bonsoir, pourriez vous m'aider à corriger mes erreurs s'il vous plaît ? Merci d'avance
Wide Sargasso Sea is a modernist work of post-colonial fiction, written in 1966 by Jean Rhys, a Dominican-British author. The novel is a response and a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's “Jane Eyre”. It is considered as an intertextual book because there is an interrelationship between both oeuvres. Thanks to intertextuality, we can have a different point of view of one history. In fact, the author develops Antoinette’s history and the origin of her insanity. Different themes are evoked in the novel, such as women’s status, colonialism, or the ambiguous love. Wide Sargasso Sea is composed of three parts. The text is situated in the part two and it begins with Antoinette's new husband's narration. In this passage, Rochester is married to Antoinette, and he explains that he married her to pay off his debts. The author is giving us an access to Rochester’s thoughts. The character is observing his new environment, he appears as a cold and reserved man. My key question is what the travel reveals about Rochester’s choices and feelings. And, how does the nature helps him introspect himself ?
First of all, the passage an intertextual text which permit us to access to Rochester’s introspection.
Wide Sargasso Sea is a complementary novel with “Jane Eyre” written by Charlotte Brontë. We can use the notion of “intertextuality” because there is a juxtaposition between the original novel “Jane Eyre” and the “new novel” of Jean Rhys. Wide Sargasso Sea is a rewriting of Jane Eyre because we have the same story but in a different point of view. Intertextuality gave us a different vision of the book; it permits a different communication between the author and the reader. In fact, the author proposes another vision, we can read the history throughout Rochester’s eyes. In this passage, the central character used the first person to describe the context. We have two visions of one character. In Jane Eyre, Rochester is voiceless, he is portrayed as a victim and Antoinette appears as an obstacle. This passage is a descriptive text where the main character focuses on his intern vision by describing a place, a landscape, and his feelings. Thanks to details, we can understand the narrator’s point of view with the smells, the sounds, the colours …
During the voyage, Rochester is doing a form of introspection. He tries a self-examination to understand his thoughts and his feelings. The travel permits us to ascertain the truth of his identity and his relationship.
First, Rochester reveals a side of his back-story by planning a letter to his father “Dear Father. ». The letter permits him to communicate and express his feelings about the situation. We understand that Rochester has a brother “my dear brother” and he decided to marry Antoinette for her money because his father does not want to help him financially “The thirty thousand pounds have been paid to me without question or condition”. In addition, Rochester felt no love at all for Antoinette. Rochester shows that he married a woman about whom he knows nothing. The love between Rochester and Antoinette is material: “I have not bought her, she has bought me, or so she thinks.”, Rochester married Antoinette only for his own financial survival. The relation appears also ambiguous because he affirms that he doesn’t love her “And the woman is a stranger. Her pleading expression annoys me” but he is not clear because he says: “Or perhaps it was the first time I felt simple and natural with her”. There is a form of conflict in his feelings. The opposition creates a conflict, and it is omnipresent in his introspection. Rochester seems to be trapped between two sides. The text is composed of antithesis which signify the opposition between the top and bottom, “On one side the wall of green, on the other a steep drop to the ravine below". It is also represented throughout the light and darkness: “afternoon sun”, “deep and dark”. These oppositions represent an intern conflict where Rochester is puzzled between Heaven and Hell or good and Evil.
Secondly, throughout this introspection, Rochester tries to decipher his thought thanks to nature. We can see a form of nature sublime.
In fact, Rochester’s feelings and landscape are connected. He depicted his feelings throughout nature. In other words, nature reflects his feelings. It can help him to describe his perception of the situation. He describes the atmosphere as a strange tropical climate which reflects his relationship with Antoinette:” And the woman is a stranger. » Rochester seems sensitive to nature because he remarks details of an unknown environment. He observes the colours “red”, “blue”, “green”, and the presence of animals: “bird», «horse”. The lexical field of nature is present, for example: “wall of green”, “ravine”, “the hills, the mountains”, “blue green sea”, warm wind”, “wall of trees”, “earth” …. In addition, we can compare “the very lonely sound” of the bird to Rochester’s feelings. He feels alone in a different environment.
So Rochester feels uncomfortable with the new environment. Both landscape and the character seem exceeded of the circumstances.
We can quote the lexical field of excess, for example: "too much", "extreme", “too red”. The repetition of the adverb “too” reinforces the excess. In addition, we can see a form of anaphora which creates again the effect of excess, of succession and surplus: “Too much blue, too much purple, too much green. The flowers too red, the mountains too high, the hills too near". This repetition creates an impression of chorus, it does not stop, and it is not enjoyable for Rochester. The last sentence underlines this chorus and appears as an echo: "Oh England, England she called back mockingly, and the sound went on and on like a warning I did not choose to hear”.
Moreover, we can observe the omnipresence of the green colour: « the wall of green”, “an extreme green”, “too much green”, “the thick green leaf”. The green is a colour which represent nature and used to symbolize rebirth or immortality. Rochester remarks the colour, and he hates it; he appears against the renewal. The green is not a suitable colour for him and for his natural environment.
Then, the savagery of the nature can be translated as the warning voice of nature. In fact, there are signs emitted by nature that can be considered as a warning. For example, it can be represented by the wild: “it a wild place”, “Not only wild », the coldness: “cold in my sweat-soaked shirt », “It was cold ». The sentence: “I understood why the porter had called it a wild place. Not only wild but menacing.”, confirms that he perceived the message. The nature announces a bad omen about his future and Rochester feels the threat.
To conclude, the rewriting permits to develop Rochester’s point of view. The travel provokes the introspection of Rochester. We have access to his feelings and thoughts. It gave a voice to Rochester, and we can understand his perspective on the marriage with Antoinette. The nature is very important to express his feelings, in fact there is a connection and Rochester can explain it thanks to the reflection. Nature is also important because it send different signs to advert Rochester about the future with Antoinette.
