Wide Sargasso

Sea
Study Guide by Course Hero

Wide Sargasso Sea is told in both present and past tenses. The
What's Inside tense changes based on the speaker and the section of the
book.

j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 ABOUT THE TITLE

The title Wide Sargasso Sea refers to an often windless area in
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 the northern Atlantic Ocean where ships are said to get caught
in masses of seaweed. The title is a metaphor for the
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 2
characters who are also trapped in real or perhaps imagined
h Characters .................................................................................................. 3 ways between countries and racial heritages.

k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 7

c Part Summaries ........................................................................................ 11

d In Context
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 28

l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 30
Jane Eyre
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 31
One inspiration for Wide Sargasso Sea was Charlotte Brontë's
e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 32 Jane Eyre, in which the character Bertha Mason appeared.
Brontë's Bertha is a mad, unspeaking Creole who is locked in
the attic. She is described as an alcoholic and adulterer with
movements compared to an animal's.
j Book Basics
In Jane Eyre Bertha's husband, Rochester, is portrayed as a
victim. He is poor and, as the second son of his family, he does
AUTHOR
not stand to inherit anything. Rochester goes to Jamaica,
Jean Rhys
where he is manipulated by his and Bertha's family into
YEAR PUBLISHED marrying Bertha for her wealth. In an example of situational
1966 irony, when Rochester returns to England, his father and older
brother die, leaving him the entire inheritance and negating the
GENRE need for his marriage. Meanwhile he is forced to deal with his
Fiction wife's increasingly violent and sexualized insanity.

PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR While Wide Sargasso Sea preserves much of the backstory
Wide Sargasso Sea is told from a first-person perspective. The and even the details of Jane Eyre, there are some changes, the
narration alternates among three people: Antoinette, biggest of which is in sympathies. Wide Sargasso Sea
Rochester, and Grace Poole. humanizes Antoinette (Rhys's name for Bertha) and brings her
to the forefront as a sympathetic character. Although
TENSE
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
ultimately Antoinette does go insane, she is pushed to this
mental break by Rochester, who is portrayed as the
antagonist: his treatment of Antoinette, his lust for power, and
his excessive desire for money drive the action of the story.
However, even in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rochester has suffered
because of his background; he claims he is unloved and that
his brother is favored. Rochester believes everyone knew
about Antoinette's problems and simply did not tell him;
everyone, he feels, should therefore pity him and look on him
with empathy.
Even though Jane Eyre provides a rich context for the novel,
Wide Sargasso Sea stands as a classic in its own right,
developing characters and themes in ways that stand
independently from Brontë's novel.
Jamaica
Jamaica has a long history of racial conflict whose lasting
effects are woven into the social fiber of Rhys's novel. When
Christopher Columbus explored the Caribbean island of
Jamaica in 1494, it was inhabited by Arawak Indians, also
called Tainos. Columbus claimed the island for Spain, and in
1509 Spanish colonists began occupying the land. The majority
of the Arawaks were enslaved by the Spanish, and most died
from overwork and diseases introduced by the colonizers.
In 1655 the British captured Jamaica and rid the island of its
Spanish inhabitants, who freed their slaves before fleeing to
Cuba. These freed slaves and their descendants were called
the Maroons. Jamaica was formally ceded to the British in 1670
and became a colony in the British Empire. Sugar became a
major crop for the British settlers, who used enslaved Africans
to work on their plantations.
Jamaica had a thriving slave market, and the number of both
slaves and European immigrants in Jamaica grew during the
second half of the 17th century. The slaves rebelled frequently,
and many escaped to join the Maroons. Major revolts occurred
in 1760 and 1831. The clash of such events created a social
environment in which many inhabitants were torn between the
different cultures. The novel's character of Antoinette is an
example of such a person who must balance how culture
impacts identity.
The British Parliament outlawed the transatlantic slave trade in
1807 and gave slaves their freedom in all its colonies, including
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Author Biography 2
Jamaica, by 1838. The small landowners were affected
financially by the emancipation of the slaves. The British tried
to assist these landowners and gave them some minor
compensation, and Jamaica became a Crown colony in 1866.
In 1872 the seat of the British government moved from Spanish
Town to Kingston, by then a thriving center of trade.
Creoles
The term Creole has different meanings. It was first used to
distinguish descendants of British and European settlers who,
like Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea, were born in the
Caribbean. Creole comes from a Portuguese word, crioulo,
meaning a slave born in the master's household. Over time
Creole came to refer to Caribbeans of mixed blood. Jamaican
Creole is the name for the language that developed as
enslaved Africans in Jamaica interacted with their English and
European slaveholders.
a Author Biography
Jean Rhys, whose given name was Ella Gwendolen Rees
Williams, was born on August 24, 1890, in the West Indies
islands of the Caribbean Sea. Her mother was Creole, and her
father was Welsh; therefore, Rhys grew up feeling
disconnected both socially and intellectually because she was
of mixed background in a predominantly black community.
By 1907 Rhys went to England for schooling and returned only
one time to her birthplace. Although it shaped her views,
ambivalence toward the Caribbean can be seen in Rhys's
writing, which explores the tension between the ordered world
of colonial life and the seductive world of island sensuality.
After being educated and working as an actress in London,
Rhys moved a number of times with her husband, Jean Lenglet,
before settling in Paris. It was there that she began writing
professionally, after being encouraged by novelist Ford Madox
Ford, with whom she had an affair. She eventually separated
from her husband and left their daughter with him. Rhys was
involved with a number of men in her life and felt a certain
dependence on them due to her lifelong alcoholism. She also
suffered from depression and drank to excess; these
challenges led to confinement in mental institutions on a few
occasions.
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
Rhys wrote a collection of short stories followed by four
novels; these five books were published over a span of 12
years (1927–39). Her next and most critically acclaimed novel,
Wide Sargasso Sea, was not published until 1966 and tells the
story of Bertha Mason, the mad Creole wife of Rochester from
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Jean Rhys was very familiar with
Jane Eyre, which she read as a child, and she resented the way
in which Creole women are presented in it. Brontë's rendering
of Bertha paints her as one clearly belonging to the "other"
category of a supposedly lesser ethnic minority, not to mention
how white Creole women were still associated with the native
population by European settlers and typically viewed as
immoral.
Rhys's own background played an important role in all of her
novels, evident in this one by the similarities between her
background and her heroine's: both, for example, were from
the island of Dominica and educated at convent schools. Both
had siblings who died as children, and as a result, both felt
distanced from and alienated by their mothers and forever
searched for love. Rhys's mother's relatives were slaveholders,
whose house, like Coulibri, was burned down by former slaves
after the emancipation. Moreover, both Rhys and Antoinette
were "given" names by men: Rochester dubs Antoinette
"Bertha," and Rhys's lover and fellow author, Ford Madox Ford,
gave her the name Jean Rhys, which she adopted as her pen
name. Like her heroine, Rhys throughout her life was
dependent on men for financial support, validation, and a sense
of purpose. When she lost that support she was left depressed
and devastated. These themes from her life—exile, loss, and
alienation—fill Rhys's novels, especially Wide Sargasso Sea.
Jean Rhys died on May 14, 1979.
h Characters
Antoinette Cosway
Antoinette is the protagonist of the story. Her mother, Annette,
is depressed because she has lost her livelihood and social
standing as a result of the emancipation of the slaves.
Antoinette is left to fend for herself and is not accepted by the
people around her, who view her as different. Antoinette is a
sensitive person and has no one with whom to regularly share
her burdens. Antoinette's stepbrother, Richard Mason, marries
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Characters 3
her off to the Englishman Rochester, who marries Antoinette
for the money she brings as dowry, which should legally be set
aside for her and her heirs. He eventually comes to hate her
and is convinced she is crazy. Antoinette suffers because of
her marriage and her inability to understand and articulate her
Creole self.
Rochester
Rochester goes to Jamaica from England to meet Antoinette.
He is aware of her wealth and agrees to marry her because of
her money. After they are married, he comes to feel lust for her
but not love. Later he becomes convinced she is crazy and he
locks her up in an attic so she cannot hurt herself or others.
Christophine
Christophine works for Annette and is a gift from her husband
when they got married. Christophine, like Annette, is from
Martinique. This connection enables Christophine to better
appreciate Annette. She remains loyal to her and later to
Antoinette. She is a fiercely independent woman who is proud
to earn her own money. She practices obeah and has gotten in
trouble with the law. Christophine stands up to Rochester and
tries to save Antoinette from him.
Annette
Annette is an emotional woman. Her husband dies, leaving her
with their two children, including a son who has a disability.
Faced with very limited means, Annette is overwhelmed.
Eventually she marries Mr. Mason. She begs him to leave
Jamaica because she feels hated there, but he refuses. When
their house burns down, her son dies. Annette is inconsolable
and eventually goes insane from the grief.
Mr. Mason
Mr. Mason comes to Jamaica from England with the goal of
increasing his wealth. While in Jamaica he meets and marries
Annette. He is an opportunist who believes he can capitalize on
the economic downfall of the slave owners to purchase land
cheaply. He misjudges the former slaves, seeing them as
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Characters 4

harmless. Ultimately these freed slaves burn down his house,

killing his stepson. His wife blames him.

Richard Mason
Richard Mason takes responsibility for Antoinette when his
father (and her stepfather) Mr. Mason dies. Mr. Mason
intended to marry Antoinette off and Richard Mason follows
through on this plan. However, instead of providing the money
as a dowry, he gives it to Rochester without legal provision for
Antoinette. Neither Aunt Cora nor Christophine approve of
Richard Mason's choice of a husband. They believe that by
giving Rochester full control over her money, Richard is doing a
great disservice to Antoinette.

Amélie
Amélie is a servant to Antoinette and Rochester in Granbois.
She is attracted to Rochester, in part because she despises
her mistress, whom she calls a "white cockroach." She looks
down upon Antoinette and gets into a fight with her. Rochester
and Amélie have a one-night affair, which he regrets the next
morning.

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Rochester
Pretentious, unloving Briton;
marries for money
Servant

Christophine
Amélie
Formidable servant in
Scornful servant;
Jamaica; practices
lusts after her master
black magic
Spouses

Nannie

Antoinette Cosway
Isolated Creole girl;
Caretaker descends into insanity
as her marriage fails
Mother Annette
Aunt Cora
Destitute widow; goes
Wealthy widow in Jamaica
insane after her son dies

Stepbrother

Spouses

Richard Mason
Mr. Mason
Son of a wealthy British
Rich British man; puts
planter; arranges
his family in jeopardy
Antoinette's marriage

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
Full Character List
Character Description
Antoinette Cosway is a troubled
young woman who loses her father at
Antoinette
an early age, is sent to a convent by
Cosway
her stepfather, and whose husband,
Rochester, marries her for money.
Though Rochester is unnamed,
readers of Jane Eyre recognize him
as the romantic interest of that novel
Rochester because of his family situation: he has
a father and an older brother who do
not mean to give him any substantial
share of the family wealth.
Christophine is Antoinette's nanny;
Christophine
she is a strong, independent woman.
Annette is Antoinette's mother; she
Annette
goes insane after her son dies.
Mr. Mason Mr. Mason is Antoinette's stepfather.
Richard Mason is Antoinette's
Richard Mason stepbrother; he gives her away to
Rochester.
Amélie is a servant who works at
Amélie Granbois; she has relations with
Rochester.
Baptiste is the caretaker at Granbois;
Baptiste
he does not care for Rochester.
Nameless boy is a servant at
Granbois; he is fond of Rochester and
Boy
cries when he cannot go with him to
Spanish Town.
Caroline is a friend of Antoinette's;
she invites Antoinette and Rochester
Caroline
to stay with her to wait out a
rainstorm.
Coco is Annette's pet parrot; he dies
Coco during the fire because his wings have
been cut, and he cannot fly away.
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Characters 6
Aunt Cora
Aunt Cora is Antoinette's aunt; she
shows her niece love and affection.
Alexander Cosway is one of Old
Alexander
Cosway's illegitimate children and
Cosway
Sandi's father.
Daniel Cosway is Antoinette's alleged
Daniel Cosway half-​brother, who tells the family's
dark secrets to Rochester.
Old Cosway is Antoinette's father,
who was reportedly a drunk and had
Old Cosway
relations with a number of former
slaves.
Louise De Plana attends the same
convent school as Antoinette; she is a
Louise De Plana
model student who helps Antoinette
adjust.
Mrs. Eff runs the house in England
Mrs. Eff and has known Rochester since he
was a boy.
Emile is a porter, who helps move the
Emile luggage that Rochester and
Antoinette are taking to Granbois.
Mr. Fraser is a solicitor who reveals to
Mr. Fraser Rochester information about
Christophine's background.
Godfrey is a servant to the Cosways
Godfrey
while they are at Coulibri.
Hilda is a young servant at Granbois
Hilda
who is always laughing.
Jo-​jo is Christophine's son and a big
Jo-​jo
gossip.
Leah works at the house in England
Leah
and often speaks to Grace Poole.
Mr. Luttrell is Annette's neighbor and
Mr. Luttrell the only person who remains friendly
to her.
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Plot Summary 7

Maillotte
Maillotte is a friend of Christophine's
who is also not from Jamaica; she is
k Plot Summary
Tia's mother.

Mannie
Mannie is a servant whom Mr. Mason
hired and brought to Coulibri.
Sister Marie Augustine is a nun at the
Sister Marie convent school Antoinette attends;
Augustine Antoinette shares one of her dreams
with her.
Myra is one of the servants at
Coulibri; when the mob starts the fire,
Myra
she leaves Pierre alone, leading to his
death.
Pierre is Antoinette's brother; he
Pierre suffers from some unnamed condition
and dies in the Coulibri fire.
Grace Poole is the caretaker who
Grace Poole looks after Antoinette while she is
confined to an attic.
Sandi is the son of Antoinette's half-
brother, Alexander; he may have had
Sandi
an intimate relationship with
Antoinette.
Disastrous Thomas is a servant to the
Cosways at Coulibri; he leaves when
Sass
they have no money and returns when
Mr. Mason arrives.
Mother St. Justine is the head of the
Mother St.
convent school Antoinette attends;
Justine
she teaches the girls about the saints.
Tia is a childhood friend of
Tia Antoinette's who proves to be disloyal
and spiteful.
Young Bull is a man to whom
Rochester speaks and who questions
Young Bull
Rochester on why he is in the West
Indies.
Part 1
Wide Sargasso Sea is set in post-emancipation Jamaica in the
early 18th century. A young Antoinette Cosway, her brother,
Pierre, and her mother, Annette, live at Coulibri, a rundown
estate. Mr. Cosway, Antoinette's father, who died a few years
earlier, was in financial ruin after the slaves were freed, and the
hated slave owner drank himself to death. The remaining
Cosways are in bad shape: Pierre is sickly, and Annette is
depressed (and shows little interest in her children). Antoinette
takes comfort from her black nurse, Christophine. The
community—both black and white—look down upon them.
Mr. Mason, an Englishman, marries Annette. Despite the
vicious gossip of the servants and the locals, things seem to be
looking up for the family. The estate is repaired, and Annette's
disposition improves. However, she is adamant that the family
should leave the area due to the resentment she senses from
the former slaves toward the whites. Mr. Mason thinks she is
exaggerating their discontent. A protest occurs, and the mob
burns their home. Pierre dies from injuries suffered in the fire,
while Antoinette suffers serious injuries from both the fire and
the mob.
After a few weeks Antoinette wakes from a coma. She is in her
Aunt Cora's house in Spanish Town. She learns about her
brother and finds out that her mother has had a mental
breakdown due to the grief. Antoinette visits her one time, but
her mother reacts violently.
Aunt Cora enrolls Antoinette in a convent school. She stays
with the nuns and is taught how to be a lady. She rarely sees
her family as Aunt Cora has moved to England and Mr. Mason
travels around Jamaica on business and visits infrequently.
One such visit occurs when Antoinette turns 17. Mr. Mason tells
Antoinette that friends are coming to visit from England and
implies one will marry her.

Part 2
The wedding has taken place and Antoinette's husband,
Rochester, narrates. The couple is traveling to the Windward

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Plot Summary 8

Islands for their honeymoon. Rochester worries that he rushed Antoinette to England.
into the marriage and does not really know his new wife.
Richard Mason, Antoinette's stepbrother, paid Rochester to
marry her, and Rochester agreed because he is desperate for Part 3
money to pay off a debt.
Beginning from the perspective of Grace Poole, the woman
Rochester does not enjoy the honeymoon spot (a property
who guards Antoinette in the attic, the perspective shifts to
Antoinette has inherited) and does not trust the servants,
Antoinette. She is clearly confused about where she is and
particularly Christophine, to whom Antoinette is especially
how long she has been there. When her stepbrother visits,
close. Antoinette tries to explain the way of life and the ways
Antoinette becomes violent, but she quickly forgets the
of the servants. While Rochester never seems completely
incident. Antoinette has a recurring dream involving stealing
comfortable, he and Antoinette grow closer and enjoy a
Grace's key and exploring the rest of the house, lighting
passionate love life.
candles, and setting the house on fire. One night after

A few weeks pass and Rochester receives a letter from Daniel awakening from the dream, Antoinette steals the keys, leaves

Cosway, who claims to be an illegitimate child of Antoinette's the room, and heads downstairs while holding a candle.

father. The letter says Antoinette comes from a family with

madness, which she has inherited. Rochester believes the
letter is true and starts to see signs of Antoinette's madness.
Antoinette senses that Rochester has changed the way he
feels about her, so she goes to Christophine and convinces her
to give her an obeah (a spell, in the form of a potion, common
to the native peoples of the Caribbean), even though
Christophine suggests she should leave him instead.

Rochester gets a second letter from Daniel Cosway and visits

him. Cosway makes more accusations about Antoinette, and
while Rochester is disgusted by Cosway, he believes what he
is told. When Rochester gets home, Antoinette confronts him
and suggests he no longer has feelings for her. He tells her
about his meeting, and Antoinette defends herself as she tries
to explain her past. She becomes very upset, so Rochester
suggests she go to bed. They then continue the conversation
the next day, and she asks Rochester to come to her room,
where she slips him the love potion.

When Rochester awakens early the next morning, he realizes

he has been drugged and seduced by Antoinette. He is furious,
and later that day, he has sex with Amélie, a Negro servant,
while Antoinette is within hearing distance in the next room.

Antoinette is devastated. She goes to Christophine's and is

away for a few days. Upon returning she is furious with
Rochester and loses control. Her actions are like those of a
madwoman. She eventually collapses. Christophine comes and
says Rochester has destroyed Antoinette. She suggests he try
to love her again or go to England without her. Rochester
refuses and orders Christophine off the property. Refusing
both of her suggestions, Rochester makes plans to take

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Plot Summary 9

Plot Diagram

Climax

7
Falling Action
6
Rising Action
5 8

4
9
3
Resolution
2
1

Introduction

7. Rochester sleeps with Amélie and Antoinette overhears.

Introduction

1. Coulibri is burnt, leaving Pierre dead and Annette insane.

Falling Action

8. Christophine tries to persuade Rochester to free Antoinette.

Rising Action

2. Antoinette and Rochester marry and reside in Granbois.

Resolution
3. The couple is intimate, and Antoinette feels love.
9. Antoinette escapes the attic to set the house on fire.
4. Rochester learns of Antoinette's family's history.

5. Antoinette visits Christophine and begs for a potion.

6. Antoinette explains her family history to Rochester.

Climax

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Plot Summary 10

Timeline of Events

Mid-1830s

Pierre is deemed incurable, and Annette becomes

despondent.

A few months later

Annette and Mr. Mason marry.

One year later

Coulibri is burned by the former slaves. Pierre dies.

Annette goes insane.

A few months later

Antoinette begins convent school while Aunt Cora is in

England and Annette is being cared for.

A few years later

Antoinette and Rochester marry and go to Granbois for

their honeymoon.

A few weeks later

Rochester learns of Antoinette's family's history via a

letter from Daniel Cosway.

A few weeks later

Antoinette gives a potion to Rochester; it does not work,

and he sleeps with Amélie.

A few weeks later

Rochester and Christophine argue over Antoinette, and

he refuses to let his wife go.

A few years later

Antoinette escapes the attic with the intention of burning

the house.

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
c Part Summaries
Wide Sargasso Sea has three parts. This study guide breaks
parts 1 and 2 into smaller sections for the purpose of summary
and analysis.
Part 1 (The Burning of Coulibri)
Summary
As Wide Sargasso Sea opens, Antoinette, the protagonist and
narrator, explains why her mother (Annette) and the family are
not accepted by their community in Jamaica. Annette is young,
pretty, and from the French colony of Martinique, while
Jamaica is an English colony. In addition Annette is a Creole,
which leaves her on the outside of both races. Antoinette's
father has been dead a few years, and the estate where the
family lives, Coulibri, has fallen into disrepair due to the family's
financial struggles since his death.
The slaves have recently been freed, and there is resentment
toward their former masters, the white people. Antoinette's
family used to have slaves, and they currently have a few black
servants. Like the other slaveholders, the Cosway family were
promised compensation for releasing their slaves, but they
have not received any.
Annette's mother goes horseback riding every day, but her
horse gets poisoned, which leaves her feeling stranded. Later
she convinces a doctor from Spanish Town to come to their
estate and check on Pierre, her son, who is unable to walk or
talk properly. The doctor delivers bad news and never returns.
This turn of events impacts Annette greatly; her grief causes
her to grow thin and silent, and she eventually becomes
housebound. When Antoinette reaches out to her, she does
not respond and even pushes her away. Antoinette is lonely
and spends time in the garden, which is overgrown and in need
of care. She also spends time in the kitchen with Christophine,
a servant who is from Martinique like Annette.
Like Annette, Christophine was not accepted by others in
Jamaica. Over the years Antoinette has become fond of
Christophine, who sings to her and provides company. Annette
says the family would not have survived without Christophine,
who stays with the family out of loyalty. She believes the other
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Part Summaries 11
servants stay out of a need for money. Antoinette worries
Christophine will leave the household.
One day a black girl sees Antoinette and insults her, "Go away
white cockroach, go away, go away." Christophine finds
Antoinette and the next day provides a playmate for her, Tia;
the two become friends, but only briefly: one day Tia sees that
Antoinette has some money. They make a bet, and Tia takes
Antoinette's money, and the girls insult each other. Tia leaves
while wearing Antoinette's dress, leaving her to wear Tia's old
one. When Antoinette arrives home, she finds there are visitors.
Her dress, that of a poor black girl, embarrasses both her and
her mother.
That night Annette does not talk to Antoinette, who becomes
convinced that her mother is angry with her. Later Antoinette
has a dream about being chased in the forest. She believes life
is about to change. Her mother starts leaving the house again
(she uses the neighbor's horse), has new dresses made, and
attends social functions. Antoinette goes off on her own and
enjoys the solitude.
Soon Annette marries Mr. Mason. At the wedding the guests
gossip about Annette and her former husband and wonder why
Mr. Mason would marry her. Antoinette overhears them. While
the couple honeymoon in Trinidad, Antoinette and Pierre stay
with their Aunt Cora in Spanish Town. While the family is away,
Mr. Mason is having repairs done on Coulibri. New servants
come in as well, and they talk about Christophine's obeah
practices, which causes Antoinette to be fearful.
A year after they are married, Annette wants to leave Coulibri
because she believes the people hate them. She and Mr.
Mason argue about it regularly. Antoinette agrees and thinks
things are worse because now they have money. Mr. Mason
does not see things in the same way and laughs at Annette's
concerns. Later Aunt Cora warns Mr. Mason about how he
talks in front of the servants.
One night Antoinette is awoken by her mother and told to
come downstairs. When she arrives, the family is all there
(except Pierre), as well as Christophine and the servants.
There is a protest going on outside, and the protesters are
throwing rocks at the house. Annette debates whether to get
Pierre, whom she left with Myra, a servant. Mannie, another
servant, notices the protestors have set fire to the house.
Meanwhile Myra joins the protestors and leaves Pierre.
Annette dashes to Pierre's room. She returns with Pierre,
whose crib has been burned, and he appears lifeless. Despite
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
her burned hair and hands, Annette is livid and screams at Mr.
Mason for his trust in the black people.
The family leaves with the house in flames. Mr. Mason is forced
to drag Annette away from the home; she has been trying to
save her parrot, Coco. Once outside, the mob screams at
them. Two of the servants bring the horses around but the
family cannot get to them. After Mr. Mason prays, the crowd
stops yelling: they are focused on Coco, who has fallen to
death due to clipped wings. The people see this as bad luck.
Mannie brings the carriag,e and the family enters. One of the
protestors verbally assaults the family, but Aunt Cora's firm
speech stops him. As Antoinette takes a look at the house, she
sees Tia and runs to her, seeing her as all that is left of her old
life. Tia throws a rock at Annette that hits her in the face and
draws blood.
Analysis
From the first lines of the book, Rhys establishes Antoinette
and her family as outsiders. Both Annette and Christophine are
from Martinique, a French, not an English, colony. Annette's
Creole ancestry makes her an outsider to all races. Both the
white people (who closed ranks, leaving the Cosways on the
outside of the circle) and the black people (who refer to the
family as white cockroaches) view Antoinette's family as other.
Coulibri thus becomes an island by itself within the Islands of
the West Indies. The status of being on the outside is
compounded for Antoinette, since her mother favors her sickly
brother over her, for whom her mother shows little affection.
Antoinette is essentially left to fend for herself with occasional
periods of closeness to her Aunt Cora and Christophine, the
family servant.
When Antoinette does find friendship in Tia, it is with a black
girl whose family is also not from Jamaica. However, as soon
as Tia realizes Antoinette has money (while the family is poor,
they have more than Tia), their friendship dissolves. Her
deception of Antoinette, which includes stealing her dress and
money, shows Tia is unable and perhaps unwilling to truly
reciprocate Antoinette's friendship. Despite her youth, she
recognizes the differences between herself and Antoinette,
and like the adults around her she spurns the Cosways.
Antoinette recognizes the cruelty Tia displays toward her and
decides it is better to be on her own. However, when trouble
erupts at Coulibri, Antoinette turns to Tia and wants to be like
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Part Summaries 12
her. It is only when blood is running down her face that
Antoinette realizes that Tia has thrown a stone at her.
Antoinette requires violence to learn the lesson that she
personally, and not just her family, is in exile. For this reason,
while she finds the Caribbean landscape beautiful, she often
feels bewildered and overwhelmed by it.
It seems the only person who does not understand and
appreciate this tension is Mr. Mason. The Englishman came to
the West Indies to increase his fortune, and it appears he has
been successful on this front. However, he does not recognize
the socio-economic issues driving the mood of the people.
Though he is warned by Annette and Aunt Cora, Mr. Mason
insists the ex-slaves are "too damn lazy to be dangerous."
While he capitalizes from the downfall of the previous slave
owners, he believes himself impervious to a similar fate.
Annette's fierce anger at him, leading her to attempted murder,
is almost understandable. His inaction causes the death of her
son and a grief so intense it causes her madness. Readers
familiar with Jane Eyre will see some of the events of that novel
prefigured here.
A number of times in this section, Antoinette is victimized or
insulted. Before her mother's wedding, people were degrading
Annette and wondering why Mr. Mason would marry her. Tia
and others say cruel things to Antoinette, who all the while
does practically nothing to defend herself: although she seems
to realize she is being insulted, she also seems to realize it is
useless to fight back. At the end of this section, Coco the
parrot is burned and falls to his death. Because Coco's wings
have been clipped, he is unable to fly away and protect himself;
instead he must rely on others. In many ways Antoinette is like
Coco. She is young, beautiful, and white, all of which should be
assets to her, but her wings have been clipped in the sense
that she is unable to protect herself and has no one to look out
for her. Her father is dead and her mother is preoccupied with
her own grief. Her later behavior, or lack of it, should be judged
with this beginning in mind.
Multiple images of death are presented in the first pages of the
book. Mr. Luttrell, Annette's neighbor and only friend, kills his
dog before killing himself. He does so out of desperation since
his fortune, like the Cosways', has been lost as a result of the
liberation of the slaves and the never-ending wait for the
promised compensation from the English. Annette's horse has
been poisoned, and flies buzz around it, picking it as they wish.
This death ultimately leads to an empty house next door and
more isolation for Annette and her family. The smell of dead
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
flowers even pervades their neglected garden, which
Antoinette compares to the Garden of Eden: "large and
beautiful as that garden in the Bible."
There are parts of Coulibri Antoinette has yet to discover and
doing so brings her joy. The biblical story says Eve eats from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, after being
convinced to do so by the snake, despite being commanded by
God not to. She then has Adam do the same. Because Adam
and Eve defy God's command, they are deemed unworthy of
paradise and are exiled from the Garden of Eden; they will now
need to work the land to support themselves. Like Eve
Antoinette discovers a snake on one of her nature walks. The
snake—along with the neglected, wild gardens at the Coulibri
estate—adds a sense of danger. The scene foreshadows both
the family's exile from Coulibri and Antoinette's more intimate
knowledge of evil.
Part 1 (Antoinette's Schooling)
Summary
Six weeks have passed and Antoinette wakes up from her
sickness and finds herself in Aunt Cora's house. Aunt Cora
catches her up on what has transpired. Antoinette's hair has
been cut, the Luttrells helped the family to safety, Pierre has
died (Antoinette suspected this), and her mother is
recuperating in the country. Antoinette does not say she knew
about her mother, having heard her screams when she
periodically awoke from her sickness.
Antoinette goes, along with Christophine, for a visit to see her
mother, whom she recognizes only because of her hair and
dress. Antoinette hugs and kisses her mother. While they are
embracing, Annette looks at the door for Pierre. Antoinette
shakes her head to show he is not coming, and Annette
screams no and throws Antoinette aside.
Aunt Cora enrolls Antoinette in convent school. While on the
way to school, Antoinette is accosted and bullied by two teens.
Sandi appears on the scene, and the bullies run off.
When Antoinette arrives at the school, she is anxious to get in
and cries when she enters. A nun comforts Antoinette and
introduces her to another student who shares stories about
the convent. The student is there with her sisters. They are
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Part Summaries 13
admired for their beauty and behavior. While at the convent
Antoinette sews and learns about the saints.
Antoinette wonders about her mother. She receives few visits
because Christophine has left, Mr. Mason is often away, and
Aunt Cora has moved to England. While Antoinette seems
lonely, she adjusts to the schedule at the convent school. Later
Mr. Mason comes more regularly and brings Antoinette
presents when he visits. On one visit, which occurs after
Antoinette turns 17, Mr. Mason says it is time for her to leave
the convent. She will live with him, Aunt Cora, and his son.
When he leaves, he says he has asked some English friends to
spend next winter there, so things will not be dull.
That night Antoinette again dreams of the forest and walking
with someone who hates her. She awakens and tells one of the
nuns she dreamed she was in hell. The nun gives her hot
chocolate and says it was an evil dream, and Antoinette should
put it out of her mind. While drinking the hot chocolate,
Antoinette recalls her mother's funeral, which was the previous
year. The only people who attended besides her were
Christophine and Mr. Mason. Her mother and the dream
become intertwined. Antoinette asks the nun why terrible
things happen, but the nun has no answer.
Analysis
As Antoinette awakens, Aunt Cora is there. It is one of the few
times an adult shows true affection for Antoinette, and she
soaks in the attention and feels safe. However, Antoinette gets
rejected yet again when she visits her mother who acts
violently when she realizes, again, that Pierre is dead. Then
Aunt Cora goes to England, leaving Antoinette in the convent
school. She receives little attention, direction, or affection
throughout her childhood. The loneliness she feels from being
outside the community is compounded by the lack of attention
she gets from her family and leaves her feeling unguarded and
unsafe, without a place of refuge.
Antoinette is perceptive regarding the feelings of those around
her. When she visits her mother, Antoinette recognizes she is
looking for Pierre and is unable to bring herself to say Pierre
has died. When she wakes up and sees Aunt Cora, Antoinette
again shows sensitivity as she immediately recognizes, with
just a look, the strain her aunt has been under. Before she is
told, she also perceives that Pierre is dead. As soon as Mr.
Mason comes to see her (after she turns 17), Antoinette
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
recognizes something is different based on his behavior and
intuits he has a plan in store for her.
Her intuition and feelings of insecurity make her overly
sensitive. She cries a number of times, most memorably when
she goes to the convent after being bullied. Even the nuns, who
act in a kindly manner, find her crying excessive. Antoinette
has been through a number of ordeals at an early age and is
therefore an easy mark. She is often taken advantage of (just
as when Tia took her dress) and is incapable of fighting back.
Instead she breaks down. Her sensitivity makes her more
vulnerable to attacks of all sorts, just as it will during her ill-
fated marriage, causing her to overreact and to do so in ways
that are emotional rather than logical. Antoinette learns while in
convent school that whoever harms the "unfortunate or ...
unhappy insult[s] Christ Himself ... for they are His chosen
ones." Like Christ, Antoinette is destined to suffer. Unlike Him
she will not do so meekly.
While in the convent school, Antoinette has little interaction
with the other students. Nothing is noted after her initial
conversation with Louise De Plana, nor is the interaction with
the nuns extensive. More of Antoinette's time is spent
contemplating sin, hearing stories about saints, and learning
how to sew and other such tasks. Despite this existence
Antoinette seems content with the convent school. Safety and
security matter more to her than love, human interaction, or a
sense of place. She can deal with loneliness and alienation, in
part because she has never known anything different.
Part 2 (The Honeymoon and
Rochester's Regret)
Summary
Part 2 is narrated by Rochester, who when Part 2 opens, is
married to Antoinette and has used her money to pay off his
debts. The couple along with a servant, Amélie, are in
Massacre and are on their way to their honeymoon house
when they are caught in a rain storm. While waiting out the
storm, Rochester briefly reflects on the recent happenings: he
had been in Jamaica for one month before he and Antoinette
were married. For three of those weeks, he was bedridden with
fever. After the wedding, the couple left Spanish Town to
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Part Summaries 14
spend time on a small estate in the Windward Islands.
Rochester is critical of himself, the people around him, and
Antoinette.
Antoinette sees a friend of hers, Caroline, and she speaks to
her privately. Caroline invites the couple to come to her house,
but Rochester declines. While Antoinette is talking to Caroline,
Rochester speaks to one of the porters who says, "This a very
wild place - not civilized. Why you come here?" As they
continue on their journey, Rochester says he understands why
the porter said it is a wild place; he feels menacing should be
added to the description. Rochester feels as if "everything is
too much," including the red of the flowers and the height of
the mountains.
Rochester composes a letter to his father in his head. He says
he was given 30,000 pounds "without question or provision"
when he married Antoinette. This unusual arrangement
enables Rochester to be financially independent. He considers
it to be a good deal as Antoinette is beautiful, but he has
doubts and is critical of her. Rochester notices Antoinette
smiling, and she tells him to put on his coat and brings him
water. Antoinette points out the red dirt, and Rochester says
they have that in England. Antoinette mocks his comparison to
England.
While Rochester compares the house with an English summer
house, he proceeds to note the poor quality of the lawn and
the house. Rochester says the house is "more awkward than
ugly a little sad as if it knew it could not last." The servants are
waiting for them, and Antoinette introduces Rochester to them.
She saves Christophine for last, "my da, my nurse long ago."
Later Rochester takes a deep breath and says, "An intoxicating
freshness as if all this had never been breathed before."
Antoinette gives Rochester a tour of the house, and the two
enjoy a toast to happiness. Frangipani, a type of delicate
flower, is left for the couple, but Rochester carelessly crushes
it. Antoinette asks Rochester if he likes it there, as she senses
he does not. The house is special to her, and she feels
comfortable there. When Christophine knocks, Rochester asks
if Antoinette is afraid of her, but it is he who is afraid.
Rochester is shown his dressing room and begins to feel
comfortable. However, when Baptiste says it can be cold at
night, Rochester is thrown. After examining the room further,
including taking note of the books, Rochester again composes
a letter to his father. He tells his father where he is and of
Antoinette's appreciation for the house. Rochester talks of
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
Richard Mason, whom he praises and who trusts him
completely. Rochester notes it is beautiful where he is, but his
illness has left him too exhausted to truly appreciate it.
Rochester rereads the letter and adds some details about his
sickness.
Analysis
From Rochester's very first words, "So it was all over," he
appears uncertain, uncomfortable, and unhappy. Rochester
implies he has simply been led along—"I agreed. As I had
agreed to everything else"—and his lack of power annoys him.
He implies he has been manipulated, which he has—his father
and brother refuse to give him enough of the family's
inheritance for him to survive independently, and he resents
them. A mystery surrounds him, and the fact that he is in debt
implies that his family is right not to trust him. Rochester claims
that entering into the marriage for financial reasons while sick
and without much knowledge of the girl is akin to selling his
soul, and in many ways he is correct.
However, the arrangement is unusual and dangerous for
Antoinette as well. Wealthy women in the 19th century were
usually married with a dowry that was an incentive for marriage
but was also financial protection or insurance for them in case
their husbands proved to be stingy or unable to provide. The
money also reverts to them if they are widowed, while if there
is an heir, only the father's wealth is passed down. In this case
her stepbrother has given Rochester all of her money with no
legal reservations, leaving her completely exposed in the case
of Rochester's death, a divorce, or even the birth of an heir.
Rochester is not used to being an outsider and is
uncomfortable in the role. When the couple passes Massacre,
Antoinette explains that people, presumably outsiders, were
killed there. This explanation heightens Rochester's
discomfort. In addition Rochester envies Antoinette and her
comfort with the surroundings. She interacts with the people,
appreciates the beauty of the area, smiles comfortably, speaks
the native language, and so on. Antoinette is in control, and
Rochester is clearly uncomfortable in a subordinate role. It is,
after all, the part he has left England to escape. There is some
situational irony, then, when he uses England to attempt to
regain his footing and assert his dominance: even England has
made him an outsider. The novel will not even give him the
dignity of a name.
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Part Summaries 15
Unlike Rochester, Antoinette goes to lengths to try to make the
best of their marriage and please her husband. This portion of
the novel is described from another point of view, so the
reader does not know her feelings about the marriage. The
only clue the reader has is that earlier, when her stepfather
hinted at removing her from the convent and having parties
and visitors, she felt uneasy and fearful. Her optimistic behavior
could be genuine or it could be an attempt to set her new
husband at ease—the reader simply does not know.
What we do know is that she tries to set Rochester at his ease
and make him feel comfortable with the surroundings, make
him feel safe as she has always longed to do. She shares her
feelings about the land and the house with Rochester in the
hope that he too will enjoy and appreciate them as she does.
Antoinette shows a nurturing quality toward Rochester as she
brings him water, tells him to put on his coat, and wipes his
forehead when he is sweating. She is concerned about his
feelings and his health. When Rochester declines the invitation
to Caroline's house, Antoinette accepts his decision.
Antoinette shares her fears with Rochester in an attempt to
help him understand her. She praises him: "You look like a king,
an emperor." Antoinette instigated the toast to their happiness,
and it is she who tries to make their happiness real.
From their first interaction, Rochester and Christophine do not
care for each other. Rochester declares of her that "she
seemed insignificant" and senses Christophine disapproves of
him. The two stare each other down, and, when Rochester
looks away, Christophine smiles. She wins the battle of wills in
this first encounter, and Rochester declares her scary. When
Antoinette declares her feelings for Christophine, it sets up
Christophine as a rival to Rochester, who wants to control his
wife. The battle between Rochester and Christophine will
continue and ultimately, their different visions for how to
handle Antoinette will clash.
Part 2 (Meeting and Marriage)
Summary
Rochester recalls his meeting and courtship of Antoinette. He
says he was playing a role and acting a part and is surprised
few people noticed. Those who doubted his sincerity or were
curious about it were the black servants and not the white
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
people.åç
Rochester's recall of the wedding is also fragmented. All the
women seemed to look alike to him. He remembers Antoinette
was dressed in white and that her hand was freezing when she
came out of the church but not what she looked like. People
seem to show him pity, but Rochester does not understand
why—he feels he has done well for himself.
The morning of the wedding Richard Mason tells Rochester
that Antoinette has decided she does not want to go through
with it. Antoinette does not explain why. Rochester goes to her.
When she says she "is afraid of what may happen," he reminds
her of his promise to protect her. However, Antoinette doubts
him because he laughed with Richard Mason afterward. She
also says Rochester does not know anything about her.
Rochester sweet talks Antoinette, and when he asks her to
reconsider, she nods her approval.
Analysis
Rochester's instabilities lead him to be driven by pride. He
believes he has fooled everyone in Spanish Town society by
making a good marriage, yet people recognize he has entered
the marriage for financial reasons. Rochester feels and resents
the disdain shown him by servants and other black people, who
see his insecurity and naïveté. It is their eyes that so disturb
Rochester, and those same eyes do not hide their disapproval.
Many of the white people are Englishmen who came to the
West Indies to make money, just like Rochester and Mr. Mason.
They have learned to ignore the natives as they conduct
business and to avoid trouble. Marrying Antoinette is simply
another financial deal; therefore, they do not bat an eye at this
transaction.
Ultimately Rochester is fooling no one, least of all Antoinette.
The first part of the novel shows how perceptive she is, easily
able to see through him. When discussing why she called off
the wedding, Antoinette says it is because Rochester laughed
with Richard Mason after promising to keep her safe. She sees
in Rochester the same thing she saw in her stepfather—a
foolish British businessman who does not understand the
native environment and its inherent dangers. When Mr. Mason
was in control, her life was destroyed. Now her future husband
is laughing off the danger as he did.
Still, like her mother, Antoinette has few options. Her
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Part Summaries 16
stepbrother wants to marry her off and thinks little of her,
calling her "the little fool." Richard Mason sees Antoinette as a
burden, and he unloads her onto Rochester: the marriage is
purely a business transaction. With limited options Antoinette
accepts Rochester. Should she have rejected him, Richard
Mason would have found someone else to unload her on. With
little choice Antoinette merely hopes Rochester will keep her
safe. Like her soon-to-be husband, Antoinette's expectations
for the marriage are minimal.
Part 2 (Sexual Longing)
Summary
Rochester awakens and goes to the dining room, which is laid
out in an attractive way. He sees Antoinette and wonders,
"Why I had never realized how beautiful she was." Rochester
and Antoinette chat and enjoy their meal. The conversation
turns to England, and the couple debate which country is more
unreal.
After dinner they go on the veranda and eventually for a walk.
Antoinette says how she used to come to this place when she
was a child and shares a story: one night Antoinette woke up,
and two enormous rats were in her room; she fell back asleep,
and when she woke up later that night, there was a full moon,
the rats were gone, and Antoinette was frightened. She looked
for them outside and fell asleep out there. The next morning
Christophine said it was bad to sleep outside in a full moon.
When Antoinette asks Rochester what he thinks, he rocks her
in a childlike way and sings to her. The couple go into her room
where Rochester pours them wine and toasts to their
happiness and love.
The next morning Rochester awakens and is ready to be
intimate again when Christophine knocks on the door.
Although she is smiling, wishing them good morning, and
bringing them breakfast, Rochester still finds her imposing.
When Christophine leaves, Rochester praises her coffee but
questions her talk and actions. Antoinette explains the
customs, but Rochester continues to judge based on his
background.
Antoinette declares she is lazy and will stay in bed that
morning and maybe even all day. Rochester starts spending
time at the bathing pool and begins to enjoy life there. He says
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
the weather was beautiful week after week, and "My fever
weakness left me, so did all misgiving." In the mornings he is by
himself in the bathing pool, but in the afternoons, Antoinette
joins him. Rochester is uncertain about Antoinette, but he is
very attracted to her.
The couple discuss the island. They agree it is lonely.
Antoinette says she loves the island as if it were a person, and
it is her favorite place in the world. Rochester teases her by
noting she has not been around much. The couple settle into a
pleasant routine and are regularly intimate. However,
Rochester awakens at night and wonders why Antoinette looks
sad while she is asleep. He curses himself for marrying her but
wakes her up and listens to her sad stories in the dark.
Antoinette tells Rochester that before him, she did not wish to
live. She never told this to anyone because there was no one to
tell.
Rochester notes that Antoinette acts like any other girl, playful
and pleasant, during the day. At night things are different as
Antoinette always talks of death. Antoinette says she is not
used to happiness, and the feeling makes her afraid. Rochester
has made her want to live and she says she will die if he says
to. The two are in bed together often, and Rochester says,
"Very soon she was as eager for what's called loving as I was."
However Rochester says Antoinette is a stranger, and he feels
neither love nor tenderness for her, only lust.
Rochester describes Antoinette as being like an obedient child
whose ideas cannot be changed. Rochester assures
Antoinette she is safe but needs the assurance himself. It
always seems to rain at night, but when the mornings come,
there is little evidence of the rains from the night before.
Analysis
Both Rochester's and Antoinette's personalities are deeply
affected by the time of day and the weather. During the day
Antoinette is pleasant and happy. She laughs easily and smiles
often. However, at night she is sad and dramatic and often
talks of death. Antoinette had a sad and lonely childhood that
left her fearful and unhappy, and she wants her husband to
make her feel safe. During the day she is able to give him what
she perceives he wants in a wife, but she feels he is
withholding something from her, especially at night, when they
share a physical relationship but when Rochester is not as
intimate with her as she wants him to be. During the moments
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Part Summaries 17
when she is most vulnerable, he does not give her the
emotional safety and security she craves.
Rochester's days and nights are both submerged in the
physical. He enjoys the food and drink offered by Christophine
and the bathing pool where he can be either alone or with
Antoinette, basking in the warmth of the island. The smell of
the night flowers intoxicates him. But he remains uneasy about
the islanders and the island, and he withholds the emotional
support Antoinette craves. Like Antoinette Rochester has been
impacted by his childhood: Rochester believes his brother was
the loved child, and his father and brother have colluded
against him.
Antoinette's brute honesty about wanting to die before
meeting Rochester and her willingness to do so at his
command makes Rochester uncomfortable. Just as Antoinette
seems to be different at night from how she is during the day,
Rochester goes through changes as well. There are many
times when Rochester will praise one moment and insult the
next: the land, the people, and Antoinette. In one scene he is
toasting their love and happiness, and in the next he is saying
he feels nothing for her. His change in emotions is not because
of something Antoinette did or did not do; his natural paranoia
and mistrust prevent Rochester from fully enjoying the
moment. He insists he feels nothing for Antoinette, yet this
does not prevent him from having relations with her repeatedly.
The back and forth of his emotions introduces some situational
irony, since Rochester comments on the emotions of the island
people and how they cannot control them.
The sensual aspect of the islands impacts both Antoinette and
Rochester: whereas the island allows Antoinette to overcome
her fears and feel vulnerable and even happy, Rochester, who
often seems cold and heartless, is overcome with a lascivious,
physical need for Antoinette. His ability to bring her physical
satisfaction thrills him, and he revels in it. His destruction of
flowers, delicate and beautiful like Antoinette, foreshadows his
control and dominance over Antoinette. Rochester will control
and break her—all because he can.
Death and dying are mentioned repeatedly in this section.
Antoinette is obsessed with the topic and is even willing to die,
which is what Rochester wants. Even moths and beetles
invade Rochester and Antoinette's romantic dinner table. The
bugs fly into candles and die right on the tablecloth, much like
Coulibri, which was consumed in flames. Just as the couple
ignores the bugs and proceeds with their dinner, Rochester
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
ignores Antoinette's fears, also as her stepfather had ignored
her mother's warnings at her childhood home.
Part 2 (The Letter)
Summary
Amélie delivers a letter to Rochester who thinks nothing of it.
Later he opens the letter, which is from Daniel Cosway, a half-
brother to Antoinette. The letter says Rochester was deceived
and goes on to shame Antoinette and her family, describing
them as "wicked and detestable slave-owners." The letter also
notes, "there is madness in that family." The letter details
Annette's descent into madness and how she tried to kill her
husband. Daniel Cosway says he is sharing the information as
a way to warn Rochester of Antoinette's background because
it is "my Christian duty." The letter instructs Rochester to
consider how things occurred when he got married and to
confront Richard Mason to confirm what is in the letter. Finally
Daniel Cosway requests that Rochester come see him and
notes that Amélie knows where he lives.
Rochester folds the letter and puts it away. While he claims he
is not surprised and suspected something, Rochester is
disturbed by the letter and he is unsteady as he heads back to
the house.
Amélie notifies Antoinette that Christophine is leaving. Then
Amélie makes a comment about Rochester that Antoinette
takes offense with, and the two ladies slap each other. The two
are fighting when Rochester enters. He breaks it up and
Amélie walks away, pretending to sob and playing up to
Rochester. When out of sight and hearing distance, Amélie
sings a song calling Antoinette a white cockroach and saying
she bought Rochester. Antoinette is furious about Amélie's
impertinence.
Christophine comes into the room and tells Antoinette she is
indeed leaving. Antoinette asks, "And what will become of
me?"Christophine instructs Antoinette to have spunk so she
can survive in the wicked world. She explains she will go off to
her house, which Antoinette's mother gave her, and enjoy her
garden, which her son will work for her. Christophine is also
leaving because she and Rochester do not like each other and
staying might bring trouble. Amélie returns, and she smiles at
Rochester; Christophine threatens her that if she smiles at
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Part Summaries 18
Rochester again, she will hurt her. Then Christophine turns to
Antoinette and kisses her goodbye.
Rochester and Antoinette are left alone, and she explains how
she is not accepted by either black people or the English. She
then asks Rochester to go so she can dress as Christophine
said. When Rochester knocks later, there is no answer, so he
has Baptiste bring him something to eat. After a strong drink
with his dinner, Rochester goes to sleep. Later he wakes up
and goes into Antoinette's room but she is sleeping. It's the
middle of the night yet Rochester finds the quiet disturbing.
Rochester goes for a walk outside and eventually enters the
forest. He thinks of his father, brother, and Richard Mason and
how they played him for a fool. "How can one discover truth?"
Rochester wonders, and he feels as if he is on his own. At this
time Rochester feels as if he is being watched. While
Rochester is lost, he comes across a little girl who screams
when she sees him and runs off. Rochester still cannot find the
path. Baptiste finds him and leads him back. On their way
Rochester asks about the little girl and inquires if she is a
zombie. Baptiste says he knows nothing about this and also
says there is no road. When they return, Antoinette's door is
still bolted, so Rochester has some rum and reads a book on
obeah that discusses zombies.
Analysis
The relationship between Rochester and Antoinette has
deepened. They are regularly intimate with each other, and
Antoinette views what they have as love. For Rochester the
physical is still primary, but he has some feelings for his wife.
However, he continues to have doubts about his situation and
suspects he has been duped. Cosway's letter is the piece of
the puzzle Rochester has been looking for. From the very start
of the relationship, he has been uncertain and waiting for the
revelation to confirm his doubts. As upsetting as Daniel
Cosway's letter is, it also provides a sense of comfort because
Rochester now feels he knows the truth. The same paranoia
and mistrust he and Antoinette both feel are confirmed for him
as reasonable.
Significantly the comfort comes to Rochester in written form.
Many of the black islanders do not know how to read or write,
and the written declaration carries connotations of business,
conducted in written bills and receipts; the law, formalized in
written code; and English civilization, educated and well read.
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
Although the letter from Daniel Cosway provides some sense
of comfort to Rochester, it also leaves him feeling isolated.
Many times when he goes to Antoinette in this section of the
book, her door is locked or she is otherwise unavailable. By
choosing to believe the letter and by receiving the opportunity
to have his fears confirmed, he has become separated from
her. She too has fears, but hers can be neither confirmed nor
denied.
In addition, when he comes home after first receiving the letter,
Antoinette is acting in a melodramatic way. Her fight with
Amélie and her cutting up of the sheets seems particularly odd
and disturbing to Rochester as he is already viewing her in a
different light. Any chance for Antoinette to explain her side of
the story is lost. Antoinette's self-isolation along with her lack
of explanation in the past allows the story of Daniel Cosway to
stand as truth in Rochester's mind. As time passes,
Rochester's mistrust grows and cements itself in his mind.
Antoinette has shown herself to be perceptive in the past;
however, in this case she allows her love and trust of
Rochester to blind her.
Rochester's walk home after receiving the letter as well as his
walk in the forest deepen his isolation. While walking home,
Rochester plucks and destroys an orchid, one of Antoinette's
favorite flowers. His isolation is emphasized when he returns
home and the place is quiet and appears deserted. During
Rochester's walk into the forest (after he finds Antoinette
sleeping), he senses that everyone—his father, brother,
Richard Mason, and Antoinette—knew about Antoinette's
background and deliberately kept him uninformed. The only
person who enlightens him is Daniel Cosway.
While in the forest Rochester senses another person and feels
he is being watched. However, the only "person" he believes he
sees is a zombie. The definition Rochester discovers about a
zombie—"a living person who is dead"—is the way he now
views Antoinette. She is no longer a regular person to him, let
alone a wife. Instead she is a burden, a problem waiting to
happen. His treatment of her will eventually cause her to fulfill
his prediction.
Antoinette also feels abandoned in this section. Christophine
has been by her side since she was a child. She has supported
Antoinette in many ways, by sheltering her from her mother
and securing her a playmate in Tia. Some of these have been
helpful; others have not. Like her namesake, Christopher
Columbus, her legacy is destined to be ambiguous and open to
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Part Summaries 19
interpretation. When Christophine confirms she is leaving,
Antoinette is hurt. However, Antoinette accepts Christophine's
leaving because of Rochester. Antoinette realizes she must
decide between the two of them, and she chooses her
husband in an attempt to make the best of the situation.
Despite Christophine's encouragement, Antoinette does not
seem capable of taking care of herself. In the very same scene,
Antoinette needs Christophine just to put Amélie in her place.
At the very moment Rochester feels most isolated from and
distrustful of her, she is left most dependent upon him.
Daniel Cosway claims to tell Rochester about Antoinette's
background because it is his Christian duty. Yet it seems his
letter is more about envy and anger. Daniel Cosway says his
father did not like him and abandoned him. While Cosway
received some financial support, he feels it was not enough: he
is living in poverty. Cosway is jealous of Antoinette, who is a
wealthy woman with every benefit in the world. He even admits
to wanting revenge, "Let him wait my day will come." Despite
the letter's jealousy and vengeance, Rochester is tempted to
believe it; it allows Rochester to be right about his suspicions,
which is more important to him than creating a good life with
his wife.
Part 2 (Rochester's Rejection
of Antoinette)
Summary
With Antoinette away at Christophine's, Rochester receives a
second letter from Daniel Cosway. He speaks to Amélie about
the letter and tells her he no longer wishes to receive the
letters. Rochester questions Amélie about Daniel Cosway, and
she says he is always reading his Bible and is like a white man
with a big house. She encourages Rochester to go see Daniel
Cosway because if he comes to the house he will make
trouble.
Rochester visits Daniel Cosway, who talks bitterly about the
awful treatment he received from his father. Daniel Cosway
then slanders Christophine and says she went to jail and
practices obeah. He implies there was something going on
between Antoinette and Sandi. He then says Antoinette tells
lies and Rochester is not the first to kiss her. Rochester is
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
repulsed by him, and when he tries to leave, Daniel Cosway
grows angry. He wants money from Rochester but does not
get any.
In the next scene Antoinette asks Rochester why he hates her,
but he denies feeling this way. She follows up with why he
does not approach her then. Rochester questions Antoinette
about her mother. Rochester tells her he saw Daniel Cosway,
and Antoinette correctly guesses what Cosway probably told
him. Rochester says they should wait till the next morning to
talk about this, but Antoinette insists they talk then. Antoinette
tells of the struggles her mother had after her father died.
When Rochester asks how Antoinette was during those times,
she says, "I was always happy in the morning, not always in the
afternoon and never after sunset." She believes the house was
haunted. She also talks of Coulibri's beauty and is upset
Rochester cannot see it. Antoinette says her mother started
having guests and tried to change their lives because she was
ashamed of how Antoinette was growing up. She then
mentions that the house was burned down and she
recuperated at Aunt Cora's house. She talks about her
brother's death, being hit in the head with the rock, and how
her mother hated and threatened Mr. Mason. Antoinette
shares a story about how she visited her mother. At the end
Antoinette stops and says, "... I have tried to make you
understand. But nothing has changed."
Antoinette laughs afterward, and Rochester calls her Bertha.
When she asks him why, Rochester says he calls her that
because he is fond of the name. Antoinette tells him she went
to see Christophine, who advised her to leave him. He seems
to think it good advice and says it might be wise for one of
them to leave for a little while. Rochester says she should go to
bed, and she asks him to come in with her. Rochester notes
she looks very beautiful and grows desirous of her and says,
"We are letting ghosts trouble us. Why shouldn't we be happy?"
Rochester says this happened before he drank and Antoinette
did not need to give him anything.
When Rochester awakens in the early morning, he feels sick
(and ultimately vomits) and believes he has been poisoned. He
goes back to the bedroom and tastes the wine and finds it is
bitter. Rochester leaves the house and collapses by a ruined
house where he sleeps the day away. He returns to the house,
sees no one, and goes to his bedroom. Amélie comes into
Rochester's room, and the two of them have relations.
Rochester says he felt no remorse despite the fact that his
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Part Summaries 20
wife was on the other side of the partition, but he felt
differently the next morning. The two speak that morning, and
Amélie shares her plans for the future. Rochester says he will
give her a present. Before she leaves, Rochester asks if she
still feels sorry for him. Amélie says yes and adds, "But I find it
in my heart to be sorry for her too." Rochester remains and
waits to hear Antoinette leave the house.
Rochester is content in the home by himself. He exchanges a
letter with a magistrate who says Christophine is trouble. He
says if Christophine starts practicing obeah again, Rochester
should contact him, and he will have her arrested and make
sure she gets a long sentence.
Antoinette returns with Christophine and goes right to her
bedroom. Later Rochester forces his way into seeing her.
Antoinette has been drinking, and she is livid. She says
Rochester has made this place another one she hates and
says, "Before I die I will show you how much I hate you."
Rochester says he does not love her at all, and Antoinette calls
him a stone. The two get into a fight. Christophine comes in,
and Antoinette collapses on the sofa in tears. She asks
Rochester why he was with Amélie, but he walks out of the
room. Christophine calms Antoinette, and she goes to sleep.
Christophine confronts Rochester, telling him about how
Antoinette was when she came to visit her. She goes on to say
Antoinette is better than he and all he cares about is money.
Christophine says Rochester made love to Antoinette "till she
can't do without it" but he never felt love for her. Rochester
then accuses Christophine of trying to poison him.
Christophine explains how Antoinette begged her to help so
that Rochester would love her again. Finally she says
Rochester deliberately had relations with Amélie so that
Antoinette would cry.
Rochester presses Christophine about what he did to
Antoinette. Christophine says she gave her something to make
her sleep and took care of her, but Antoinette slept too much.
When she woke her up, she started giving her rum instead.
Antoinette insisted she return home and begged Christophine
to come with her. Christophine says all the work she did to help
Antoinette was ruined when Rochester said he did not love her.
Rochester says Christophine turned Antoinette into a drunken
wreck.
After saying Rochester will not help Antoinette, Christophine
begs Rochester to love Antoinette. She says, "Wait, and
perhaps you can love her again. A little, like she say. A little.
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
Like you can love." After Rochester shakes his head no, the
two of them discuss Daniel Cosway and what he said about
Antoinette and her mother. Christophine tries again to
convince Rochester to take Antoinette, saying "If you forsake
her they will tear her in pieces—like they did her mother!" She
tries to reason with Rochester and suggests he leave and give
Antoinette some money. Christophine says she would take
care of Antoinette. Eventually Antoinette would forget about
Rochester and find someone to marry and be happy.
This causes Rochester to feel jealous, and he laughs at
Christophine and insults her, saying he has heard enough and
insists Christophine leave. He says she is to blame for what
has happened. When Christophine resists, Rochester says he
will have the police come and take her. Christophine asks
Rochester what his plans are for Antoinette, and he says he
will bring her to Spanish Town and have doctors look at her
and consult with Richard Mason. Christophine says Rochester
only wants her money and will have Antoinette declared mad
and the doctors will say what he wants them to say.
Analysis
Daniel Cosway is an angry and bitter man. Although he earlier
claimed to be telling Rochester the information about
Antoinette and her family because he is a good Christian, it
becomes clear by the end of their interview that he is after
money. Daniel Cosway writes a second letter and urges
Rochester to visit him. There is nothing in the second letter and
nothing said in the visit that Daniel Cosway did not say in his
initial letter. The reason he wants Rochester to visit is because
he feels he should be paid for the information he has provided.
When Rochester, who is sickened by Cosway, does not want
to pay him, Cosway becomes angry and threatening. These
actions are reminiscent of how Daniel Cosway describes the
interactions between himself and Antoinette's father and of the
baseness he accuses Antoinette and her family of. Despite
recognizing these truths, Rochester believes everything he
says.
The next morning after Rochester and Amélie have relations,
Rochester says he is going to give her money. Amélie says she
plans to go to Rio because there are rich men there, which
proves she is far more practical than either Antoinette or
Rochester. His coldness that morning causes Amélie to want
to be away from Rochester as soon as possible and even
allows her to pity Antoinette. While Amélie had flirted with
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Part Summaries 21
Rochester earlier, now that she knows him and has seen his
behavior, she is completely turned off. Clearly her motive was
revenge on Antoinette for being white and of a higher social
class than herself, a situation neither of them created, but from
which both she and Amélie suffer.
After she returns with Christophine, Antoinette's behavior
toward Rochester is reminiscent of her mother's behavior
toward Mr. Mason. She acts violently and threatens to harm
him. Clearly she is terrified of what he intends to do with her
after already beginning to torture her with Amélie. He is
prepared with his next step: robbing her of her name and
calling her Bertha instead. She now realizes she is utterly
within his power, and she is terrified. In her confusion and hurt,
she acts out. Given what he has learned about her past,
Rochester views Antoinette's actions as crazy, but they are
understandable based on the circumstances.
Christophine and Rochester have been headed toward a
confrontation since they first met. Christophine was
Antoinette's protector. She knows her past and what she has
gone through and has tried to help her through her challenges.
As her husband Rochester is supposed to have taken on the
role of Antoinette's protector, but beginning with the financial
arrangements made by Richard Mason, his adoption of that
role has been a failure. When Rochester mistreats Antoinette,
she returns to her former protector, Christophine. Although
Rochester does not truly care about Antoinette, he cannot
accept Christophine as his wife's protector, a move that
emasculates him as a man, a husband, and a businessman.
Rochester is a white, European, moneyed male. In nearly every
way—black, Caribbean, former slave, female—Christophine is
Rochester's opposite. In addition to gaining independence
when the slaves were freed, Christophine has managed to earn
money and is financially free. She is also unmarried and
therefore not dependent on men. Finally, she has inherited a
home from Antoinette's family, so she has property. For all of
these reasons, Christophine is not intimidated by Rochester at
all.
All of this would be enough to make Rochester despise
Christophine, resent her, and feel compelled to dominate her
the way he dominates Antoinette, except that Christophine
also has two advantages. First, she lives outside the law. His
communications with Daniel and a local magistrate have
warned him that she was arrested in Martinique for an
unknown crime and spent time in jail. Second, Christophine is
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
obeah, meaning she has religious powers associated with the
gods of the Caribbean islands, gods the slaves brought with
them from Africa and whom they believe are angry because of
the savage crimes committed on them and their ancestors. For
both of these reasons Rochester is reluctant to confront
Christophine directly. Still he has no intention of bowing to her
will.
Like the island's emancipated slaves, Christophine has powers
that can either nurture or destroy; the island people can
choose to work the land, calling forth its lavish fruits, or they
can burn down their masters' homes in acts of rebellion and
violence. For the most part Christophine chooses to be a
nurturer. She gives Rochester options, so he can appear to
have made up his own mind, and she offers him a solution that
could allow him to leave with grace. She understands the
devastating power of a white man's pride, and she knows and
cares for her charge, Antoinette. In other words she tries to
negotiate a peace, as many generations of island people have
done. That the effort is doomed should come as no surprise to
anyone remotely familiar with history.
Rochester's cruelty is never more apparent than when he
rejects Christophine's request. It seems Christophine has
convinced Rochester he should let her take Antoinette.
Rochester grows hesitant when Christophine asks him to give
Antoinette half her money back. He believes it is money
Christophine is after. He is all about money and is convinced
other people act out of the same need. Yet it is not until
Christophine says Antoinette will forget about him, marry
someone else, and be happy, that Rochester loses it. He says,
"A pang of rage and jealousy shot through me then. Oh no, she
won't forget. I laughed."
The obvious question is, Why should this situation bother
Rochester? He will leave the Caribbean with money and no
obligations. He will be rid of a woman whom he has said he
does not love or understand. The only answer can be that
Rochester is a cruel person whose interests are money and
power. He has control over Antoinette, and he will not
relinquish it. The same thirst for power led Rochester to be
aggressive and rough during intercourse with Antoinette. It led
him to allow Antoinette to grow to need him despite the fact
that he felt little for her. It led him to sleep with Amélie when he
had no interest in her. It led him to Daniel Cosway whom he
had no intention of helping. The thing that drives Rochester to
action is power.
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Part Summaries 22
Like Antoinette, Rochester feels a lack of love from a parent
(his father), which affects him very differently from how it
affects Antoinette. For her the lack of love from her mother
makes her needy, weak, and fearful. However, she remains
loyal and sympathetic to her mother and defends her, as the
reader sees when she shares her mother's background story
with Rochester, during which it becomes clear Antoinette was
greatly upset at how poorly her mother was treated.
Rochester's back story is not given here. It is clear, though,
that he feels unloved by his father and believes his brother is
favored. Yet he continues to reach out to his father, share what
is going on in his life, and seek his approval. While Antoinette
wanted love to fill the void left by a lack of parental love,
Rochester wanted money and power and approval. Rochester
feels his father might appreciate him more if he were self-
sufficient. The way he obtained the money and how he uses it
leads the reader to believe Rochester's father will continue to
be distant from his son.
Despite not having money or the love of his father, Rochester
still feels superior. After all, Richard Mason pursued him to
marry his stepsister, offering Rochester £30,000 with no
strings attached, despite barely knowing him. Although
Rochester complains repeatedly about feeling duped, this
transaction is the source of his superiority. He is now a wealthy
man and can do as he pleases. Antoinette is the vehicle
through which he got his power, and letting her go would be
tantamount to relinquishing his power. His stated desire to take
care of her is another way to control her.
Christophine tries to encourage Antoinette to share in her
strength, but in reality the Creole has few of the black woman's
advantages. The novel's heroine has neither property nor
money, thanks to her stepbrother's mismanagement of her
affairs. Likewise she has no family, apart from Richard Mason
who has already effectively disowned her. She is completely
dependent upon her husband, in many ways a slave to him.
Antoinette's fate seems to have been sealed before she
married. The two people who care for her most—Aunt Cora
and Christophine—did not approve of her marriage to
Rochester. They argued with Richard Mason and said his
father would not approve. Yet Richard Mason does not heed
the argument and he seals Antoinette's fate. He is happy to
have found a match for Antoinette and latches on to the first
man he can find: Rochester. Richard Mason convinces himself
it is a good match and promises are not needed. Antoinette is
traded from one man to the other with little choice. Despite
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
having a number of privileges, primarily money, Antoinette
never has any power, and therefore she is left helpless to
suffer her fate.
Part 2 (Help Me, Christophine)
Summary
Antoinette is once again the narrator. She rides off on her
horse to Christophine's house. When she finds her, Antoinette
comments on how Christophine smells as she always did,
which is a comfort to Antoinette. After thinking this is where
she belongs, Antoinette tells Christophine, "He does not love
me, I think he hates me." She explains how the two interact and
notes they no longer have relations.
Christophine is silent when Antoinette asks for advice on how
to make Rochester love her again. She suggests leaving him
but Antoinette does not like this suggestion. Christophine says,
"When man don't love you, more you try, more he hate you.
Man like that." She adds that if you do not love a man, he will
try and get you back, but if you do love him, he will treat you
badly. Antoinette says she cannot leave because he is her
husband. Christophine says she is happy to not be living with
the men who fathered her children.
Antoinette is stuck with Rochester because all her money is
now his. Christophine says Antoinette should tell Rochester
she is sick and would like to go visit her cousin in Martinique.
She should ask for her own money and go and then stay away.
Eventually Rochester will come to her to see if she can get
along without him. When he finds she is doing well, he will want
her back.
Antoinette says if she goes she would rather go to England as
she is curious about the place. Christophine does not know if it
really exists. This response causes Antoinette to question
whether Christophine can help. Antoinette asks for a love
potion, which she says is the reason she came; Christophine
seems to have known this from the moment she saw her.
Christophine again says you can't make a man love you, but
Antoinette says Christophine can. Christophine says trouble
comes with that, especially when béké or white people try it,
but Antoinette insists that if Rochester comes to her bed again,
she can make him love her. Christophine disagrees and tells
that afterward he will hate her. Antoinette says he hates her
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Part Summaries 23
now, so how can it get worse. Antoinette says she cannot
leave Rochester because that would be a scandal, which he
hates. Both Rochester and Richard Mason would force her
back.
Christophine insists Rochester loves money and shares that
there are many rumors going around that confuse Rochester.
A conversation is recalled between Aunt Cora and Richard
Mason. Aunt Cora believed it was wrong to turn Antoinette's
financial fate over to Rochester. The argument took a lot out of
Aunt Cora, who is no longer in good health.
Christophine instructs Antoinette to tell Rochester calmly and
rationally about her family history. Antoinette says she tried,
but Rochester does not believe her, and she is now afraid.
Christophine says if she will try and explain one more time, she
will then give her the obeah. Antoinette gives Christophine
money but she is not interested in it. As she leaves, Antoinette
hears a cock crow and says it is for betrayal. She wonders,
"Who is the traitor?"
Analysis
It is easy to think Christophine is a modern woman rather than
an ex-slave in 1800s Jamaica. Her belief that a woman should
remain independent of a man puts her ahead of her time.
Christophine has her own money and her own home and can
therefore do as she pleases. She has no need to stay with a
man unless she wants to. In a twist of situational irony, this is
not the same as Antoinette. While Antoinette inherited great
wealth, she essentially has nothing, since her money has been
given over to Rochester. Therefore, Antoinette is at his mercy
and cannot break free of him. Antoinette has been brought up
to be financially dependent upon others and cannot survive on
her own.
The greater reluctance Antoinette voices to Christophine's
plan of leaving Rochester is being on her own. Just as she
counts on others to support her financially, Antoinette
struggles emotionally and needs the guidance of others. When
Annette pushed her away as a child, it was done because of
her own issues and not because she wanted to teach
Antoinette to be independent. The impact of her mother's
coldness toward her has made Antoinette more in need of
emotion, love, and support. While Christophine has already
taken herself out of the picture, Antoinette will not also
abandon her husband. This would leave Antoinette without
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Part Summaries 24

anyone near her with whom she feels close. She is not also feels she could be a different person there. However, part
someone who would do well on her own—even if she had the of her vision of England includes a house, "where I will be cold
financial means. and not belonging." Antoinette also says there will be a bed
where, "I will dream the end of my dream." The second part of
Another reason Antoinette will not consider leaving Rochester Antoinette's vision of England is a premonition, in which she
is her concern about how others view her. There are several envisions her own dark, miserable ending.
scenes in Part 1 in which Antoinette either overhears people
talking about her and her family (at the marriage of Annette
and Mr. Mason) or is teased directly (while on her way to the
convent school). Antoinette also is very aware of how the
Part 2 (Poor Me)
servants perceive her and is sensitive to their gossip.
According to Daniel Cosway's letter, her concerns are
legitimate. Antoinette does not want to leave and cause some
Summary
sort of scandal that would cause people to start talking. She
Rochester looks out at the landscape, of which he says he will
does not have the strength to be the subject of ridicule and is
never see lovelier, and comments on the weather—the
not able to stand up for herself.
hurricane season is approaching. Currently it is cool and grey
This section begins and ends on ominous notes. While riding like an English summer.
toward Christophine's house, Antoinette passes some rocks
Rochester feels pity for himself and wonders if anyone else
entitled Mounes Mors, or the Dead Ones. Even Antoinette's
pities him for being "tied to a ... drunken lying lunatic—gone her
horse is impacted by this as it stumbled after shying away from
mother's way." In his mind Rochester replays part of the
the rocks. This forces Antoinette to have to walk the rest of
conversation he had with Christophine. He believes Antoinette
the way. While riding away on her horse, Antoinette hears a
is incapable of truly loving and hopes she will show some
cock crow and says it is for betrayal. She wonders, "Who is the
emotion. He will then take her in his arms, because she is "My
traitor?" Antoinette says it is Christophine although Antoinette
lunatic. My mad girl."
has forced her into such behavior. Despite these ominous
signs, Antoinette remains determined to use the obeah or love
potion Christophine gave her. Antoinette does not consider
Christophine's repeated warnings that it will not cause
Analysis
Rochester to love her but will only cause him to lust after her
Rochester compares his feelings and emotions to nature. His
even more. Antoinette's desperation and need cause her to
revenge will be like a hurricane that uproots and destroys
deliberately ignore the many signs indicating this plan is bound
whatever is in its path. With Antoinette in a stupor, he has
for failure.
already destroyed her and soon she will be uprooted, as
There is some situational irony in Christophine's prediction of Rochester plans to take her to England. Rochester acts drunk
the obeah's effect, since this is essentially how Rochester felt with power as he talks about his ability to control Antoinette,
before. It is only Antoinette who felt love (out of a desperate yet he wants pity from others. However, Rochester has
need for comfort and protection), while Rochester felt lust. become an angry and mean bully. His anger goes beyond his
Rochester shows interest in Antoinette and talks with her, but marriage and Antoinette as he declares he now hates music
he never sees it as love. It's not even clear he is capable of love and poetry.
as he shows no warmth toward anyone, including his father
Rochester believes he is protecting himself and Antoinette. He
and brother (his mother is never mentioned). Rochester may
has been wronged and is saddled with the burden of caring for
be capable only of lust.
a lunatic whom he also sees as a drunk and a whore, despite
While Antoinette goes to Christophine for obeah, she herself the fact that her behavior mirrors his own. He will take away
has visions. These visions focus on England. She is fascinated her instrument—the mirror—and make sure she never dresses
by the country and views it in a spectacularly positive light, or smiles at herself again. Still, Rochester manages to make
curious about the landscape, and longing to see it. Antoinette himself feel good about his decision because he claims to be
protecting her, his lunatic. In this posture Rochester most

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Part Summaries 25

obviously represents the dysfunctional relationship between
European colonizers and the colonies they control.
Part 2 (Leaving Jamaica)
the next minute he is determined to lock her up. When the
nameless boy begins crying, Rochester is baffled and angered
by emotion. Again his attitude resembles the caprice with
which the European powers have toyed with the West Indies.
He married with no intention of providing for or protecting his
wife, as a husband was both legally and morally required to do.
Now he plans essentially to kidnap and imprison her, enslaving

Summary her just a few years after the slaves in the colonies have been
emancipated. Nothing has changed.

The next morning Rochester and Antoinette are leaving and

Despite all that has occurred, Antoinette remains sensitive to
headed toward England. Antoinette shows no emotion and had
the feelings of others. She is able to understand and empathize
nothing to say about the landscape she used to enjoy talking
with the young boy. She even attempts to assist the boy by
about. As they ready to leave, Rochester feels sadness when
telling Rochester the child has learned English. It is only toward
he looks at the house. He wants to say goodbye to one of the
Rochester that Antoinette has gone blank. He has treated her
servants, but she has left. Rochester senses the servants hate
terribly and broken his marriage bond (and vows: he committed
him, but he says he does not care.
adultery when he had relations with Amélie). Antoinette, feeling
she has no choice but to go with Rochester, shows no
For a moment Rochester starts to wonder if he is acting right
emotion—what good would it do? He has broken her. Her
toward Antoinette. Maybe Daniel Cosway was wrong. He looks
anger toward Rochester seems justified and it is she, in this
at Antoinette, who is staring out at the sea. While looking at her
section, who is rational.
he remembers moments they had together and longs to have
more of them. Finally Rochester apologizes to Antoinette, "I
Throughout the text, many have looked at Antoinette
have made a terrible mistake. Forgive me." These words are
indifferently or negatively. Here, however, we see the servants
met with hatred in Antoinette's eyes, which causes Rochester's
have come to appreciate or at least pity her. Baptiste, who
hate to reappear. Rochester stares Antoinette down and sees
shows disinterest toward Rochester, shows kindness and
her hate and beauty disappear.
courtesy toward Antoinette. As people get to know Rochester,
their pity for Antoinette grows. This is ironic since earlier
A nameless boy begins crying, and his emotions annoy
Rochester felt he deserved pity for being stuck with
Rochester, who asks why he is crying. The only person who will
Antoinette, his lunatic. Instead, the pity is for Antoinette, who is
answer is Antoinette. She says the boy loves him and had
stuck with Rochester, her cruel husband.
asked Antoinette when they first moved into the house
whether Rochester would take him with him when they left;
Antoinette had said he would. Now Baptiste has told the boy
he will not be allowed to go with Rochester, and he cries at the Part 3 (Grace's Watch)
news. Rochester says she has no right to make promises on
his behalf; Antoinette apologizes with an indifferent voice and
reassumes her blank expression. Summary
By the time they leave, Rochester hates everything and Grace Poole narrates the beginning of Part 3. While Rochester
everyone. He is anxious to make Antoinette a locked-away was in Jamaica, both his father and his brother died, and their
memory. money went to Rochester, making him extremely wealthy. Mrs.
Eff speaks to Grace. She doubles her offer and warns her
about gossip, although Grace is convinced everyone in the
Analysis whole county knows what is going on. When Grace questions
Rochester, Mrs. Eff, who has known him since he was a boy,
The great swing in Rochester's emotions leaves one doubting
praises him greatly. Grace describes the girl she is to watch as
his sanity. One moment he is ready to see the best in
living "in her own darkness ... hasn't lost her spirit ... She's still
Antoinette and believe that all the harsh talk was rumors and

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Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
fierce." Grace is happy to have the job and feels some pity for
the girl.
Antoinette takes over at this point, and she is the girl referred
to in the description above. She says her room is very cold.
Grace lights a fire, which Antoinette describes as beautiful.
Antoinette wonders why and when she was brought to the
room. She has lost track of time. Antoinette recalls she spoke
to Rochester and said he can have all her money and a
promise to not trouble him if he would let her go, but he does
not come to see her.
Grace sleeps in the same room as Antoinette. She keeps the
key in a canvas bag and hangs it around her neck. Antoinette
pretends to be asleep while she does this. Before going to bed,
Grace drinks and falls asleep drunk. Antoinette takes the key
and leaves the room. Antoinette goes through a room where
she has seen Grace talk to a servant, Leah. Antoinette has
heard them whispering unintelligibly. Antoinette is not clear
about where she is; she does not believe she is in England but
on a voyage on a ship. She recalls the voyage to England.
During the voyage she put her arms around the neck of a man
who brought her food and asked him for help. When she did
not get help, she flipped out and started smashing glasses and
plates. Antoinette was given a sedative, and when she awoke
she was somewhere different.
Antoinette describes the contents of her room, which are
sparse. There is no mirror in the room, and Antoinette is upset
that she does not know what she looks like now. She recalls
looking at the mirror when she was young. Antoinette is left
wondering, "Now they have taken everything away. What am I
doing in this place and who am I?"
One morning Antoinette awakens and her wrists are swollen
and red but she does not know why. Although Grace does not
believe Antoinette doesn't remember the night before, she
reminds her of what happened. The night before Richard
Mason came and insisted on seeing her. When he told her he
could not legally come between Antoinette and Rochester,
Antoinette tried to stab him. When the knife was taken away,
she bit his arm. Reminded of the story, Antoinette starts to
remember that Richard did not recognize her at first and spoke
to her as if she were a stranger.
Antoinette believes Richard Mason would have remembered
her if he saw her in her red dress and she becomes obsessed
with it. She holds the dress to herself and smells it. This brings
her back to a time when she wore a dress of a similar color
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Part Summaries 26
when Sandi came to see her. She recalls the two of them used
to meet when Rochester was not around. The last time they
saw each other, they shared a memorable kiss. Someone
eventually told of their meeting, but Antoinette does not know
who.
That night Antoinette has a dream, which she has had two
times before. In the dream Antoinette takes the keys from a
snoring Grace Poole and lets herself out of the room while
holding a candle. Although the house seems empty, Antoinette
feels as if someone is chasing her and laughing. She looks to
the right and the left but not behind her because she does not
want to see "that ghost of a woman whom they say haunts this
place." She goes to the front hall, sits down, and then lights all
the candles. Feeling miserable, she takes a candle and finds
herself in Aunt Cora's room. She angrily knocks a candle over,
which sets the curtains on fire. As the fire surrounds her, she
calls out to Christophine for help and then runs up the stairs
with a candle to get away from the heat and the shouting.
Antoinette gets to a cool place and sees her life in the sky. At
the end of the dream, Antoinette is ready to jump into what she
imagines is the pool at Coulibri where Tia is taunting her.
Antoinette wakes with a scream that causes Grace to awaken
too. Antoinette waits for Grace to fall asleep. Then she takes
the keys, unlocks the doors, and walks out of the room while
holding a candle.
Analysis
Grace Poole has never met either Rochester or Antoinette.
She is British, but she is a woman, so it is uncertain whether
she would side with either spouse against the other. While she
says, "I don't serve the devil for no money," she initially refuses
the job, only taking it when her salary is doubled. And she does
her job poorly, drinking and often passing out while caring for
her charge. These facts align her with the West Indian
servants, but she has neither been enslaved nor emancipated.
She remains in the attic, safe from the outside world, in
darkness, confined to a house that is not her home. It is fitting
at the novel's end that we should have a narrator, someone
who does not fit anywhere within the novel's established social
hierarchy. Only she can give us a clear-eyed picture of the
Rochesters.
Referred to only as Mrs. Eff, the head servant of the household
is an allusion to Mrs. Fairfax from Jane Eyre. In that novel, as in
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
this one, she is a staunch supporter of Rochester, who claims
his stay in the West Indies has changed him, made him more
morose and less forgiving. The reader knows enough to both
believe and disbelieve her story. He certainly returns bitter, but
he was not content when he arrived, angry at his father and
brother and composing letters of vindication upon what should
be his honeymoon.
Antoinette is barely recognizable from the last time she is
mentioned in the book. Her mental state has dramatically
changed and for the worse. She is terribly confused about
time, place, and self and has become the deranged woman in
the attic Charlotte Brontë created in Jane Eyre.
Antoinette's physical self has changed dramatically: people
close to her, like Richard Mason, do not even recognize her.
Although Antoinette was previously described as beautiful, she
is now wild, excessively thin, and has streaming hair. Antoinette
longs for her mirror and her red dress. She wants to see
herself and bring her old self back and recapture her past grip
on life.
Antoinette's last memory of place is when Rochester brought
her to England. At that point Antoinette feels trapped and
desperate. When an employee on the boat refuses to help her,
Antoinette loses hope and reacts violently. She remembers
taking medicine and waking up elsewhere. She is convinced
the elsewhere is another place on the boat. Because there is
only one window in her room, which she cannot access,
Antoinette believes she is wandering around on the boat. She
and Grace have many discussions about England, and no
matter what Grace says, she cannot convince Antoinette they
are in England. After all Antoinette is convinced that if she
were in England all would be well: "If I could be here I could be
well again and the sound in my head would stop."
Antoinette has no idea of how long she has been in England.
Time has lost all meaning to her:"But [time] does not matter.
Time has no meaning." Antoinette's memories as well exist
outside of time. Pieces of memories flicker in and out, with
nothing clear. These memories include the last time she saw
Sandi, buying a knife, being on the boat, a conversation with
Rochester, and so on. The confused memory adds to the
reader's lack of clarity as well. One has to piece together
stories to get a clear picture. For example, at first it seems
Antoinette stabbed Richard Mason as soon as he entered the
room to visit her. It is only after Grace shares what Richard
said to Antoinette ("I cannot interfere legally between yourself
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Part Summaries 27
and your husband") that the reader can piece together what
happened. Having no one to turn to in her struggle to be free
(just as she felt on the boat), Antoinette goes into a rage, like a
caged animal.
Antoinette's situation of captivity and her violent reactions are
reminiscent of her mother, Annette. Just as Christophine
predicted, daughter has become like mother. It seems mental
instability was passed down from mother to daughter.
However, both mother and daughter suffer from extreme
circumstances (loss of a child and loss of and manipulation by
a lover) that push them over the edge and drive them to their
insanity.
The relationship between Antoinette and Sandi is unclear.
Daniel Cosway's letter to Rochester is harsh in its description
of what happened to Antoinette and her family, yet from the
reader's perspective, it is essentially accurate. As with all of the
information Cosway shares, the truth resides in one's
perspective, how one chooses to interpret the same bit of
evidence. Therefore, the reader is left to determine whether
Antoinette and Sandi actually had an intimate relationship.
While in the attic, Antoinette thinks of Sandi and notes they
kissed often and he would come to see her when Rochester
was away. If Antoinette was in her right mind, this could be
explained as innocent. However, the way it is described leaves
the reader unclear as to the true extent of their relationship.
Antoinette is desperate to find her red dress. Its smell reminds
her of Jamaica and the past. The dress is a tie to her former
self/life. Red, which is symbolic of passion, also symbolizes fire.
There are the two sides of Antoinette that Rochester has
brought out in her. Their romance brought out a passion in her
that had not existed previously. Now her dreams are filled with
fire—a passion that is out of control.
In the dream Antoinette is completely lost and is scared of
herself. She does not recognize herself and does not
understand that the ghost she hears talked about is actually
her. She is convinced the ghost is watching her. As Antoinette
creeps about the house, she does not think of leaving; she is
trapped by her dreams and memories. The mistreatment she
has received throughout her life haunts her, and once again,
she is scared. Antoinette wants to destroy everything. She is
paranoid—she has heard people whisper about her throughout
her life—and longs for revenge. When she considers jumping to
Tia, it is not clear if that is an act of revenge or an attempt to
get back to Jamaica.
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
g Quotes
"They say when trouble comes
close ranks, and so the white
people did."
— Antoinette Cosway, Part 1 (The Burning of Coulibri)
The slaves have been freed and things are changing in
Jamaica. In times of great change people cling to what they
know. Antoinette and her family, who are Creole, a mixture of
races, are not accepted by the white society. Because the
family owned slaves, neither are they part of the black
community. This leads to Antoinette's crisis of identity and
belonging.
"The Lord make no distinction
between black and white. Black
and white the same for Him."
— Godfrey, Part 1 (The Burning of Coulibri)
Godfrey, a black servant who works for Antoinette's family,
sees the world from a religious perspective. While God sees all
people in the same light, this is not the case in 1830s Jamaica.
The people are very aware of color and the tension among
them is very high.
"We stared at each other ... It was
as if I saw myself. Like in a
looking-glass."
— Antoinette Cosway, Part 1 (The Burning of Coulibri)
Just after Tia hits Antoinette with a rock, young Antoinette
reflects how Tia, a black girl, and she are in different races and
classes. Their friendship cannot survive the troubled times;
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Quotes 28
Antoinette is entering the white world and leaving the black
one behind.
"You must not concern yourself
with that mystery ... The devil must
have his little day."
— Sister Marie Augustine, Part 1 (Antoinette's Schooling)
Antoinette has recently learned of her mother's death. During
this time, the girl is studying in a convent school. Her family is
absent, and she has no one besides the nuns and her
classmates. She shares with one of the nuns a dream she had
of her mother. While Sister Mary Augustine intends to comfort
Antoinette with these words, she offers little solace. As with
most of her other emotional experiences, Antoinette is left to
grieve and cope on her own.
"Have all beautiful things sad
destinies?"
— Rochester, Part 2 (Sexual Longing)
Antoinette is trying to explain the customs of the area to
Rochester. He seems curious yet a bit confused and also aloof.
He touches a rose whose petals fall—the flower is dying. While
Rochester is referring to the rose, his statement foreshadows
the fall of Antoinette. Like the rose Antoinette falls because of
Rochester's touch and actions. He does not understand her
needs nor recognize how fragile she is.
"These people are very vulnerable.
How old was I when I learned to
hide how I felt?"
— Rochester, Part 2 (Sexual Longing)
Rochester is not comfortable in Jamaica and with Jamaicans.
His British background has taught him to be stoic and keep his
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
emotions in check and to himself. He looks down on the
Jamaicans and sees them as immature, simple, and unsavory.
His inability to appreciate the differences between the cultures
leads to his mistrust and disapproval of the people around him,
including Antoinette.
"How can one discover the truth ...
No one would tell me the truth."
— Rochester, Part 2 (The Letter)
From the beginning of the marriage, Rochester questions his
decision. Like Antoinette he feels abandoned by his family and
is left to his own devices. In addition he does not understand
the people or the culture of Jamaica and is left by himself.
Rochester has no one to talk to whom he genuinely trusts and
is unsure of what he has gotten himself into. His lack of faith in
his wife foreshadows a poor end for the couple.
"There are always two deaths, the
real one and the one people know
about."
— Antoinette Cosway, Part 2 (Rochester's Rejection of
Antoinette)
Antoinette is sharing the details about her mother's life and
death with Rochester. At this point Rochester does not trust
Antoinette and feels he has caught her in a lie. Antoinette
explains that while her mother died on a specific day, a part of
her died when Pierre was killed in the fire. After Pierre's death
Annette goes mad and she never recovers.
"There is always the other side,
always."
— Antoinette Cosway, Part 2 (Rochester's Rejection of
Antoinette)
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Quotes 29
Rochester is sure he has gotten the truth from Daniel Cosway,
Antoinette's half-brother. He has slandered her character
greatly, and Rochester confronts Antoinette with these
accusations. She pleads with him to hear her out and to
recognize there are always two sides to a story. Like the book
itself and the two hemispheres it describes, the reader hears
both Rochester's and Antoinette's perspectives and is left to
discern which is true.
"She'll have no lover, for I don't
want her and she'll see no other."
— Rochester, Part 2 (Poor Me)
When Rochester says he is taking Antoinette to England,
Christophine argues with him. She pleads with Rochester to
leave Antoinette in Jamaica where she is familiar with her
surrounding and she can heal from her broken marriage.
Ultimately Christophine believes Antoinette will find another
man to love. Rochester insists she will have no one else. He
believes it is his responsibility to care for her, yet his words
come off as vindictive and petty.
"Only the magic and the dream are
true – all the rest's a lie."
— Rochester, Part 2 (Leaving Jamaica)
For a moment Rochester reconsiders Antoinette. He thinks
maybe he has misjudged her and the circumstances. Perhaps
they could be happy and love each other. He misses the few
moments of bliss they shared. While he still does not
understand her or the setting around him, Rochester wants to
have Antoinette again. The moment is fleeting, however, and
ultimately he again feels hate and believes he was tricked into
marrying her.
"There is no looking glass here
and I don't know what I am like
now."
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
— Antoinette Cosway, Part 3 (Grace's Watch)
Antoinette is locked in the attic with Grace Poole. She has lost
all sense of self and everything is confused. Her isolation has
caused her to lose track of time and place and her past. She
exists in the moment with only fleeting and confused
recollections of the past.
l Symbols
Garden
Antoinette lives a secluded life. The seclusion is brought on by
others and by herself. Because she is viewed as an outsider,
Antoinette is unable to make friends. The one friend she does
have, Tia, ultimately turns her back on Antoinette and treats
her poorly. This treatment leads Antoinette to grow to
appreciate nature more than people.
Antoinette walks alone in the gardens at Coulibri. This time and
these walks give Antoinette peace and comfort. They are a
barrier to the outside world that has treated Antoinette so
harshly for seemingly no reason. She can be happy in the
garden and relaxed. In addition the gardens are so beautiful,
and Antoinette believes they are even more beautiful than the
Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve, the inhabitants of the original Garden of Eden,
are thrown out after they eat from the tree of knowledge. This
knowledge causes them to lose their innocence. When
Antoinette and her family are forced to leave Coulibri, they
enter a harsh world. The innocence Antoinette felt is rudely
ended as she comes to recognize the full extent of anger and
frustration that exists in the former slaves.
Fire
Fire shapes Antoinette's life, and she is fascinated with it for its
beauty and its power. She first encounters it at Coulibri when
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Symbols 30
the former slaves protest and burn down her ancestral home.
Readers of Jane Eyre will recognize in this scene a violent
parallel to the one Mrs. Fairfax recounts to Jane after Bertha
Mason's death and Rochester's maiming. The fact that it
happens at the beginning of the novel increases the sympathy
and suspense surrounding Antoinette.
After she marries Rochester, the fire of the candles in their
honeymoon retreat draws the moths and beetles. During a
romantic dinner Antoinette and Rochester are enjoying, the
bugs fly into the fire and die. Rochester is distressed by so
much death and tries to sweep them up, but Antoinette
accepts it as part of life. In this scene she shows she has
learned the lesson of the Garden of Eden—death and evil are
part of this world, but they need not be feared if one can face
them with a partner. Rochester does not share her
hopefulness.
Likewise the moths and beetles cannot control their urges.
They are so attracted to the fire that they go to it despite the
ending they will meet. The fire satisfies them despite its
destructive capabilities. Over time this passion and capacity for
destruction will consume both Rochester and Antoinette—him,
figuratively; her, literally.
Forest
As opposed to the garden of the West Indies, a place of life
and death, growth and decay, sustenance and beauty, the
forest is a dangerous and evil place. The forest features
prominently in Jane Eyre, and both Antoinette and Rochester
have negative experiences there, lending it a more British
flavor than a Caribbean one. In the forest, superstitions
(primarily of death and danger) abound. People can easily
become lost or confused and separated from the ones they
love.
When she is frightened, Antoinette has many dreams in which
she walks in a forest. The fear often comes from pending
change, which she fears because she has generally led an
unpleasant life and been mistreated. In these dreams,
Antoinette is with the devil or someone who hates her, and she
is scared. She is walking in an unfamiliar place and is lost. The
trees in these forests are unfamiliar. Antoinette, who feels a
great appreciation for nature and feels more comfortable with
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide
it than people, is not familiar with these trees. This unfamiliarity
adds to her fear and is more troubling because something she
once loved now haunts her.
Antoinette's dreams symbolize confusion, fear, and
unfamiliarity. They also serve as a foreshadowing. She will
ultimately be taken by someone who hates her (Rochester) to
an unfamiliar place (England). Her descriptions at the end of
the novel of an England that is not England are reminiscent of
these earlier dreams.
Rochester, awake, chooses to walk alone in a forest in an
excursion similar to Antoinette's. He grows concerned when he
gets lost in the forest. He is alone, save for what he believes to
be a zombie who does not talk to him. And he passes an
abandoned house. Unlike Antoinette Rochester retains control
in his forest "dream." He will control the zombie Antoinette, the
Antoinette he calls Bertha, the woman who has lost all passion
for life, and he will use her to keep him safe in the forest.
m Themes
Women and Power
From the outset Rhys makes it clear Annette is struggling. With
the loss of her husband and the ending of slavery, she is in a
grave financial position. When her horse is killed and a doctor
declares Pierre untreatable, Annette falls into a state of
despair. She feels trapped and powerless. This feeling is
enhanced by the fact that she had come to Jamaica from
Martinique in order to marry her husband. Annette is therefore
left alone with two children.
It is only through her marriage to Mr. Mason that her hope is
restored, and then only momentarily. Annette is anxious to go
to England and meet with doctors in the hope of helping Pierre.
She begs Mr. Mason to leave Coulibri, but he refuses. This
becomes the source of many arguments between the couple.
Ultimately Annette has no choice but to stay with Mr. Mason
and do as he wishes. Without him she and her children would
find themselves in the same state of despair they were in
before Annette married Mr. Mason. The relationship prefigures
what will happen with her daughter.
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Themes 31
The cycle of dependence upon a man's financial support
repeats itself with Antoinette. While Antoinette is a wealthy
woman due to her inheritance, Richard Mason turns over her
fortune to Rochester, with no strings attached. Rochester can
do whatever he feels is best with Antoinette's money without
any input from her. Richard Mason's decision to do so was a
controversial one: both Aunt Cora and Christophine beg him
not to do so. They are unsuccessful, however, and Antoinette
is essentially given to Rochester to do with as he pleases.
When issues in the marriage occur, Christophine encourages
Antoinette to leave Rochester, but Antoinette refuses, noting
that she has no money and cannot go anywhere. She is
trapped and must stay with Rochester; she has no skills with
which to earn money and has always depended on others to
take care of her.
Unlike Annette and Antoinette, Christophine is independent.
Despite her status as an ex-slave, she has managed to earn
money, which gives her independence. When she becomes
unhappy in Granbois, she simply leaves and goes to her own
house. She reveals she has three children with three different
men, whom she did not marry, saying "I keep my money. I don't
give it to no worthless man."
In the novel marriage serves to handcuff women and leave
them powerless, and it works as a symbol of the relationship
between European powers and the colonies they established
in the West Indies.
Alienation and Identity
The first words of the text, "They say when trouble comes
close ranks ... But we were not in their ranks," reflect
Antoinette's feeling of being an outsider. The outsider status is
predicated on a number of issues, including the problem of
place. Annette, Antoinette's mother, is a Creole from
Martinique and speaks French. The white people in Jamaica
never accept her because of her outsider status as a
francophone. She is also much younger than her husband and
extremely attractive, which makes the women uncomfortable.
The black people do not accept Annette and her family
because they were slaveholders.
The feeling of being an outsider is compounded for Antoinette,
Wide Sargasso Sea Study Guide Suggested Reading 32

because she is an outsider in her own home. Her mother is so
concerned about her sickly son that she hardly spends any
time with and or shows any concern for Antoinette. It is difficult
to even find a playmate for Antoinette. When Christophine
finds her one in Tia, the friendship does not last because of the
differences in the girls' race and social position.
The only place Antoinette ever seems to fit in is the convent
school. She does as the nuns say, whether she believes or not.
But even there Antoinette does not make any deep
connections. In fact the only connections Antoinette makes
throughout the text are with Aunt Cora and Christophine. Her
differences leave Antoinette feeling like an outsider and
ultimately scared. She does not seem to belong anywhere.
Slavery and Entrapment
financial provisions made for them by their husbands. They
lack the freedom of movement and decision that would enable
them to better their station in life and even to protect
themselves in the case of danger. For Annette this results in
the loss of her son and her descent into madness. For
Antoinette the result is similar but harsher. She has no son to
lose, and her insanity rips her from the only home she has ever
known and thrusts her into a nightmarish netherworld.
Grace's symbolic slavery is only hinted at and not fully
developed, but Rochester's slavery is as angry and violent as
the freed slaves who burn Coulibri. He is first shamed and
impoverished by his father and brother, who force him to find a
wife outside his social position to free himself from debt,
essentially selling himself. Then he tries to free himself by
ripping off what he perceives as the shackles of Antoinette's
love and the burden of her family history, only to find himself
entrapped in a violence of his own creation.

The story opens during a tumultuous time in Jamaica's history.

The slaves had recently been emancipated and gained their e Suggested Reading
freedom. While happy to have their freedom, they were still in a
precarious position. The slaves had little opportunity and many Gilbert, Sandra, and Susan Gruber. The Madwoman in the Attic.
continued in similar to positions they had been while in slavery. New Haven: Yale UP, 1984. Print.
Slaveholders, like the Cosway family, also suffered when the
Humm, Maggie. "Third World Feminisms: Jean Rhys, Wide
slaves were released because there was no one to work the
Sargasso Sea."Practicing Feminist Criticism: An Introduction.
land, which is clear in Coulibri's overgrown condition.
London: Prentice, 1995. Print.
The British, who declared the slaves free, promised
Kubitschek, Missy D. "Charting the Empty Spaces of Jean
compensation to both the slaves and the slaveholders. The
Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea." Frontiers: A Journal of Women
compensation was slow in coming or did not come at all
Studies 9.2 (1987): 23-28. Web.
(causing people like Mr. Luttrell such desperation he chose
suicide), while the economic pressures and challenges
Sarvan, Charles. "Flight, Entrapment, and Madness in Jean
continued to mount: it was slaves frustrated by the lack of
Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea." International Fiction Review 26.1-2
economic opportunity who set fire to the house at Coulibri.
(1999): 58-65. Web.

The former slaves who continue to serve as servants are in an

Schapiro, Barbara Ann. "Boundaries and Betrayal in Jean
awkward position. Myra, who served the Cosways, abandons
Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea." Literature and the Relational Self.
her post when a protest erupts and joins the protestors. Amélie
Ed. Jeffrey Berman. New York: New York UP, 1994. Print.
has no respect for her employers and insults them. Her only
goal is to go to Rio and meet a rich man. While the slaves have
broken out of their shackles, they continue to strive for
freedom and protest their treatment and situation.

Other characters in the novel end up being enslaved

symbolically: Annette, Antoinette, Grace, and even Rochester.
Both Annette and her daughter are subject to the legal and

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