Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, Part One

NOTE: Just read Part One for next week, which is fairly short. Part Two is much longer and the narration changes from Antoinette to Rochester (so don't be confused). I'll post a video next week to help you navigate some of the changes and connections between this book and Jane Eyre, especially if you haven't read that novel). 

Answer two of the following…

Q1: How does Rhys depict Jamaican society in the 1840’s (which is less than a decade after the Emancipation Act of 1833, which abolished slavery in Britain)?  In what ways has life changed since the Act, particularly for Antoinette and her family? 

Q2: Is Antoinette English?  Jamaican?  White?  Mulatto?  Non-Western?  Why is her identity an issue in this novel, and how does she understand who she is in relation to other white people and the islanders? 

Q3: What is “obeah” and how does it function in Caribbean society?  How does Antoinette understand it as a child?  Is it similar to superstition or karma? If so, in what ways? 

Q4: Why do the natives burn Coulbiri Esate?  What might this represent about the relationship between Europeans and non-Europeans in the Caribbean? Also, why is the image of the parrot so haunting and possibly, symbolic?

For Next Week: Jean Rhys' Letters (context for the novel)

NOTE: No need to finish the Mansfield book (unless you want to); I want to slowly move on to our final book. There are a few great stories left, but without being able to talk about them in class, it might seem redundant to read and examine a few more. 

Instead, read these excerpts from Jean Rhys' letters during the writing of her book, Wide Sargasso Sea. They give unusual insight into the composing process for an author who was trying to 're-write,' or re-imagine part of Charlotte Bronte's famous novel, Jane Eyre. In that novel, the main character falls in love with a gentleman who is hiding his wife upstairs in an attic--a "madwoman" from the Caribbean who is trying to kill him. Rhys, from the Caribbean island of Dominica, was drawn to this thinly-sketched woman and wondered who she really was. So she wrote a novel to solve it. The letters below outline her ideas, fears, and doubts about the book. After you read these excerpts, answer the question below as a COMMENT (or e-mail it to me). I'll post the first questions for the book early next week. 

To Peggy Kirkaldy, October 4, 1949

“I know Peggy that you don’t care for Americans but they have one great virtue, they don’t stifle criticism. You can write about the Chain Gang or a canned meat factor or a loony bin and what have you and there’s a chance of an audience. But not here! The English clamp down on unpleasant facts and some of the facts they clamp down on are very unpleasant indeed, believe me.”

To Francis Wyndham, March 29, 1958

“It’s difficult for me to explain an unfinished book, this one particularly, and I hope I won’t be tedious—or disappointing…when I was in London last year it “clicked in my head” that I had material for the story of Mr. Rochester’s first wife. The real story—as it might have been. I don’t know why t his happened. I was thinking of something and had a title for it, hadn’t read “Jane Eyre” for years and nearly forgotten [my novel.] However suddenly I was very excited about “The First Mrs. Rochester” and imagined it could be done quickly….It has no connection with any play film or adaptation of “Jane Eyre” who does not appear at all—once perhaps. Mr. Rochester does, of course, but only as a very young man.

It might be possible to unhitch the whole thing from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, but I don’t want to do that. It is that particular mad Creole I want to write about, not any of the other mad Creoles. There were quite a number of them, it seems, and large dowries did not help them…I have no title yet. “The First Mrs. Rochester” is not right. Nor, of course, is “Creole.” That has a different meaning now. I hope I’ll get one soon, for titles mean a lot to me. Almost half the battle. I thought of “Sargasso Sea” or “Wide Sargasso Sea” but nobody knew what I meant.”

To Selma Vaz Dias, April 9, 1958

“I’ve read and re-read “Jane Eyre” of course, and I am sure that the character must be “built up.” I wrote you about that. The Creole in Charlotte Bronte’s novel is a lay figure—repulsive which does not matter, and not once alive which does. She’s necessary to the plot, but always she shrieks, howls, laughs horribly, attacks all and sundry—off stage. For me (and for you I hope) she must be right on stage. She must be at least plausible with a past, the reason why Mr. Rochester treats her so abominably and feels justified, the reason why he thinks she is mad and why of course she goes mad, even the reason why she tries to set everything on fire, and eventually succeeds. (Personally, I think that one is simple. She is cold—and fire is the only warmth she knows in England).

I do not see how Charlotte Bronte’s madwoman could possibly convey all this. It might be done but it would not be convincing. At least I doubt it. Another “I” must talk, two others perhaps. Then the Creole’s “I”: will come to life. I tried this way and that, even putting her into modern dress. No good. At last I decided on a possible way showing the start and the Creole speaking. Lastly: Her end—I want it in a way triumphant! The Creole is of course the important one, the others explain her. I see it and can do it—as a book. About half is done.

I will not disappoint you. Come with me and you will see. Take a look at Jane Eyre. That unfortunate death of a Creole! I’m fighting mad to write her story. But it’s a good book—and so one must be wary and careful. Sober and plausible.”

To Francis Wyndham, April 27, 1959

“I did not mean to be impertinent about Charlotte Bronte. I admire her greatly. Emily [Bronte] also. And I envy them both more than I can say. Sometimes I have wondered if Miss Bronte does not want her book tampered with! This is the effect of North Cornwall which is rather a dour place. Superstition? But so many things have got in my way. Never mind. It will be done.”

To Francis Wyndham, April 14, 1964

“The Bronte sisters had of course a touch of genius (or much more) especially Emily. So reading “Jane Eyre” one’s swept along regardless. But I, reading it later, and often, was vexed at her portrait of the “paper tiger” lunatic, the all wrong creole scenes, and above all by the real cruelty of Mr. Rochester. After all, he was a very wealthy man and there were many kinder ways of disposing of (or hiding) an unwanted wife—I heard the true story of one—and the man behaved very differently…”

To Diana Athill, [Month?] 1966

“I came to England between sixteen and seventeen, a very impressionable age and Jane Eyre was one of the books I read then. Of course, Charlotte Bronte makes her own world, of course she convinces you, and that makes the poor Creole lunatic all the more dreadful. I remember being quite shocked, and when I re-read it rather annoyed. That’s only one side—the English side sort of thing. (I think too that Charlotte had a “thing” about the West Indes being rather sinister places—because in another of her books, “Villette,” she drowns the hero, Professor Somebody, on the voyage to Guadeloupe, another very alien place—according to her).”

QUESTION FOR RESPONSE: Most authors would be horrified by the idea of improving, revising, or "fixing" a classic novel. What makes Jean Rhys want to undertake such a blasphemous effort? Why does she think the novel deserves a 'prequel'? What might be the danger of adding a story to an already famous story, such as Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, etc.?

Submit to the English Dept.'s Best Essay Awards Contest!

HINT: Submit some of your Brit papers to the contest! You even have time to revise it if you want...see the full call and deadline below! 

Best Essay Awards

The English and Languages Department is seeking models of excellence in student writing, including:
Research Essays
Literary Analyses
Personal Essays
Non-Print Media Analyses
(of, for instance, Scissortail Readings, Foreign Film Festival screenings,
NT Live productions, commercials, advertisements, etc.)
New Media
(such as infographics)

And if you have an excellent writing sample that doesn’t neatly fit into any of the genres listed above, please submit it, too! (Except for poetry and fiction—submit that to Originals.)

Each entry must have been submitted for a class taught by an instructor in the English and Languages Department and must have been produced since March 2019. Each submission should include: a) author’s name; b) contact information; c) title of the essay; and d) the course and professor for which the work was submitted. Submit entries via email to sbenton@ecok.edu.

DEADLINE: Wednesday, April 24, 2020

For Monday-Thursday: Mansfield, Stories: Miss Brill, Her First Ball, The Singing Lesson, The Stranger

NOTE: Be sure to watch the video lecture in the post below and answer the question as a comment (or e-mail the response to me with your two reading response questions). 

Answer two of the following: 

Q1: In “Miss Brill,” the title character reflects, “How she loves sitting here,

watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play…They were all on the

stage. They weren’t only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting” (112). In what way are people in many of Mansfield’s stories actors on stage, both observing and performing? Why might this be a general critique of her society itself?

Q2: At the end of “The Stranger,” John laments, “Spolit their evening! Spolit their being alone together! They would never be alone together again” (138)?  Why does his wife’s experience with the  dead man ruin everything for her husband? Why would this admission spoil their life together—and their ability to be ‘alone’?

Q3: Mansfield writes many stories about young people emerging in society, which connects with our class’ theme of education. How might stories like “Her First Ball” and “The Young Girl” connect to similar themes in Northanger Abbey and Wuthering Heights? How are the girls one or both of the stories ‘educated’ by bad parental figures (or none at all)?

Q4: How does Mansfield make us question the ‘happy ending’ of the music teacher and her fiancé in “The Singing Lesson”?  What clues are sprinkled throughout the story of the nature of this match—and why the teacher is so willing to ignore the obvious?

Short Lecture on Being "Weak" in Mansfield's Stories

Before we race to the end of Mansfield's stories, I wanted to discuss some of the major themes we've encountered in several of them, particularly "Daughters of the Late Colonel," "The Life of Ma Parker," "Mr. and Mrs. Dove," and "Marriage a la Mode." Watch the video to hear some of my thoughts on these stories, most of which are drawn from your responses to the reading questions. It's a little longer than the last one, but still only about 25 minutes (sorry)! 

After you finish, answer the following question as a COMMENT on the blog. 

Q: Talking about emotions, love, death, or otherwise being "weak" was very taboo in British society at this time. What subjects or relationships do you feel are taboo in our own society? And I don't just mean awkward subjects (abortion, politics, etc.), but what emotions or experiences would you have trouble discussing with your parents, your siblings, your friends, and even your significant others? What does society make difficult for us to acknowledge with anyone but ourselves?

REMEMBER, If you can't post on the blog, you can either try to make a blogspot account (very easy to do), or you can e-mail your response with the next set of questions. I'll post questions for the next stories sometime tomorrow. Remember, too, that deadlines are very loose now: post responses as soon as you can, or you can send me two responses at once. I'm more interested in you doing the work than doing it exactly on time.  

Questions for Mansfield's Stories, Part 2 (see below)

For next week, read the following stories: "Mr. and Mrs. Dove," "The Young Girl," "Life of Ma Parker," "Marriage a la Mode," and "The Voyage." Answer two of the following questions anytime next week, though I will post another set of questions around Thursday. You can turn in both sets at once, or stagger them, however you like. 

Q1: Many of these stories, like Laura in "The Garden Party," have characters who find themselves unable to express what they see and feel. As Anne protests in "Mr. and Mrs. Dove," "Surely you must see that, it's so simple" (78). What makes them unable to communicate 'simple' things to their friends and partners? Besides their own confusion, what else seems to stand in the way?

Q2: Many of Mansfield's stories bounce back and forth between perspectives and even narrators. Or, a story like "The  Young Girl" even has an unnamed narrator who doesn't even reveal his sex (except in a very veiled way, which is easily missed). Why do you think she refracts her stories through so many points of view? By comparison, in modern writing, the rule is to stick to one narrator throughout the story, typically a named first-person narrator. What do you think she gains by perversely breaking the rules?

Q3: In "Mr. and Mrs. Dove," Anne tells Reggie that "I've never felt so happy with anyone. But I'm sure it's not what people and what books mean when they talk about love. Do you understand?" (77). What do you think she means here, and how might this compare to male/female relationships we've seen in other works in the class? Where might Anne's notions of love and marital bliss come from if not from her own experience?

Q4: In "Life of Ma Parker," we're told that the main character hails from Strarford-on-Avon, the famous birthplace of Shakespeare. However, when asked about him, she replies, "Shakespeare, sir? No, people were always arsking her about him. But she'd never heard his name until she saw it on the theatres" (87). Why do you think Mansfield includes this detail in a story about the sharp divide between the classes in England? As a colonial, why might she be more on Ma Parker's side than the writer's? 

For Monday: Short Lecture on Colonialism and Mansfield

As a way to introduce you to some of the themes we'll be exploring with our last two books, I've recorded a short lecture (about 18 min.) that I would have discussed with you in class if we were still meeting. I know 18 minutes is a lot to watch in a single stretch, so feel free to start and stop, or simply leave it playing in the background. However, I think it will help you see and understand some of the larger ideas going on behind the scenes in Mansfield's stories. 

AFTER you watch the video, answer the following question as a COMMENT below: "Since many women in the early 19th century tried to hide their identity as a woman by adopting a male name, or writing more 'male' stories, how do you think colonial writers did the same? That is, how did they hide their colonial identity in writing to sound more 'English'? What might they have had to hide, or ignore, or not reveal as a writer? (This will count toward your participation grade, since I can no longer take roll or have you discuss the works in class).

BE SURE to read the first three Mansfield stories and answer the questions in the post below no later than Friday! E-mail me with any questions or concerns. Look forward to hearing from you!