TRABAJO FIN DE GRADO
Título
The impossibility of creating identity in Jean Rhys’ Wide
Sargasso Sea (La imposibilidad de crear una identidad en
Wide Sargasso Sea de Jean Rhys)
Autor/es
Sakina El Ouardi
Director/es
Cristina Flores Moreno
Facultad
Facultad de Letras y de la Educación
Titulación
Grado en Estudios Ingleses
Departamento
Curso Académico
2012-2013
The impossibility of creating identity in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea (La
imposibilidad de crear una identidad en Wide Sargasso Sea de Jean Rhys),
trabajo fin de grado
de Sakina El Ouardi , dirigido por Cristina Flores Moreno (publicado por la Universidad de
La Rioja), se difunde bajo una Licencia
Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 3.0 Unported.
Permisos que vayan más allá de lo cubierto por esta licencia pueden solicitarse a los
titulares del copyright.
©
©
El autor
Universidad de La Rioja, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2013
publicaciones.unirioja.es
E-mail: [email protected]
Trabajo de Fin de Grado
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF CREATING IDENTITY
IN JEAN RHYS’ WIDE SARGASSO SEA
(LA IMPOSIBILIDAD DE CREAR UNA
IDENTIDAD EN WIDE SARGASSO SEA DE
JEAN RHYS)
Autor:
SAKINA EL OUARDI EL OUARDI
Tutor/es:
Fdo.
Cristina Flores Moreno
Titulación:
Grado en Estudios Ingleses [601G]
Facultad de Letras y de la Educación
AÑO ACADÉMICO: 2012/2013
2
ABSTRACT
This essay aims to study identity in Jean Rhys’ acclaimed novel Wide Sargasso Sea;
applying the Postcolonial, Racial, Feminist and Marxist theories to analyze Antoinette’s
identity crisis. In this study we want to justify the incapacity of the author to create an
identity for her character Antoinette, despite the fact that she wrote the novel for the
purpose of giving life to the madwoman of the attic misplaced in Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Moreover, it will be proved that in the novel there is a process of destructing Antoinette’s
self gradually, due to all the existing factors which do not allow her to be a complete
individual, and which conclude with her definitive disappearance at the end of the novel.
RESUMEN
El propósito de este ensayo es el estudio de identidad en la aclamada novel de Jean Rhys
Ancho Mar de los Sargazos; aplicando las teorías postcoloniales, raciales, feministas y
marxistas al análisis de la crisis de identidad de Antoinette. En este estudio queremos
justificar la incapacidad de la autora de crear una identidad para su personaje Antoinette, a
pesar de que ella escribió la novela para el propósito de dar vida a la mujer loca del ático
en la novela Jane Eyre de Brontë. Además, se probará que en esta novela se encuentra un
proceso de destrucción de la identidad de Antoinette gradualmente, debido a los factores
existentes que no le permiten existir como individuo de manera completa, y que concluyen
con su definitiva desaparición al final de la novela.
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4
INDEX
1. Introduction and Objectives.....................................................................................7
2. Theoretical Overview: Identity............................................................................... 9
2.1. Describing Identity and its Constituents............................................................ 9
2.2. Critical Approaches to Identity: a Review....................................................... 12
2.2.1. Marxism........................................................................................................... 13
2.2.2. Race and Ethnic studies....................................................................................14
2.2.3. Postcolonialism.................................................................................................18
2.2.4. Feminism..........................................................................................................20
3. Study of Identity in Wide Sargasso Sea................................................................ 23
3.1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 23
3.2. State of the Art................................................................................................... 26
3.3. Destruction of Antoinette’s Self........................................................................ 29
3.3.1. The Process of Antoinette’s Identity Creation..................................................30
3.3.2.
The Process of Antoinette’s Identity Withdrawal............................................34
4. Conclusion............................................................................................................... 39
5. References............................................................................................................... 41
6. Annex: conclusiones............................................................................................... 45
5
6
Names matter, like when he wouldn’t call me
Antoinette, and I saw Antoinette drifting out of
the window with her scents, her pretty clothes
and her looking-glass. 1
1. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
My purpose in this essay is to analyze the complicated concept of identity, and to try
an approximate description of this concept through the theories of authors such as Madan
Sarup or William James, the father of identity studies. Together with this, there will also be
an inclusion of theoretical studies (Postcolonialism, Race, Marxism and Feminism) that
participate in the understanding of identity construction as well as identity destruction.
Accordingly, in the second part of the essay I will draw on these theories to analyse
identity in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea, offering examples first of Antoinette’s identity
construction; and then of her identity destruction, and her subsequent vanishing from the
novel.
This essay shows how Jean Rhys tries to create a self for Antoinette, but she cannot
achieve it due to the factors surrounding her character Antoinette. The fact of being a
Creole and a woman contribute both in erasing her from existence; proving once more that
the madwoman in the attic described in Brontë’s Jane Eyre, does not have a proper identity
or existence. Therefore, it is proven that Jean Rhys effectuated an inverse process; instead
of giving her life, the author assures her non-existence.
In order to analyse identity in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, first, I am going to
offer a theoretical approach to identity in a general way, providing a general description
which includes an interdisciplinary approach. Thus, I will incorporate different
perspectives, such as the Marxist or the Feminist approaches. Furthermore, the theoretical
1
From now on I will be quoting from the following edition of Jean Rhys’ novel: Rhys, J. 2000. Wide
Sargasso Sea. Introduction by Andrea Ashworth. London: Penguin Books. Number of pages will be shown
parenthetically in the text. This one (147).
7
part will likewise cover the elements or constituents that lead to the construction or
destruction of identity.
In the second part of the paper, there will be an application of the theoretical main
ideas, and their illustration in the text: Wide Sargasso Sea. This section will also enclose an
approach to the author, Jean Rhys; and the postmodern aspects that have a repercussion in
the study of identity in Rhys’ novel. Moreover, the main objective of this study is to
demonstrate how Antoinette, the protagonist of the book, suffers from an identity crisis;
and thus, the book proves her identity destruction at the same time that the author intends
to construct an identity for her.
8
2. THEORETICAL OVERVIEW: IDENTITY
2.1. Describing Identity and its Constituents
I would like to begin by stating that the task of defining “identity” is not an easy one
because of its multi-dimensional nature. The study of identity confines a wide range of
disciplines, such as psychology, narratology, sociology, etc. If we look up the term
“identity” on the Oxford dictionary, we will find basic explanations; such as the fact that
identity is the “condition of being a specified person or thing”, that it is what constitutes
the individuality, or that it is “absolute sameness” (Elizabeth Jewell, 2006: 401). It is
difficult to escape the conclusion that identity encompasses many aspects and thus the
attempt to find an accurate and thorough definition could be an unachievable task within
the scope of this work.
Thus, given the difficulty of the task, in this section I will give a general description
of the concept of identity. This description will enclose the specification of the elements or
dynamics that constitute it, its relations, and the different approaches that contribute to its
study. For this purpose, I have based my research basically on three works which I found
more worthwhile on the area of identity. The first one, who was the pioneer on this are, is
William James and his work The Principles of Psychology (1890). As it will be indicated
afterwards, William James makes a distinction and explanation of the different constituents
of identity and relates them to the social context of the individual. Madan Sarup’s Identity,
Culture and the Postmodern World (1996) is another book which I will follow in
describing identity. Sarup’s term “dynamics” (or elements, as he also claims) will be useful
to delineate the boundaries of identity. No self to be found: the search for personal identity
(1997) by James Giles offers a psychological overview on identity, and he introduces the
term “role” by Rosenberg and Gara, which could be regarded as an equivalent of Sarup’s
term of “dynamics”.
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The definition of identity cannot commence without alluding to William James’
Principles of Psychology (1890). In chapter ten, the author explains what the self is or the
“empirical self”, as claimed by him: “the Empirical Self of each of us is all that he is
tempted to call by the name of me” (1890: 291). According to James, there are four
constituents of the self: the material self, the social self, the spiritual self and the pure ego
(292). The material self is composed mainly of the body, the family and the home (292);
which suggests that the material part of identity has strong connections with the sense of
belongings and ownership. Furthermore, James goes on explaining that “a man’s Social
Self is the recognition which he gets from his mates” (293). Consequently, one person’s
identity has different social selves, as many as groups to which he or she belongs; and also,
as many social selves as people that care about you (294). Therefore, it is difficult to
escape the conclusion that the delineation of identity is achieved by the fusion of
someone’s personality and the cultural legacy; and this is what Venet’s (2013: 15) et al.
explain in their European identity through Space: “from the anthropological point of view
modes of thinking, feeling, behaving, but also values, customs, traditions and norms are
not only part of a certain culture but also gives a framework of identification of
individuals”. Therefore, there is a notable concern of identity in the social context, which
had also been approved by Mead (1962: 135) as is shown in the following quotation: “the
self is something which has a development; it is not initially there, at birth, but arises in the
process of social experience and activity, that is, develops in the given individual as a
result of his relations to that process as a whole and to other individuals within that
process”.
As James Giles (1997: 6) claims, “the issues of personal identity cannot be divorced
from the issue of psychology”; therefore, the psychological and personal features that
coexist in an individual cannot be separated. In relation to this statement, William James
argues (1890) that there is difficulty in delimiting the line between what we call ‘me’ and
‘mine’; therefore, one’s identity is defined by referring to everything that that person
claims to be his own, as Giles (1997: 11) asserts.
After enunciating William James’ proposals, I would like to connect them with
Madam Sarup’s ideas. This author defends that there are two models of identity: the
traditional view, which proclaims that identity is formed by the simultaneous operation of
10
the dynamics (such as race or class), and the more recent view that asserts identity as being
fabricated or constructed in process by taking into consideration psychological and
sociological factors (1996: 14). However, Sarup argues that neither of these two models
can fully explain how identity is formed, since our identity is fragmented and contradictory
(14). It can be seen through Sarup’s ideas that the first model of identity is a static one,
proceeded through the social dynamics (or also elements, as he states in page 18); and the
second model is a dynamic one, which is constructed in process. However, there is no
denying that there exist two perspectives of identity. Sarup (1996: 14) affirms that we
maintain two identities, these being “outside” (public) and “inside” (private). Thus, the
outside of our identity is how others see us, and the inside part of our identity has to do
with our own vision of ourselves (1996:14). These can be again related to William James’
proposal of different selves: material, social and spiritual.
The key point to note is that identity has two determining characteristics: it is
relational and dynamic, as stated in The Discursive Construction of National Identity, by
Wodak et al. So, they propose that “it [identity] defines the relationship between two or
more related entities in a manner that asserts a sameness or equality” (2009: 11). Besides,
the authors add, it is not a real attribute to declare that identity should be static; it is rather
dynamic and on constant change, implicated in the course of time, and thus it involves
being inscribed in a process (11).
Apart from its dynamic and relational nature, it should be remarked that identity is
also multidimensional; hence, these three characteristics contrive a more complete
reflection for identity. Accordingly, Madan Sarup (1996: 25) provides a definition for
identity, highlighting its multi-dimensional nature, as it can be seen in the following
quotation:
Identity, in my view, may perhaps be best seen as a multi-dimensional space in
which a variety of writings blend and clash. These writings consist of many
quotations from the innumerable centres of culture, ideological state apparatus and
practices: parents, family, schools, the workplace, the media, the political parties,
the state.
11
The view put forward above illustrates the main points enclosed in the concept of
identity. Identity is not a flat description of our personality; it rather takes into account
different perspectives of the self, and aims to construct a coherent image of itself. In the
same way, Venet et al. state, “‘identity’ refers to a self perception –how we think about
ourselves, how we think about other people around us and what we think others think of us.
‘Identity’ simply means ‘knowing who you are’” (2013: 13, italics in the original). They
also add that the task of analysing the concept of ‘identity’ needs the intercourse of many
disciplines, these being philosophy, sociology, history and political science. Thus, there is
still an emphasis on the idea of multi-dimensionality that identity involves.
After analysing James’ constituents of identity, and Sarup’s dynamics, we must
allude to Gara’s concept of “roles”. Accordingly, there have been accounts of identity
regarded as ‘role’, as Rosenberg and Gara claim in their paper “The multiplicity of
personal identity” (1985: 90):
Personal identity consists of a person’s various social and personal roles: kinship
roles, occupational roles, religious affiliation, group membership, intellectual
concerns, and so on. […] each of these roles, or ‘identities’ as Rosenberg and
Gara also call them, is ‘an amalgam of features –personal characteristics, feelings,
values, intentions, and images –experienced by the individual’ which can be
enacted in different situations.2
Thus, these authors suggest that identity is formed by the union of all these roles or
functions, which together can configure someone’s self. This relation between roles, as
Giles (17) states, is what they call identity structure; which can be regarded as the
paradigm followed to identify someone’s self. Repeatedly, there is emphasis on the
changeability and flexibility of identity.
2
Quoted in Giles (1997: 17).
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2.2. Critical Approaches to Identity: a Review
As noted already, part of identity is constructed upon social dynamics, or
components–these being race, class and nation among others; and as Sarup states: “all
identities, whether based on class, ethnicity, religion or nation, are social constructions”
(1996: 48). In this section I will reflect on how the different theoretical approaches have
addressed the study of identity; taking into consideration class, ethnicity, race, genre, etc.
2.2.1. Marxism
Beginning with class, it is obvious that it reminds us of Karl Marx and his theories
that are at the moment rather fading away. As Voss and Linden state in their Class and
Other Identities that class is one of the elements that can make people feel unity,
attributable to the sense of self and social belonging that class renders (2002: 74). Despite
the Marxist idea of considering society as a separated set of social classes, and as Sarup
claims, Post-Marxists argue that class is not the only basis that generates social oppression,
and that this can be a result of other constituents, such as nation, race, ethnicity or gender
(Sarup 1996: 55). The author continues by adding that there are more and more new
identities associated with emerging social movements –such as feminism, or black
struggles –rather than the Marxist conception of identifying people by the social class to
which they belong (57).
As Michael Argyle claim in his The psychology of social class, classes can be
considered as categories, whose members feel related to one another due to the similarities
they have, such as maintaining the same lifestyle, or values; moreover, there is an
awareness in their class membership (1994: 289). As it can be observed, class is another
constituent that cooperates in the process of identity creation; the fact of belonging to a
social group (a class) enhances the feeling of one’s self-esteem and thus a more compact
identity. The concept of class could also be related to status, but there should be
clarifications about the senses of these two concepts. As it is explained in Class, status and
13
power (Bendix et al, 1976: 21) “the term ‘class’ refers to any group of people that is found
in the same class situation”; whereas status refers to a community, and thus to the social
estimation that entails honour (24). In correlation with this, and as Gary Day states in his
book Class (2001), the status of a person is expressed by the style life, and also through
attitudes and activities; therefore, there is equilibrium of status with culture (10). The
author continues declaring that “these ‘styles of life’ give status groups a stronger sense of
their own identity in contrast to classes where one of the problems is how to understand
class consciousness: how it arises and what forms it takes” (10). Thus, status and class
clearly form part of identity and self-formation.
Besides, there are some authors that claim class and status to be variable and
manipulated; these are the views of Michael Argyle as well as Nicole Rodriguez Toulis.
The last asserts that “the individual could negotiate status and respect by manipulating
patterns of conjugal union and household composition […]” (1997: 85); which means that,
in fact, a person’s class belonging can be changeable. Likewise, Argyle argues that
individuals may join another group leaving their low-status, for example; and he also
affirms that changing class is easier than changing race, although it requires being accepted
by the new class (224). Again, the idea of changeability of class is repeated, which reminds
us of the dynamic nature of identity and the process of identity creation.
Making connections with the following section of this essay, and relating class with
the dynamics of race, it should be mentioned that for Toulis (1997) race is becoming
synonymous of class and status because there are now a cultural conception of race that is
replacing the physical composition and biological signifiers of race (83). Therefore, and as
the author proceeds, our racial characteristics implicate the values and ideals which make
us belong to a social group. Hence, this feature along with the previous statements
reinforce the idea of class and status being part of our identity, and connoting that class
makes us be part of a group, or be excluded from a group as well.
2.2.2. Race and Ethnic Studies
Regarding race and ethnicity, it should be brought to mind that in this study we are
dealing with minority groups and “ethnic” groups. Since Wide Sargasso Sea revolves
14
around the West Indian Antoinette, and the British Mr. Rochester; therefore, there are
straightforward implications of ethnic clashes. In relation with this fact, I consider that
there is need to distinguish between universalism and particularism, this referring to the
struggles that take place between groups of different ethnicities, nations or other variations.
Moreover, there is also allusion to the fact that the colonised group was considered as a
group that has an absence of history, emphasizing their inability of representing
universalism (Sarup 1996: 58). These ideas draw the lines of our approach and show that
minority groups are mainly considered as dependent on others; also, this leads us to think
of them as lacking something, or lacking completeness, which can be linked to Lacan’s
belief that “the human subject has a split identity, and that we all have a lack” (Sarup 1996:
175). Besides, it is important to note that ethnicity could be defined as the cultural and
historical features which are shared by a group (178); thus, ethnicity aims to the union of a
group rather than its separation. In other words, people seek common features shared with
other people in order to feel integrated in a group; and so, not excluded from all groups.
Again, to illustrate this idea, Sarup highlights the ethnical part of identity by saying that
“the ethno-history gives dignity to the people. Through art and ritual, memories are evoked
and aspirations organized” (1996: 178).
As noted above, race is one of the social dynamics that takes place in identity
construction. Nevertheless, when race is reshaped and considered in a negative way, it
turns to be “racism”, which implies discrimination. Therefore, race –as well as the other
dynamics of identity –cooperates in the construction of identity, but also in its
decomposition; and the best illustration is racism, as commented already. Furthermore, in
Sarup’s words, the Post-Marxist theorist Laclau states that the relations between groups are
established as relations of power; and so, each group tries to insist on its difference, which
means the exclusion and subordination of other groups (Sarup 1996: 59). In this way, it can
be noted that the hegemony of one group implies the subordination of other, which renders
more evidence to our study in this context, since we are dealing with the Creole minority.
Quite related to the dynamic of race, we can find the concept of difference, which is
indeed of great relevance to the identity constitution and destruction. Difference implies
exclusion, as noted already, and so it is a way of characterization that obliges different
people o be excluded and inferior. This in turn means that difference is another way of
15
identity deconstruction. Again, we find dynamics of identity that collaborate in both,
identity construction, and its decomposition. Thus, and as Sarup also affirms, the
component of difference which distinguishes the oppressed from the oppressor, is an
essential characteristic in identifying this oppressor (60). This problem has been dealt with
by various authors, and one of them is Stuart Hall, who sees the relation of difference with
identity in a positive way. Hall asserts that “the capacity to live with difference is, in my
view, the coming question of the twenty-first century” (Hall 1993: 361).3 This affirmation
is due to the constant change and development of new conceptions of identity which
cannot be classified in fixed categories (Back and Solomos 2000: 4).
In association with race and difference, there should be allusion to the binary
oppositions and the Self/ Other distinction. With reference to this concept, Sarup proposes
that in these binary oppositions one of the terms represents the dominant centre, while the
other is the representation of the subordinate margin (57). So, this is a good illustration and
evidence that the marginalized people are the other in the Creole culture for instance, since
we are concerned with this issue in the present essay. Still dealing with the idea of ‘the
other’, it could be argued that ‘the other’ is like the representation of what is familiar to the
centre or to the norm, but it is mirrored or projected out of itself. It had been a common
idea to think that the other is opposite to the self, but in reality the other is within the self
(57-58). In addition, Back and Solomos assure that identification involves a process of
splitting between what one is and the other (2000: 147). Therefore, the notion of ‘the other’
contributes in identity construction as well as in its decomposition.
So, focusing on “the other” as a weapon for identity destruction, it could be
pointed out that identity is associated with what one is not: thus, the other (Sarup 1996:
47). Therefore, it should be kept in mind that the other represents some kind of deprivation
in relation to ourselves, because we regard the other as complete unities in relation with
ourselves; and this is why the other is defined as “what is not”. Furthermore, and in
Sarup’s words, Lacan says that “our message comes to us from the Other, in a reverse
form” (37); so, this is still drawing the contrast between the self and the other, especially
when stating that it accomplished in a reverse way. Yet the important point to note here is
3
Quoted in Back, L. And J. Solomos ed. 2000. Theories of Race and Racism. Oxon: Routledge (4).
16
the relation between identity, identification and the other. In support of this argument
Sarup declares that identity is constituted by a series of identifications; moreover,
identification in this context refers to the “identification of oneself with the other” (30).
Therefore, it can be seen that the concept of “the other” basically forms part of the
construction of identity, since we have to identify ourselves with the other in order to
achieve our own identity. In Theories of Race and Racism there is emphasis on the fact that
the Other belongs inside the individual, which implies that this is the self seen from the
perspective of the Other (Back and Solomos 2000: 147). The authors continue saying that
“this notion which breaks down the boundaries, between outside and inside, between those
who belong and those who do not, between those whose histories have been written and
those whose histories they have depended on but whose histories cannot be spoken.” (147).
Another aspect that takes place in the construction of identity, and which is also
related to identification, is our self-reflection. Argyle argues that self-image and selfesteem depend on our belonging to a group, and that self-esteem can be kept by sustaining
positive beliefs about our group members (1994: 139). This obviously refers also to our
identification, since it alludes to what or how we identify ourselves with. Proceeding with
the idea of identity construction, the theories of “the mirror stage” and self-reflection are a
new element that helps to the creation and solidification of one’s identity, especially
because these theories imply a direct and thorough image of the self, conveying a solid
conception of ourselves.
Regarding religion and identity, and as noted before, religion is one of the social
dynamics that participate in the creation of identity. As Simon Coleman and Peter Collins
state in their Religion, Identity and Change: Perspectives on Global Transformations,
adopting a religion is equal to accepting to be part of a commonality, and at the same time
to be different in relation to numerous people. And they continue claiming that “In this
sense religious activity always carries with it a statement of identity, whether the actor
intends to make such a statement or not” (2004: 8). Therefore, it seems obvious that
religion is inevitably another element that takes part in identity construction, as Coleman
and Collins declare: “Religion has long been regarded by social scientists and
psychologists as a key source of identity formation and maintenance, ranging from
personal conversion experiences to collective associations with fellow believers” (3).
17
In what concerns the nation, it could be said that nation is quite related to ethnicity;
but language is the element that epitomizes the nation. So, language is a very important
part of identity; therefore, it is clear the fact that language describes us as individuals. In
Argyle’s words, Giles and Coupland (1991) state that language and accent are a basic
indication of group identity; moreover, they carry the function of maintaining the group
identity to which one belongs (139). However, Back and Solomos argue that language
cannot be equated with race, because language is a learned behaviour that varies without
being related to physical type (2000: 115). Therefore, these authors imply that race is a
more distinguished characteristic than language, since race is more determinable for the
formation of the individual than language is.
2.2.3. Postcolonialism
It is certainly hard to find an accurate definition of “Postcolonialism”; still, if we
look at John McLeod’s (2000: 33) explanation, there is actual reliability in his claim that
“‘Postcolonialism’ is not the same as after colonialism, […] it does not define a radically
new historical era, nor does it herald a brave new world where all the ills of the colonial
past have been cured”. This clarification is quite important, since it helps to avoid the
misunderstanding that can occur due to the prefix ‘post’, which can be confusing if we
decode it literally. McLeod (33) goes on noting that “Postcolonialism” involves “reading
texts produced by writers from countries with a history of colonialism; […] by those that
have migrated from countries with a history of colonialism, or those descended from
migrant families; […] and re-reading texts produced during colonialism […]”. Moreover,
he continues remarking that “Postcolonialism […] in part involves challenge to colonial
ways of knowing, ‘writing back’ in opposition to such views” (2000: 32). Here, it can be
seen how the author speaks about one of the most important practices of postcolonial
writers, since writing back is their alternative to respond the colonial atrocities, whose
effects are still present in some places.
Paolini (1999: 51) puts forward that “if Postcolonialism forms part of a struggle over
discursive power in the constitution of identity, the history, in particular colonial history,
also plays a significant part. […] The need to comprehend and reinterpret the colonial
18
experience is integral to an analysis of identity today, thus the importance of the ‘empire
writing back’”. Therefore, it is clear the role of history in the interpretation of identity;
furthermore, the author states the relevance of writing back in order to discover one’s
identity.
In Paolini’s (1999: 52) words, Postcolonialism involves varied perspectives and
distinct movements, which makes difficult its delimitation. He also states that “some
writers tend to emphasize both difference and hybridity, resistance and ambivalence.
Others, like Said, have subtly changed their perspective over time, so that hybridity has
received a more prominent Guernsey” (52). As it is well known, Edward Said is one of the
most prominent authors that addresses Postcolonialism. As claimed in John Mcleod’s
Beginning Postcolonialism, Said’s work Orientalism is a very influential book which
explores the relationship between coloniser and colonised, but paying more attention to
the coloniser. McLeod continues stating that Said’s theories explain how the colonised
uses the knowledge learnt about the coloniser in order to justify their injustices (McLeod
2000: 21).
As noted in the quotation above, hybridity is an important term in Postcolonialism;
on account of this, its definition should be included. Michael Syrotinski (2007: 26) attests
that Robert Young says that the term hybrid “comes from the Latin hybrida, […] and
comes to mean more generally a transgression of ‘natural’ or ‘original’ species and the
consequent production of a new variety, with multiple origins, formed from the interaction
between what were previously distinct and separate ‘types’”. This definition points to the
condition of identity in the postcolonial context, which adjusts to the attempt of the present
essay.
Syrotinski (2007: 26) proceeds explaining the adaptation of the concept of hybridity
by the postcolonial theory; so, one of its functions is the exposure and analysis of “the
close links between the biological determination in which hybridity is grounded and the
racialism of colonial ideology”. Therefore, it can be noted that hybridity in this sense tries
to explain the relationship between the reality and biology of the colonized and the
colonizers’ behaviour.
Still focusing on the impact of Postcolonialism on constitution of identity, Sarup
(1996: 148) alludes to the fact that “the imperial project of educating the natives has
19
influenced the identities of millions of people, all over the world, who realised that they
remained subordinate dependents of an authority based somewhere other than in their
lives”. This idea reminds us of the manipulation of the colonised identity that took place
throughout the process of colonisation; and thus, it also gives a hint of the variety of
factors that contribute in the formation of the colonised identity.
2.2.4. Feminism
Aiming to delimit the scope of Feminism and the feminist study, Elizabeth A. Flynn
(2002: 26) states that: “in feminist literary studies, modern feminism was especially
pronounced in the early 1970s at the beginnings of the contemporary Feminist movement
and has taken the form of examinations of images of women in literature”.
Nevertheless, prevalent to drawing the limits of feminism, the category of woman
should be stated. Related to this, as Marina Benjamin remarks,
While the category of woman is central to any feminist discourse, the concept of
woman remains notoriously difficult for feminists to formulate precisely, because
it is overdetermined by the constructions of patriarchal culture where male power
is predicted on defining woman as Other and as Object (1993: 1).
Thus, it is clear that the definition of woman as ‘the other’ and ‘the object’ has been
determined by the culturally accepted principles of patriarchy. Moreover, as Gary Taylor
and Steve Spencer claim in their Social identities: multidisciplinary approaches (2004: 8),
for feminists, gender identities are socially constructed and depend on the influence of
cultural constraints.
The dominant idea about women over the time is, as Benjamin (1993: 15) claims,
that “woman was considered to be in the full flourish of femininity in the service of home,
husband, and children. Women drew on domesticity, the joys of motherhood, and the
influence it accorded them in justifying public activity”. Therefore, it is clearly seen that
women were always regarded as ‘objects’ belonging to men, home, and to the confines of
the house; and this induced women to seek their individual identity. Notwithstanding, as
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Benjamin (1993: 20) remarks, “the dichotomy between subject and object and the related
dyad of mind/body are as central to defining Feminism as they are to defining woman. [...]
In short, the briefest reflection reveals that Feminism is as culturally overdetermined as
woman”. So, women are defined in terms of these dichotomies, where we need to apply
‘objectiveness’ as well as ‘subjectivity’.
Drawing connections between Feminism and postmodernism, Marina Benjamin
claims that “characterising female identity as multiple, pluralistic, and even fragmentary
brings feminism into line with the postmodern program of decentering the subject” (1993:
20). Therefore, it seems clear how the female identity is also described within the confines
of the postmodern delineation of identity. In this respect, mention should also be made of
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of the “Third World Women”. In this respect,
Madan Sarup quotes: “[Spivak] argues that the idea of the Third World is a monolithic
entity and that people should fight against such labelling” (1996: 164). Likewise, Sarup
maintains that
The ‘Third World Woman’ is not allowed to speak; she is caught between
patriarchy and imperialism, subject-constitution and object-formation, between
tradition and modernization. She is rewritten continuously as the object of
patriarchy or of imperialism (1996: 165).
Here we have the same idea as noted already, which is the consideration of women
as belonging to a patriarchal society; however, it is “between tradition and modernization”
as the author claims, and this remarks their aspiration to progress. Moreover, we can
perceive through the quotation that women seem to be disoriented and not being
acknowledged by anyone. In addition, Taylor and Spencer reinforce the woman’s need to
liberate herself from the repression of patriarchal society; claiming that the identity of a
woman is not established at birth, but there is rather assume that man is superior and can
thus manipulate woman (2004: 8).
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22
3. STUDY OF IDENTITY IN WIDE SARGASSO SEA
3.1. Introduction
In this essay, I have decided to study identity in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea to
examine the manifestation of identity crisis on Antoinette. As stated already, identity is
developed through a process, which takes into consideration different constituents or
dynamics (in Sarup’s terminology). Antoinette has a fragmentary identity that is
constructed through various constituents; being these her race and ethnicity (Creole), her
gender (a woman), a post-colonised, and also because of shifting class and status. All these
constituents or dynamics help to the understanding of Antoinette’s identity (first to the
creation of her identity, and then to the process of her identity destruction). Moreover, I
will base my study mostly on ethnic theories, Postcolonialism and Feminism; using ethnics
as an identification feature, and at the same time as the reason for identity crisis (when
ethnics becomes a cause for discrimination). Each one of these theoretical approaches
analyzes the importance of identity from its own perspective.
It is well known that Wide Sargasso Sea is a rewriting of the canonical novel Jane
Eyre. It is particularly interesting for the study of identity since, as Rhys herself
announced, she writes the novel in order to create an identity for Antoinette, and this
makes the novel a perfect example for our aim: “‘I’ve never believed in Charlotte’s lunatic,
that’s why I wrote this book [Wide Sargasso Sea]... The Creole in Charlotte Brontë’s novel
is a lay figure –repulsive which does not matter, and not once alive which does... I’ve
brooded over ‘Jane Eyre’ for years... I was vexed at her portrait of the ‘paper tiger’ lunatic,
the all wrong Creole scenes’” (Frickey 1990: 8). Moreover, and in relation to Jean Rhys’
consideration of identity, it can be seen that Rhys is very much committed to her
community and nation. On account of this, Veronica Gregg explains how Rhys accentuates
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the relationship of the socio-historical context with the Creole’s construction or destruction
of identity:
Far from ignoring social and historical formation or separating herself, Jean
Rhys’s writing demonstrates that the ‘identity’ of the Creole is made of the
sociohistorical, discursive fabric of the colonial West Indies. The articulation of
the Creole subjectivity is at one and the same time a discursive self-destruction
articulated within the historical specificity of racialized slavery in the Caribbean
(1995: 38).
As the quotation above shows, there is a simultaneous existence of construction and
destruction in the process of creating an identity. And finally, Andrea Ashworth has
concluded in her introduction to the novel, that “like Rhys, who for so long endured a life
of neglect, going abysmally unrecognized in an obscure corner of England, her heroine
face a mortifying threat of erasure, of being wiped out” (2000: xv). Consequently, there are
various hints of the insertion of some of Rhys’ biographical data in the novel, connecting
herself to her characters: in this case, to Antoinette.
Additionally, in The Post-colonial studies reader (Ashcroft et al 1995: 96), Helen
Tiffin asserts that post-colonial literature is based on counter-discursive strategies (which
consist of contesting the colonial writings using an opposed technique); it is also claimed
that these strategies are dynamic, and they seek the erasure of the textual strategies used by
the colonial or dominant discourse (96). The author presents as an example Wide Sargasso
Sea, stating that it directly contests the British sovereignty through the counter-discoursive
strategy used by the author (98).
The life of the author is another encouragement for studying identity in Wide
Sargasso Sea, since Jean Rhys endured an identity crisis; she perceived that she is not
accepted in any place: neither in the West Indies, nor in England. Rhys was born in 1890,
in Dominica, with a Welsh father and Creole mother; and in 1907 they moved to England
(Plasa 2001: 7). Jean’s white colour and fair hair provoked an identity crisis in her, since
she was different from all her dark skin siblings; moreover, these features made her feel
rejected by her family, and by the community surrounding her. This idea is reflected by
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Barbara Ann Schapiro in her Literature and the Relational Self, when she says that “Jean’s
feelings of rejection and marginality in relation to her family were only intensified by her
experience of being a white colonial child on a West Indian island” (1994: 88). From this
data it is noticeable that Jean Rhys suffered from a double identity crisis: first because of
being white; and second, because of her being rejected both by the West Indies and by
England. Thus, Antoinette’s instability could be considered an autobiographical feature of
the author herself.
Moreover, Jean Rhys is rightly considered a postmodern author; furthermore, and as
it is acknowledged, postmodernism shows a special concern for identity, underlining the
relation of identity with the context to which someone belongs. In attempt of remarking
some of the features enclosed in postmodernism, Proctor in his A Definition and Critique
of Postmodernism says that “it (postmodernism) can be better described than defined. The
reason is because the essence of postmodernism is deconstruction without reconstruction,
antithesis without synthesis” (2012: 15). This is considerably precise in the fact that many
postmodern works are deconstructive to some extent. The author goes on by explaining
that language is unstable and words are continually shifting in meaning from culture to
culture (15).
Sarup, for his part, tries to give hints of “postmodernism” definition. This author
suggests that postmodernism can refer to the shift in sensibility and practice, and in the
nature of society. Moreover, he tries to qualify the definition by stating a set of key
features which are usually related to postmodernism (1996: 95). For example, he (95) says
that postmodernism implies the acceptance of ephemerality, fragmentation, discontinuity,
as well as the “distrust of all global or ‘totalizing’ discourses, […] of all large-scale
theoretical interpretations”. Hence, the idea of fragmentation in Postmodernism could be
linked to identity fragmentation; establishing a similitude with both perspectives. He also
adds that history is regarded as representation rather than the real (95). Another interesting
point is the ‘postmodern hyperspace’, as Sarup (96) claims, which refers to the possibility
“to transcend the capacities of the individual body to locate itself”.
Focusing on identity, Dr Brendan Sweetman (1999: 1), on his essay
“Postmodernism, Derrida and Différance: a Critique”, he quotes that he defines
postmodernism as “a movement whose central theme is the critique of objective rationality
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and identity, and a working out of implications of this critique for central questions in
philosophy, literature and culture. […] In short, postmodernism mainly revolves around a
set of metaphysical claims about the natures of language and meaning”. It is no
exaggeration to say that Sweetman has been accurate in his definition, since it includes
almost all the aspects that postmodernism implicates. I think that the author incorporates
the key words of postmodernism: identity, language and meaning. In the same way,
Venet’s et al. (2013: 13-14) quote Warren’s idea stating that identity in Postmodernism is
becoming increasingly freer, plural and ambiguous in the postmodern age; thus, the
masters of age, class, gender and ethnicity are decomposing, and they are being replaced
by new identities that are “based on the whole range of sources, including consumerism,
the body and sexuality” (2002: 27). Therefore, it can be noted that the conception of
identity has gone through change depending on time, and so identity in postmodernism
involves new patterns of evaluation, as the previous quotation by Warren shows.
Madan Sarup’s account on identity and postmodernism should also be included. He
claims “as postmodernism privileges heterogeneity and difference, there is a re-emergence
of concern for the validity and dignity of ‘the other’. Postmodernism has been particularly
important in acknowledging the multiple forms of otherness as they emerge from
differences in subjectivity, gender, sexuality, class and ‘race’” (1996: 101). This quotation
reminds us of the multiplicity of identities that postmodernism pays special attention to;
and also, to the fact that identities “emerge from differences”, which draws our attention to
the connections between postmodernism and Postcolonialism.
3.2. State of the Art
Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel that has been widely dealt with by many
authors, and analysed from different perspectives. Hence, identity in Wide Sargasso Sea
has been addressed from many aspects. Besides, there are some studies made on the novel
which involve a general viewpoint on it; these are the monograph Jean Rhys: Wide
Sargasso Sea (edited by Carl Plasa 2001), and the chapter “Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)”,
The Cambridge introduction to Jean Rhys (Hogan 2000).
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Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (edited by Carl Plasa, 2001) is a critical guide that
encompasses various perspectives on the novel. First, it gives an outline on the author’s
life. Moreover, this guidebook offers an overview of the critical impact of the novel, as
well as a study on different dimensions of Wide Sargasso Sea (such as African, Caribbean,
Feminist, Postcolonial, etc...). Likewise, in The Cambridge introduction to Jean Rhys, the
chapter entitled “Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)” is a critical study on the novel which analyzes
some of its elements (such as what was Rhys’ aim on writing it; or the meaning of
elements as the looking-glass, the dreams, the zombie and obeah, etc…). Similarly,
“Colonialism, Patriarchy, and Creole Identity” in Colonialism and cultural identity: crises
of tradition in the Anglophone literatures of India, Africa, and the Caribbean, focuses on
some aspects of Wide Sargasso Sea; such as madness, the mirror, and identity.
The Postcolonial perspective is the most one employed when dealing with Wide
Sargasso Sea. Examples of this are “Exoticism in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea”
(Cristina-Georgiana Voicu, 2012), and A Folkloric Study on Wide Sargasso Sea (Esra
Uzun, 2011). Both essays tackle the problem of Antoinette’s identity crisis as caused by
her being part of the exotic and minority group, which hurdles her relationship with her
husband; as well as the culture and cultural differences between the West Indies and
England, the two settings present on both Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre. The same
goes for the article entitled “Double Complexity in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea” (Silvia
Panizza, 2009), which also deals with postcolonialism and feminism, and attempts to give
a psychological explanation to Antoinette’s problems.
Still focusing on Postcolonialism, and making a connection between identity crisis
and Postcolonialism, we can encounter several works. One of these studies is “Double
Exile: Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea” (Nibras Jawad Kadhim, 2011). This article
especially emphasizes Antoinette’s condition of being doubly exiled, because she is neither
West Indian nor English. The same idea of exile and belonging to no place is discussed in
the thesis “Myself yet not quite myself”: Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea, and a third space
of enunciation (Serena B. Reavis, 2005), which brings into focus a suggested third space
where Antoinette exists –a luminal space, between natives and non-natives. (12). Similarly,
the thesis entitled Postcolonial Cultural Identity and the Caribbean White Creole in Jean
Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Phyllis Shand Allfrey’s The Orchid House (Laura
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Nurminen, 2012), regards the novel from a postcolonial perspective, focusing on cultural
identity in two themes present in Wide Sargasso Sea: names and landscape.
By the same token, another study made on Wide Sargasso Sea and culture is Sarah
Whittemore’s thesis The Importance of Being English: Anxiety of Englishness in Charlotte
Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, (2008). She explores the cultural
hierarchies and the meaning of Englishness in both novels. Correspondingly, Dafne Solá,
in her doctoral thesis En busca de un discurso identitario y canónico: la reescritura de
Rhys y Coetzee en Wide Sargasso Sea y Foe, the author addresses Rhys’ novel from a
Postcolonial perspective, analyzing identity and relating it with colonialism. The author
also examines the novel as a “writing back” of Jane Eyre.
The feminist point of view has been largely applied on Wide Sargasso Sea. In
effect, it is almost impossible to study the novel without taking into account the Feminist
perspective, since the plot revolves around a feminine character; however, each study
regards the novel from a different aspect. For example, Rebecca L. Farrow (2002) in her
thesis (In)Forming the Female Bildungsroman in Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea and
Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John, she presents a feministic study focusing on the novel as a
bildungsroman where Rhys emphasizes the objectification of women who are oppressed
by the destructive men (2002: 14). As claimed in The Routledge Dictionary of Literary
Terms (Childs and Fowler 2006: 18-19), bildungsroman is a literary genre, originated in
Germany and is usually translated as a ‘novel of growth’, and it refers to “fiction detailing
personal development or educational maturation”. Likewise, Childs and Fowler (2006: 189) put emphasis on this literary genre in postmodernism: “Postmodernism’s attention to the
suppressed narratives of marginalized groups has further expanded the envisioning
potential of the Bildungsroman”. In conjunction, Kaitlin M. Gangl’s thesis entitled Women
Making Progress?: a Study of Wide Sargasso Sea as a Response to Jane Eyre (2007) is a
comparison between Jane Eyre and Antoinette, and it focuses on their childhood, education
and adulthood as women. The author also regards identity in relation to the character’s
context.
Quite related to the previous one, the article “Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, the
Silence and the Voice”, written recently by Ahmad Mzeil (2013) emphasizes the role of
silence and voice that is given to women. The author thus claims that Jean Rhys gives
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voice to both, the colonizer and to the silenced Antoinette/Bertha in Jane Eyre (2013: 36).
Furthermore, “Abject by Gender and Race: The Loss of Antoinette’s Identity in Jean Rhys’
Wide Sargasso Sea”, Iida Pollanen (2012) is another work realized of Rhys’ novel focusing
on Feminism and identity. The author uses Julia Kristeva’s notion of the abject to explain
Antoinette’s lose of identity and her condition of being rejected (9).
Further investigation has been made on Wide Sargasso Sea connecting identity with
both the feminist and postcolonial causes. One of these studies is Conflicts in a Marriage
Antoinette and Mr. Rochester in Wide Sargasso Sea (Helena Ryan Sabri, 2011), which
emphasizes patriarchal power and its influence on destructing Antoinette’s self. Also, in
the article “Bertha Mason in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso
Sea: A Dehumanized Body Redeemed in Different Space and Time” (Ya-hui Irenna Chang
2012) the author analyzes identity, and states that Mr. Rochester epitomizes the idea of the
one with power and who is in possession of the place; therefore, he can decide whose voice
will be heard or silenced (6). In connection with the previous works, we have the thesis
entitled Displacement and the text: exploring otherness in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea,
Maryse Conde’s La Migration Des Coeurs, Rosario Ferre’s The House on the Lagoon,
and Tina De Rosa’s Paper Fish. In this thesis, the author wants to prove that the identity
crisis in Rhys’ novel is caused by the disappearance of the role of the mother in the life of
Antoinette, and also by the “unhealthy marriage” that displaces her (iv).
3.3. Destruction of Antoinette’s Self
As it is acknowledged, Jean Rhys decided to write Wide Sargasso Sea in order to
show ‘the other side’, because as she said “‘that’s only one side,’ Rhys protested: ‘the
English side’ (Ashworth 2000: viii). Jean Rhys saw Creole women as misunderstood and
exploited objects; therefore, when she read Jane Eyre, she “became outraged by the
caricature of the Creole she found in the murky background: faceless, voiceless and
sacrificed to the success story of the famous English heroine” (2000: viii). So, Rhys aimed
at creating a self for that faceless and voiceless West Indian who was used in Brontë’s
novel as a mere object.
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In this part of the essay we will see how Rhys in fact attempted to create an identity
for Antoinette, but she could not fulfil that aim. There are notable endeavours by the part
of the author that try to portray an identity for Antoinette; in fact, we can see Antoinette’s
identity depicted, especially from the beginning of the novel until her marriage. However,
from her marriage, we can see a withdrawing Antoinette, instead of being given a self. Her
identity becomes to fade progressively; until she finally disappears at the end of the novel.
Thereby, there is a process of destructing Antoinette’s self instead of creating it,
which alludes to the impossibility of creating a self for her. Despite Rhys’ efforts, this hope
for constructing an identity for Antoinette cannot be achieved, due to the constituents that
surround Antoinette’s life; and also due to the external agents that impede this identity
construction (such the social and cultural factors). So, Feminism and Postcolonialism are
other elements that help to understanding the withdrawal of Antoinette’s self.
Furthermore, it can be observed that this process of Antoinette’s self is gradual and
variable. There is no lineal progress; instead, there is an unsteady development of the self,
moving up and down depending on the situation, until it finally disappears. So, what Jean
Rhys tries to reflect is an Antoinette with an individual identity that she grants to her, and a
normal life. That is why we see her going through difficulties in her life, as well as
moments in which she feels happy and fulfilled. Gradually, the reader becomes as an
observer who bear witness to Antoinette’s identity sinking into the sea of decadence.
3.3.1. The Process of Antoinette’s Identity Creation
There can no denial that Jean Rhys achieves an identity for Antoinette. The
madwoman was a mere object in Brontë’s novel; but she attains an individual life, and she
actually becomes someone in Wide Sargasso Sea. As Ashworth states in her introduction
to the novel, Rhys rescued this “barking-mad woman” from the attic of Thornfield Hall;
and she is given a life with abilities to think, feel and talk –which were not provided to her
in the former novel (ix). Moreover, Jean Rhys herself declares that her aim in writing the
novel is to “write her a life” (ix). And Ashworth adds that Antoinette is restored to her own
30
island “as a fully developed person, complete with a name, Antoinette Cosway, along with
a face, a voice and a history” (ix).
This takes us to the heart of the matter. What Jean Rhys aimed at is to restore the
madwoman of Thornfield’s attic and create a life for her; granting her the chance of
becoming someone, and not remaining the voiceless woman she had been. Thus, Rhys’
aim was in fact achieved. However, at the same time, she describes the process whereby
this lively Antoinette becomes the voiceless madwoman of Jane Eyre. In relation to this, I
consider that there is a necessity of alluding to S. Gilbert and S. Gubar’s work The
Madwoman in the Attic. These authors state that their interpretation of Jane Eyre reveals
the dehumanization of Bertha Mason and the demonstration of the annihilation of the
other, represented with bestiality (in this case, Bertha or Antoinette) (2000: xxxvi). In Wide
Sargasso Sea, Antoinette is awarded with all the elements that enable her to have a life.
She is settled in a place, which allows her to have a nation that she loves; she is placed
within a family that helps her to develop her identity; she is also given friends that lend her
a hand; etc. Notwithstanding, to make her life more reliable, Antoinette has also to endure
problems and obstacles; since both, obstacles and happiness, contribute in the construction
and formation of life.
The nation to which we belong is part of our identity; and thus, everybody tends to
cling on their nationality and their country, even if they see some weak points in those
places; because this process of striving for the nation and pursing it is innate. The same
goes for Antoinette, who embraces her country and does not want to leave it, as it can be
observed in this quotation after their house had burst into flame: “as I ran, I thought, I will
live with Tia and I will be like her. Not to leave Coulibri. Not to go. Not” (38). Besides all
the difficulties that she endures in that place, she obviously thinks that it is her nation, and
it is the place where she wants to stay, as seen in this quotation: “The sky was dark blue
through the dark green mango leaves, and I thought, ‘This is my place and this is where I
belong and this is where I wish to stay’” (90). In relation to this, it should be remarked that
our home is also another constituent of identity. Antoinette makes a comparison between
the garden of their house and the Eden: “our garden was large and beautiful as that garden
in the Bible –the tree of life grew there” (16). In this quotation we see how Antoinette sees
her home as a source for life, and also as a safe place, the same as in the following
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quotation: “I lay thinking, ‘I am safe. There is the corner of the bedroom door and the
friendly furniture. There is the tree of life in the garden and the wall green with moss. The
barrier of the cliffs and the high mountains. And the barrier of the sea. I am safe. I am safe
from strangers’” (23). So, Antoinette resorts to the objects of her house to feel safe, which
makes us think that home for her is part of her identity and part of her existence; and that
she also acquires some support from it.
Dealing with class and Marxism, it can be said that class and status are also
constituents that contribute in the creation of Antoinette’s identity. As stated in previous
sections, class helps people to feel unity since they belong to the same group as other
people. However, Antoinette does not feel secure when belonging to the poor social class;
since colored people did not like them, especially because they pertained to the group of
slave-owners, as Mr. Mason reminds Annette: “‘Annette, be reasonable. You were the
widow of a slave-owner, the daughter of a slave-owner, […]’” (27). Nevertheless, when
Antoinette’s mother married Mr. Mason they ascended in class, and thus she felt more
comfortable, maybe feeling superiority because of having money. Still, it cannot be
negated that Antoinette feels different when ascending to a higher social class: “Coulibri
looked the same when I saw it again, although it was clean and tidy, no grass between the
flagstones, no leaks. But it didn’t feel the same. Sass had come back and I was glad. They
can smell money, somebody said” (26).
Another element that contrives in the formation of our identity is the family.
Antoinette is assigned a family in Rhys’ novel, which doubtlessly contributes to her
identity composition. The family is a support for Antoinette; they embrace her and make
her feel secure. Therefore, this security and love received from the family boost her spirits,
and thus her identity sprouts peacefully. As it can be noted, security and peacefulness are
significant, and Antoinette can experience them sometimes, as viewed in this quotation:
“and for the first time I was grateful and liked him. There are more ways than one of being
happy, better perhaps to be peaceful and contented and protected, as I feel now, […]” (31).
She likes to feel herself safe and protected, and this protection is mostly given to her by
two people: Christophine and Aunt Cora, as noted in the following quotation: “‘your hair
had to be cut. You’ve been very ill, my darling,’ said Aunt Cora. ‘But you are safe with me
now. We are all safe as I told you we would be’” (38). These sorts of stimuli are the ones
32
that encourage Antoinette and make her love life. When she feels herself embraced by her
family she sees a goal in living, which also enhances her identity.
Still dealing with relationships, it can be observed that despite the fact that
Antoinette’s relation with her mother is not so good, and Anette does not give maternal
love to her daughter, but Rhys bestows other two mothers on Antoinette as said before:
Aunt Cora and Christophine. Antoinette seeks the maternal love she is deprived of in other
people, and she finds it in her aunt, and especially in Christophine, with whom she stays
more time. Christophine had the role of the mother for Antoinette, as she is closer to her
and she is more concerned about her than her own mother. Indeed, Antoinette herself
perceives this love and safety from Christophine, as this quotation explains: “once I would
have gone back quietly to watch her asleep on the blue sofa –once I made excuses to be
near her when she brushed her hair, a soft black cloak to cover me, hide me, keep me safe”
(19).
Friendship is another element that serves as a support in our life and enables the
construction of our identity. In this novel, Tia is Antoinette’s friend, although they were
separated at the end, but we can see that Antoinette was really fond of her: “soon Tia was
my friend and I met her nearly every morning at the turn of the road to the river” (20).
Even when Antoinette’s house was burnt and she thought that nothing was left, she still
remembered Tia and thought that she was the only thing left in her life: “then, not so far
off, I saw Tia and her mother and I ran to her, for she was all that was left of my life as it
had been. We had eaten the same food, slept side by side, bathed in the same river” (38).
Even that her marriage was the beginning of her misfortunes (as will be explained in
the following section), but it had a good intention at the beginning. Jean Rhys used the
marriage as a means for completing Antoinette’s identity; however it resulted on the
contrary. Mr. Mason’s declaration is one of the examples that prove Antoinette’s marriage
with Mr. Rochester to be convenient: “‘(…) I want you to be happy, Antoinette, secure,
I’ve tried to arrange it, but we’ll have time to talk about that later’” (49). This can be
considered as a premonitory warning for the future that is awaiting her. Nevertheless, we
can see her sincerity in stating that he seeks happiness and security for her. What I want to
say is that the marriage aimed at achieving more confidence on Antoinette, but it removed
the remaining hope from her life.
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3.3.2. The Process of Antoinette’s Identity Withdrawal
Maybe Antoinette’s identity withdrawal was unintentional, but it is an obvious
process which takes place gradually throughout the novel (as remarked before). At the
beginning there are slight allusions to her identity loss, but after her marriage was arranged
this process began to accelerate and take huge proportions. There are various factors that
collaborate in eliminating Antoinette’s self, and erase it ultimately. Principally, her race is
the feature that most contributes in her identity destruction; since her racial attributes entail
the other factors which cause her disappearance. Her house is burnt because of racial
hatred; and the same goes for her relationship with her husband: he discriminates her for
being Creole. All these details help in expelling Antoinette from existence.
While her life was beginning to be constructed, Antoinette’s fate began to bring
some unfortunate surprises. When her house was burnt she began to think that she has lost
everything, and that her life was beginning to be destroyed. We get to know this through
her assertion:
But now I turned too. The house was burning, the yellow-red sky was like sunset
and I knew that I would never see Coulibri again. Nothing would be left, the
golden ferns and the silver ferns, the orchids, the ginger lilies and the roses, the
rocking-chairs and the blue sofa, the jasmine and the honeysuckle, and the picture
of the Miller’s Daughter. When they had finished, there would be nothing left but
blackened walls and the mounting stone. That was always left. That could not be
stolen or burned (37-8).
It is clear how she sees desperation in losing all these objects that form part of her
life; she is being deprived of her identity by suffering from the lack of the elements that
conform her life. Moreover, there are colonial hints present in the novel, which induce to
the propagation of identity withdrawal in Antoinette. As noted in this quotation “Long, sad,
dark alien eyes. Creole of pure English descent she may be, but they are not English or
European either” (56), it is implied that Antoinette has no existence, due to the fact of
belonging to nowhere. On further consideration, I think that the previous quotation should
34
be analyzed into a positive way, regarding Antoinette in terms of hybridity and of multiple
origins –not claiming her non-existence as Mr. Rochester implies. In addition, we can
observe in the novel the colonizer’s sovereignty, claiming to be the civilized and powerful
ones, as told to Mr. Rochester: “The first man was not a native of the island. ‘This a very
wild place –not civilized. Why you come here?’ He was called the Young Bull […]. ‘He
don’t know how old he is, he don’t think about it. I tell you sir these people are not
civilized’” (57).
When Antoinette goes to the convent she considers it as a kind of refuge for her:
“this convent was my refuge, a place of sunshine and of death where very early in the
morning the clap of wooden signal woke the nine of us who slept in the long dormitory”
(47) She does not see the convent as an enjoyable place, but at least it is a refuge from the
frightening exterior: “the girls were very curious but I would not answer their questions
and for the first time I resented the nuns’ cheerful faces. They are safe. How can they know
what it can be like outside?” (49-50). This feeling of insecurity is caused by the last events
in her life, which will make her even lose hope in living: “[…] once I prayed for a long
time to dead, then remembered that this was a sin. It’s presumption or despair, I forget
which, but a mortal sin. So I prayed for a long time about that too, but the thought came, so
many things are sins, why? Another sin, to think that” (48). She uses religions as a means
of escaping from reality, although her words give the impression that she is not a faithful
religious person. Antoinette was not a devotee of the religion because she chose it, but
because she was obliged by the ambience where she was surrendered. This can be proven
by her later statement: “All the same, I did not pray so often after that and soon, hardly at
all. I felt bolder, happier, more free. But not so safe” (48). Indubitably, religion is one of
the social dynamics that determines our identity; thus, Antoinette’s identity is also
reshaped by religion. Her identity can also be modified by a null religiousness, or by the
rejection of religion; not only by the commitment to religion.
In the middle of these feeling of disorganization, she remembers that there is no
happiness in her life. Antoinette cannot feel herself fulfilled if she is so sad, and she tries to
convince herself that there must be happiness somewhere: “but what about happiness, I
thought at first, is there no happiness? There must be. Oh happiness of course, happiness,
well. But I soon forgot about happiness, […]” (47). When Antoinette was at the verge of
35
abandoning all hope in life, she was given a new opportunity: her marriage, which ensured
her a taste of freedom and a renewal of her identity (or so she thought).
The first point to remark in Antoinette marriage is that Mr. Rochester married her for
her money, as he himself recognizes: “I have not bought her, she has bought me, or so she
thinks. I looked down at the coarse mane of the house… Dear Father. The thirty thousand
pounds have been paid to me without question or condition. No provision made for her
(that must be seen to)” (59), and obviously he does not love her:
‘You are safe,’ I’d say. She’d liked that –to be told ‘you are safe.’ Or I’d touch her
face gently and touch tears. Tears –nothing! Words –less than nothing. As for the
happiness I gave her, that was worse than nothing. I did not love her. I was thirsty
for her, but that is not love. I felt very little tenderness for her, she was a stranger
to me, a stranger who did not think or feel as I did (78).
It can be seen how he does not love her, all he does is a kind of compassion, or a
gratitude for her giving him money. The deprivation of love that Antoinette undergoes is
another element that involves in her identity crisis, and intensifies the process of her
complete disappearance.
We can also find in the novel examples of patriarchal attachment and men’s
supremacy. After her marriage, Antoinette loses all her fortune, because it goes
automatically to her husband: “‘He will not come after me. And you must understand I am
not rich now, I have no money of my own at all, everything I had belongs to him’” (91).
So, she is obliged to remain with him; apart from the fact that she loses her freedom, she
had not the possibility of choosing to live without him. And that was exactly his aim, to
appropriate everything she has, even her identity: “‘Everybody know that you marry her
for her money and you take it all. And then you want to break her up, because you jealous
of her. […]’ ‘It was like that, I thought. It was like that. But better to say nothing’” (125-6).
His inhumanity and cruelty induces him to take possession of her, making her be the
madwoman of Thornfield’s attic: “Vain, silly creature. Made for loving? Yes, but she’ll
have no lover, for I don’t want her and she’ll see no other. […] She’s mad, but mine, mine.
36
What will I care for gods or devils or for Fate. If she smiles or weeps or both. For me”
(136).
The fact of changing her name is another procedure through which he tries to destroy
her identity, suppressing everything that could empower her. She rejects being called by
other names, and tries to conserve her identity, but fails: “When I turned from the window
she was drinking again. ‘Bertha,’ I said. ‘Bertha is not my name. You are trying to make
me into someone else, calling me by another name. I know, that’s obeah too’” (121). So,
through calling her with different names he achieves to take a total possession of her, and
use her as an object of his own, a doll: “‘She tell me in the middle of all this you start
calling her names. Marionette. Some word so.’ ‘Yes, I remember, I did.’ (Marionette,
Antoinette, Marionetta, Antoinetta) ‘That word mean doll, eh? Because she don’t speak.
You want to force her to cry and to speak’” (127).
This gradual process of taking possession of Antoinette’s self concludes with her
final disappearance. She questions herself who she is and where she is, since she feels
herself lost. This dislocation is caused by her husband; he uproots her from her land and
the familiar atmosphere, to deport her to an unknown space, where she explores a feeling
of displacement: “I get out of the bed and go close to watch them and to wonder why I
have been brought here. For what reason? There must be a reason” (146). She does not feel
herself at England, that beautiful place she imagined: “They tell me I am in England but I
don’t believe them. We lost our way to England. When? Where? I don’t remember, but we
lost it” (148). How would she believe that she was in England if she was imprisoned in the
Attic? She needed freedom, as those “birds” and the “lights” that she refers to: “When I
took the keys and went into the passage I heard them laughing and talking in the distance,
like birds, and there were lights on the floor beneath” (149). The freedom that she aimed at
took place at the end of the novel; however, freedom could only be achieved through
disappearance, to get rid of all the imprisonments from which she suffered. When she
dreams of burning Thornfield house, she is thereby liberating herself, as that can be seen in
this quotation: “Then I turned round and saw the sky. It was red and all my life was in it. I
saw the grandfather clock and Aunt Cora’s patchwork, all colours, I saw the orchids and
the stephanotis and the jasmine and the tree of life in flames […]” (155).
37
38
4. CONCLUSION
In this essay I attempted to present a general view of the theoretical approaches that
contribute in the study of identity and identification. Firstly, I included a description of
identity, and the constituents that participate in the understanding of identity creation or
destruction. Among the theories that participate in the comprehension and creation of
identity we can encounter: Marxism, race and ethnicity, Postcolonialism, and Feminism. I
offered a general view on these theories, and tried to connect them to the investigation of
identity. Obviously, I do not claim to have provided a thorough research, since it was not
possible in the confines of this essay.
In addition, I incorporated a section that comprises the state of art of Jean Rhys’
Wide Sargasso Sea, listing the works that studied identity within the frame of Rhys’ novel,
taking into consideration different theoretical perspectives (such as Postcolonialism or
Feminism). Furthermore, I added some of the hints of the importance of identity and
identity crisis on the author, Jean Rhys, drawing attention to some of her factual life data in
relation to the writing of Wide Sargasso Sea.
Finally, the last section of the essay deals with the study of identity in Wide Sargasso
Sea; establishing connections between the theoretical part and the existing application in
the novel, to justify the impossibility of creating an identity for Antoinette in this novel. In
this part I attempted to prove the author’s achievement in creating a self for Antoinette;
nevertheless, there is also a process of identity destruction that beings when Antoinette
marries Mr. Rochester, and concludes with the character’s complete disappearance
“drifting out of the window” (2000: 147).
As it widely acknowledged, identity has been prominent throughout the history of
mankind. Not only postmodernism emphasises the importance of identity; but also
Romanticism with the exaltation of the individual, or Realism with the representation of
the realistic ‘me’. Therefore, identity and its study vary from epoch to epoch, and it
depends on the social, racial, genre and religious factors. Nowadays, we can recognize that
there is fairly no existence of an individual identity, but rather a hybrid identity composed
of the international and multicultural factors that surround us.
39
On the basis of this affirmation, and taking into consideration the conclusions
reached through this essay, I think that it could be interesting to apply these conclusions
and theories to other works or novels; it would be especially interesting to study identity in
works belonging to different epochs. The peculiarity of this essay is embodied in the
complex personality of the protagonist, Antoinette; therefore, this analysis enabled me to
study identity from various and complicated perspectives, from different theoretical
approaches. On account of this, it can be resolved that identity is such a complex and
dynamic concept, with changeable nature, especially in the current globalized world.
Accordingly, it could also be interesting to apply the study of identity to non-literary texts
(like blogs, or social networks), especially through the ideas achieved in the elaboration of
this essay.
40
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6. Annex
En este ensayo traté de presentar una visión general de las aproximaciones teóricas
que contribuyen en el estudio de identidad e identificación. Primero, he incluido la
descripción de identidad, y los constituyentes que participan en la comprensión de la
creación o destrucción de identidad. Entre las teorías que participan en la comprensión y
creación de identidad encontramos: Marxismo, raza y etnicidad, Postcolonialismo, y
Feminismo. He ofrecido una visión general de estas teorías, y he intentado conectarlas con
la investigación de identidad. Obviamente, no reclamo haber proporcionado una búsqueda
profunda, ya que no es posible en los confines de este ensayo.
Además, he añadido una sección que comprende el estado de la cuestión de la novela
Ancho mar de los Sargazos de Jean Rhys, listando las obras que han estudiado la identidad
dentro del marco de la novela de Rhys, teniendo en consideración las diferentes
perspectivas teóricas (como el Postcolonialismo o el Feminismo). Asimismo, he añadido
algunos de los indicios de la importancia de identidad y crisis de identidad para la autora,
Jean Rhys, prestando atención a algunos de los datos de su vida que están relacionados con
la escritura de Ancho mar de los Sargazos.
Al final, la última sección del ensayo se ocupa del estudio de identidad en Ancho mar
de los Sargazos; estableciendo conexiones entre la parte teórica y la aplicación existente en
la novela, para justificar la imposibilidad de crear una identidad para Antoinette en la
novela. En este apartado he intentado probar que la autora ha logrado crear una identidad
para Antoinette; sin embargo, hay también un proceso de destrucción de identidad que
empieza cuando Antoinette se casa con el señor Rochester, and concluye con la completa
desaparición del personaje “drifting out of the window” (2000: 147).4
Es ampliamente reconocido que la identidad ha sido prominente a lo largo de la
historia de la humanidad. No solo el postmodernismo enfatiza la importancia de la
identidad; sino que también el Romanticismo con la exaltación del individuo, o el
Realismo con la representación del yo realista. Por ello, la identidad y su estudio varía de
época a época, y depende de los factores sociales, raciales, de género y religiosos. Hoy en
día, podemos reconocer que no hay casi existencia de una identidad individual, sino más
4
“Fugándose por la ventana” (translation mine).
45
bien una identidad híbrida compuesta de los factores internaciones y multiculturales que
nos rodean.
En base de esta afirmación, y tomando en consideración las conclusiones
conseguidas en el ensayo, creo que podría ser interesante aplicar estas conclusiones y
teorías a otras obras o novelas; sería especialmente interesante estudiar la identidad en
obras que pertenecen a épocas pasadas. La peculiaridad de este ensayo se plasma en la
complejidad de la personalidad de la protagonista, Antoinette; por ello, este análisis me
permitió estudiar la identidad desde perspectivas variadas y complicadas, y aplicar los
diferentes estudios teóricos. Por lo tanto, se puede resolver que la identidad es un concepto
muy complejo y dinámico, con una naturaliza cambiante, especialmente en el mundo
globalizado actual. En consecuencia, podría ser interesante también la aplicación del
estudio de identidad a textos no literarios (como los blogs o las redes sociales),
especialmente a través de las ideas adquiridas a través de la elaboración de este trabajo.
46