In Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, the shifting narrative perspective
allows the reader to view the same environment and events through a different
lens. The first part of the book is set
in Antoinette’s past, with scenes from her childhood from her perspective. Part Two alternates between the husband (Mr.
Rochester) and Antoinette, focusing mostly on the husband’s perspective and
inner thoughts. Mr. Rochester finds
himself in a foreign world following his marriage to Antoinette that left him
thirty thousand pounds richer. He and Antoinette are to spend several weeks on
an estate that belonged to Antoinette’s deceased mother. He is confounded by
the customs, and also seems unable to understand his new wife whom he did not
know prior to their marriage. The husband’s inability to connect with
Antoinette is interesting. Her customs
are foreign to him, but because of the perspective in Part One, the reader
understands that her behavior may have more to do with personality idiosyncrasies,
than her native customs. From the husband’s perspective, much is unclear about
Antoinette’s temperament and background.
The reader better understands the significance of some of the scenes
because the reader has read the first part of the story as narrated by Antoinette.
This allows us to identify better with Antoinette, even though we do not always
know exactly how she is feeling at the time of the second part of the book. When an author shifts narrative perspectives,
as Rhys does so effectively in this book, it gives the reader a fuller
understanding of the story and its nuances.
Rochester
is a somewhat unsympathetic character, yet because Part Two is largely from his
perspective, the reader sees that he feels betrayed by his father and brother
and confused by his wife’s behavior.
This is compounded by the encounters with Daniel Cosway. Rochester would an even more unlikeable
character if the second half was also told completely from Antoinette’s
perspective. As it stands, we at least understand the motives for Rochester’s
actions. When the perspective shifts
briefly to Antoinette’s, we are less bewildered and distressed by her husband’s
lack of affection, but as readers we can empathize better with her
feelings. Rhys is a master of narrative
perspective.
Rochester does seem to associate Antoinette's "alien" qualities with the alien setting of the islands more generally--she seems to be "of this place" in a way that he is not. But she responds that neither of them is "of the place," and that the natural environment is utterly indifferent to both of them (we recognize her ambivalent depictions of nature in part 1--the "razor grass" and the orchid that resembles a menacing octopus). There may indeed be some "personality idiosyncrasies" in Antoinette--she is clearly a shy, awkward, socially maladjusted kid in many ways--but Rochester's sense of her "foreignness" has at least something to do with the way her speech, her tastes, her culture resemble the local black culture as much as the white Creole culture. It's this unusual mix (a product, in part, of her close identification with Christophine) that makes her seem especially "strange" to him. And when she speaks "like Amelie," it clearly unnerves him. It makes her even less like "an English girl," which he attempts to turn her into by calling her Bertha.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the perspective of the narration switches does help us understand both sides of the story. However, I would argue that Rochester is still in the wrong even though we can see things from his point of view. I understand where he is coming from but his motives are still selfish and that makes me dislike him as a character. The things Christophine says to him make sense. Even he sort of admits that he is wrong and still he doesn't feel any remorse, just hate.
ReplyDeleteDuring the first half of part two I would agree with you that we see Rochester in a much more sympathetic way, and that we agree with Rochester's actions. However, during the second half of part two despite still being in Rochester perspective, his actions seem to be much more villainous and antagonist worthy. For instance when he sleeps with Emil, or refuses to give Antoinette half of her dowry and leave her alone.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you all think that he is such an unsympathetic character. Yes he did sleep with Emile, and to compound that Antoinette could hear them all night, but at the same time I just feel sort of bad for him. He set out to Jamaica with no ill intentions, but he just got roped into a bad situation. After all it was Antoinette that started it, she started with the "love potion" or "poison" stuff, which put him in a bad spot.
ReplyDeleteHe did get into roped into a bad situation, but he had all the power to find an easy way out, and was even presented with this option by Christophine. He turns down this chance to get out of the situation (and keep half of the money - 15,000 pounds) simply because Christophine mentions Antoinette getting over him eventually and that makes him jealous. Who even does that?? I'm confused by this because although roping Antoinette to him forever when he hates her is terrible, Rochester doesn't care about it that much. What Rochester does (or should) care about, from his (selfish) point of view, is that he's tied to a 'lunatic' for the rest of his life. I just don't understand why he doesn't take the way out. It reminds of Meursalt in The Stranger. Rochester has a loophole ready to jump through; it would be so easy for him to say Antoinette is insane and he must divorce her, but still give her half the money so he can both divorce respectably and get no shade for the treatment of his wife. And yet he does neither of those things. I just don't get it, Rochester is usually a cold and calculating dude, and he made these life-long decisions sloppily and in the heat of jealousy.
DeleteI really like the idea of sympathy in relation to shifting perspective. It's a difficult concept - it also kind of reminded me of Meursault's whole "everything feels normal when you get used to it" idea, except here it's "everything is worthy of sympathy when you get used to it." OBVIOUSLY, there are exceptions and this isn't really entirely true, but Rhys seems to make a very compelling statement with her shifting narrators. In the first part of the book Antoinette seems like a very understandable character, but after being in Rochester's head we start to lose touch with Antoinette's inner workings, and begin to gain more sympathy for Rochester. Then, we see Antoinette go to Christophine, see how heartbroken and desperate she is, and see the scene between Rochester and Amelie, and it's just like?? for real dude?? It's hard to side with Rochester after seeing things from Antoinette's place for a while.
ReplyDeleteEvery character seems worthy of sympathy at one point within this book. It's just a matter of being in their heads and feeling what they feel, watching them exist through their own eyes.
Reading Part I from Antoinette's point of view did allow me to sympathize with Rochester a little bit more. At the very beginning of the book, I was completely disoriented, and it was hard for me to understand the implications of each of the things Antoinette was describing. I can imagine Rochester feeling very similar, especially considering that he was basically forced out of England into the West Indies. Perhaps calling Antoinette "Bertha" was his way of trying to hold on to the culture to which he felt he belonged
ReplyDeleteReading Part I from Antoinette's point of view did allow me to sympathize with Rochester a little bit more. At the very beginning of the book, I was completely disoriented, and it was hard for me to understand the implications of each of the things Antoinette was describing. I can imagine Rochester feeling very similar, especially considering that he was basically forced out of England into the West Indies. Perhaps calling Antoinette "Bertha" was his way of trying to hold on to the culture to which he felt he belonged
ReplyDeleteI liked the switching perspective of the book because I got to base my judgements of the characters with evidence from their experience. The books could've entirely been told by one narrator but with us getting to hear parts of the story from both of the main characters, we get a deeper understanding of their interactions (No matter how strange they are). We wouldn't have found out that Rochester was only interested in Antoinette for her inheritance if we didn't get to read the letters and Antoinette's entire history with the Jamaican people. In the end I didn't really sympathize either of them because they kept trying to fix their problems with things that didn't make much sense when I really thought about it. Drugs and jealousy don't make for a stable marriage.
ReplyDelete