force that either makes people get married, stay quiet, and it just compensates for everything. Rochester has to pay Grace Poole to keep her quiet and secretive about Antoinette. He really wanted to erase her entirely from his memory; he barely ever even visited her in the attic once he locked her up there. In this book Rochester is seen as the villain who captures Antoinette and keeps her prisoner because he was legally bound to her. However, in Jane Eyre he seems like the victim that is stuck with this beast of a wife. It’s such a contrasting point of view.
Also, since Nina mentioned it, Antoinette running back to Tia in her dream does remind me of the podcast “Allure of the Mean Friend” Tia has been nothing but mean to her and yet she keeps going back to her, even in her dreams. Even Rhys thinks that mean friends have a certain attraction to them that makes people keep going back for more. Haha.
First off, let me remind everyone that this is our last blog ever! (Not that we haven’t enjoyed blogging for you all year, Ms. Clapp, of course!) Anyways, let me get to what is important—the discussion of WSS!
Okay, so in part III I definitely saw more development of the parallel between Antoinette and Jane. Throughout her life, Jane had desired freedom—from her cruel family, from poverty, and from her dependence on others. She is unable to obtain that freedom until she can hold some sort of power over Rochester—like when he becomes maimed due to “Bertha’s” fire. Rhys depicts how Antoinette has desired that same freedom as Jane did for all of her life as well. While in the islands, Antoinette desires freedom from loneliness, from poverty, and from the discrimination of her community. In England, she desires freedom from the oppressiveness of Rochester as well as an escape from the “care” of Grace Poole. I think that, in this way, Rhys develops this parallel into a more universal idea; we all are trapped or denied our freedom in some way, thus we all desire some sort of escape or freedom. In the end, we must create our own escape or outlet for freedom because, like Jane realizes, it is often too difficult to be dependent upon others for our own happiness. Standing in that mindset, I absolutely agree with Cora that Antoinette jumping from the burning house was her way to escape—to be happy. Like Cora said, Antoinette wanted to “escape and end her miseries.” It was obviously a bonus that she could get revenge on Rochester for his horrible treatment of her by including his demise in her own.
Also, I know it has already been said in pretty much every blog, but I too love how WSS gives a different perspective to Bertha and her actions in Jane Eyre. It certainly makes me feel that Antoinette—rather than Bertha—was justified in her actions: from ripping Jane’s wedding veil to burning down Thornfield, it just seems as if, taking into consideration her side of the story, she had every right to do so.
Yet, more than just giving perspective to Bertha’s actions, I think that reading WSS after Jane Eyre teaches a more universal life lesson (and yes, by that I mean a theme). I think that most of us can agree that, as we read Jane Eyre, few of us formed positive opinions of Bertha. I know that I thought she was just some insane lady; because of the way she was presented by Bronte, I guess I just forgot that she, too, must have had some history. I just assumed that she deserved to be locked in the attic. I was too busy rooting for Rochester to question his decision put her there in the first place. But, after reading Rhys propose a possible history of Betha’s, it reminds me to never leave a rock unturned. The true situation can only be discovered by observing all sides of a story and tracing each character’s involvement in it. Obviously, this lesson is transferable to real-life as well. It just reminds me to not make assumptions.
I thought the end of the book was rather anti-climactic, but maybe I was expecting too much. I thought they were going to spend more time with her in England. Like everyone else probably alluded to, Antoinette's refusal to believe that she was actually in England had to do with her assumptions of what England was. She thought it was some utopian paradise where no problems are there and everyone is happy, but when she was there it was just a normal place, and she was still depressed. I think that she really needed to view England as her paradise, because I believe that it got her through a lot of tough times on the island. I found it pretty funny in her dream when she said she was scared that she would see the women that supposedly haunted Thornfield, without realizing that everyone was talking about her. I actually didn't know the dream was a dream until she came back to reality. And even though I thought they rushed the last part a bit, I liked where she ended it, leaving you with the hint of her eminent downfall. I really liked this book, although it was no Jane Eyre.
I feel as though I am in the minority here: I never really was "rooting" for Rochester while reading Jane Eyre. I, of course, wanted Jane to be happy, and her marrying Rochester was the end to that means. He still lied to Jane almost constantly and locked a woman in his attic, which, I mean, no matter how you paint it, is really horrible, even if she was insane. Rochester isn't a great guy in either novel, when you think about it.
WSS is interesting because it takes those blatantly negative aspects of Rochester's character and expands upon them. I think we can see where his bitterness stems from and how his ideals were dashed by his own faults and those of his family.
Also, I really do think Antoinette was going insane before she was locked in an attic. Maybe it's just because I recently watched Girl, Interrupted, but she seemed to fit their description of borderline personality disorder, particularly her fascination with death. Anyway, she was never really completely mentally stable as a result of her upbringing. She had an emotionally distant mother, an abusive community, a low opinion of herself, and she grew up in a convent, where no one knew anything of the outside world. I think all these factors gave her a very seriously conflicting message about how the world is versus how it should be, and that resulted in the deranged woman who jumped off Rochester's roof. She feels like she cannot be excepted for who she is anywhere.
I'm going to have to agree with Drew on this one here-the ending was a bit anticlimactic for me too. I had mentioned in the blog for Part Two how Antoinette continually has these portentous dreams that foreshadow realities to come, but what Tania had said was really interesting, and sort of caused me to see all of her dreams in a different way. I'll quote her here for convenience's sake: "It is interesting how all of Bertha's actions occur in dreams...it's as though she has no control over herself and is led solely by her anger and sadness. Perhaps, in this way, Rhys gives Bertha a better name in that we cannot truly blame her for what she does, since she is not fully conscious and is driven to her actions by desperation, fear, and anger." I feel like the pervasive sense of unreality also ties in with the dreams. It also seems to mirror the way in which Antoinette is estranged from the society and the world of reality. After Antoinette or Bertha sort of loses touch with her sanity, she sort of seems to be this disembodied character, that just "floats" around. There is a line in Part Two where Rochester says, "...everything I had imagined to be truth was false. False. Only the magic and the dream are true" (168). I feel like that's the sort of mindset that Antoinette literally took on, especially when she gets to England. Her refusal to believe that she really was already in England seems to reflect upon her obscure visions of reality.
I thought it was interesting that Rhys put in some insight to Grace Poole as well. She was another character in Jane Eyre who wasn't cast in such a favorable light, but is given a somewhat redeeming quality in WSS.
To answer the lingering question, "Have all beautiful things sad destinies?" I would say that the ending is suggestive of a yes. In Jane Eyre, Antoinette's or Bertha's fall doesn't really impact us so much, but I think in WSS, we see her humanized and thus, it's a lot more poignant to see her decline and tragic when we leave off in the scene where she is on the verge of bringing on her death.
I definitely enjoyed the book, in ways similar and dissimilar to the ways I enjoyed Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. In a way, it really did add dimension and depth to Jane Eyre; I think a lot of times in a book, seemingly marginal characters can exist in a context that's central to a theme in the novel puts. There are some elements in this novel which weren't in Jane Eyre, but I think I still enjoyed Bronte's novel more.
Honestly, it's quite sad that Antoinette was convinced that she had no clue where she was, while during the whole time, she was locked up in the attic. Mr. Rochester never visited her in the room, and that was what she hoped for. Of course, the fact that Antoinette was mentally ill counts towards the reason why Mr. Rochester tried to stay as far away from her. She has become almost barbaric, and is unrecognizable. The only identity Antoinette holds for herself is her red dress that she once had. The reason behind her nightly mischief are finally revealed. Her past continuously haunts her in the attic, and this makes her go crazy. Not even Grace Poole can control her during these times. It seems that the nightmares that Antoinette had at night about her Aunt Cora fostered her dangerous actions.
Part 3 was the most poweful.The reader sees and feels the fustration that a woman like Antoinette is felling and going trough. The part that touched me the most is when she is walking around with the candle and and she states that she must look around for the ghost that everyone says haunts this place. It sends a message that she does not undersand completely the situation that she us put into, but all she does know is that she is being looked up and kept a prisoner like her mother. I completely agree with maggie in the idea of killing herself to be set free instead of fighting with Mr. Rochester for her freedoom.(I'll bring a little outside connection.)It's the same feeling as the victims of 9/11 that jumped off the burning building with the knowledge that death is waiting for them at the bottom. It was better to take your own life then to die in that horrible, murderrous way.It made the victims feel as if they were taking their own life away.
LAST BLOG OF THE YEAR!
Ok, after such a long second part of the book, the third part was really brief and to the point. I thought it was interesting that they completely skipped over the whole part about Jane Eyre. I think that really drives in the point that Antoinette isn’t just an auxiliary character to Jane’s life, but that Antoinette has her own story and her own life completely separate from Jane’s. It also makes us think about the idea of importance and prevalence. While Antoinette ripping up the veil for Jane’s wedding is traumatic and important for her, it didn’t even make it into the story of Antoinette’s life. I thought that, when reading Jane Eyre, Bertha was honestly upset that Rochester was going to marry another woman, but here she even had a little side boyfriend of her own in Sandi.
I liked the fact that Grace Poole got to put in her two cents too, and that we got to see her as a character. While she wasn’t the greatest of people, she seemed to disapprove of Rochester’s actions. The whole part about Rochester being the devil in the very beginning established how she felt. At the same time, however, she didn’t do anything about it and agreed to stay quiet because they were going to double her pay. Another interesting moment was when Poole says, “After all the house is big and safe, a shelter from the world outside which, say what you like, can be a black and cruel world to a woman. Maybe that’s why I stayed on,” (178) which brings back all the feminist ideas that I began to mention in my last post. Poole is agreeing to just accept the way things are because it is easier to say nothing and do nothing about a problem than it is to go out into the dark, cruel world and fight for yourself or for others. Grace knows that what Rochester is doing is wrong, which she points out when she comments on how Rochester could afford to feed her better, yet she helps oppress Antoinette because it is easier to do so than to fight her own battles outside in the world.
I would also like to make the parallel between the house burning in part one and the house burning in part two, since Antoinette made it herself. You need to look at who burned the house, because the idea is really the same. The black Jamaicans burned the first house because they wanted to get rid of the white cockroaches who used to have slaves and who still lived on their plantation. Then Antoinette burns down Thornfield, even though it wasn’t intentional, which is the house of the man and the servants that oppress and enslave her. She talks about how the house is made out of cardboard and about how it is all a show, which is true. The house hides its secrets, and it is a show for visitors. It doesn’t reveal the horrors that are committed against the mentally ill Antoinette. I think that when she jumped she did it to escape her life. She looked back and saw everything burning, everything physically and figuratively. She destroyed the physical things so that she can escape the horrors of her past.
It has been wonderful posting with all you amazing people. I will miss you all. Have fun in college, and, for Mrs. Clapp, have fun still in the high school we’re not allowed to say by name. Good luck in life and hope to see you all in 10 years.
Tommy
Yay. Last Blog.
I don’t have much to say. I agree with everyone she have pretty much lost her old identity, hard to retain it when a person is locked up in a room. I think she does retain some level of sanity, she is obviously traumatized and confused, but she is still self-aware enough. It was interesting how the book explore the events in her perspective adding the human element where in Jane Eyre, the part with Mr. Mason sounded like he was attacked by a vampire. Now I can see the desperation of Antoinette in her condition instead of how monstrous Jane Eyre depicted her. She was pushed into the condition we see (at least by what this book pictured).
Well this year has been an interesting year, very interesting. Many events happen, including ones you probably not aware off. One thing I can admit at least I gain a much larger appreciation for English Literature, though I have to admit I did not perform anywhere near I should. Wish you all the best of luck. Have a good epilogue for this high school saga.
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