Wide Sargasso Sea

Literal and Figurative Slavery in Antoinette's Relationships 12th Grade

Jean Rhys novel Wide Sargasso Sea is one of the most important post-colonial works that examines the effect of colonialism on Jamaica. Part of this examination is the exploration of how the aftermath of slavery affects Antoinette’s relations with the Afro-Caribbean people in general and in particular with two prominent Afro-Caribbean characters in the novel Tia and Christophine. Rhys examines how slavery has both beneficial and destructive effects on her relations with the Afro-Caribbean community. Rhys demonstrates how the exploitation, suppression of the Afro-Caribbean people and their lack of compensation and lack of improved living standards has generated racial tensions and fostered the development of mutual hate. Moreover, Rhys illustrates how this atmosphere of mutual hatred caused by slavery impacts Antoinette’s relationship with the Afro-Caribbean population of post-colonial Jamaica. Rhys also exhibits the effect of figurative slavery on Antoinette’s marriage with her husband, whose name is not initially stated, but implicitly identified as Rochester (from Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre[1]). Jean Rhys explores the after effects of slavery on Jamaica by looking at the relationship between Antoinette and the island’s...

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