The poster to promote the movie of Wide Sargasso Sea doesn't quite capture the spirit of the novel October saw the Tyneside Book Club spend some time in Caribbean climes. But this was far from a pleasure cruise as Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea proved a gruelling read.
The novel acts as a prequel or companion piece to Jane Eyre, and the group was divided between those who had read the Charlotte Bronte novel, and those who hadn't.
Those who were familiar with Jane Eyre felt the book was given a depth and distinct character by its relationship to the source material. Rhys uses clever counterpoints and parallels which sheds new light on the characters and ties it in with the Bronte novel. The oppressive heat and vivid colour of the Caribbean being as much a part of the atmosphere of Wide Sargasso Sea as the bleak, grey Yorkshire moors of Jane Eyre.
It wasn't an easy read - a fractured narrative moves in and out of different characters' consciousnesses, and some members did experience some confusion and dislocation - though that may also have been the intention of the author.
Most agreed that Rochester (unnamed but unmistakably him) did not cover himself with glory, treating Antoinette cruelly, and aiming to neuter and control her by referring to her as "Bertha". Her imprisonment in the attic was just the final indignity. Some though did have some sympathy for a character as he also seemed partially a victim of circumstances, even if his behaviour was unforgivable.
The group picked out many interesting themes - colonialism, race, gender and mental health. The book, though small, packed a big punch, even if not everyone found it equally engaging.
And the treatment of Antoinette in general made this a tough novel to read. From a traumatic childhood to her imprisonment, she finds herself shut out of the different societies in both the West Indies and England. The conclusion, and the final collision between the Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea timelines, felt almost like a glorious, transgressive release.
The novel acts as a prequel or companion piece to Jane Eyre, and the group was divided between those who had read the Charlotte Bronte novel, and those who hadn't.
Those who were familiar with Jane Eyre felt the book was given a depth and distinct character by its relationship to the source material. Rhys uses clever counterpoints and parallels which sheds new light on the characters and ties it in with the Bronte novel. The oppressive heat and vivid colour of the Caribbean being as much a part of the atmosphere of Wide Sargasso Sea as the bleak, grey Yorkshire moors of Jane Eyre.
It wasn't an easy read - a fractured narrative moves in and out of different characters' consciousnesses, and some members did experience some confusion and dislocation - though that may also have been the intention of the author.
Most agreed that Rochester (unnamed but unmistakably him) did not cover himself with glory, treating Antoinette cruelly, and aiming to neuter and control her by referring to her as "Bertha". Her imprisonment in the attic was just the final indignity. Some though did have some sympathy for a character as he also seemed partially a victim of circumstances, even if his behaviour was unforgivable.
The group picked out many interesting themes - colonialism, race, gender and mental health. The book, though small, packed a big punch, even if not everyone found it equally engaging.
And the treatment of Antoinette in general made this a tough novel to read. From a traumatic childhood to her imprisonment, she finds herself shut out of the different societies in both the West Indies and England. The conclusion, and the final collision between the Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea timelines, felt almost like a glorious, transgressive release.
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