The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (some spoilers)

[Little Hero]

I finished reading The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys today, a book widely regarded as a modern classic. It is inspired by Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and tells the story of Bertha Mason (those who have read Jane Eyre will know Bertha is Mr Rochester's secret mad wife, who is kept hidden away at the top of Thornfield Manor). In the book, we discover what life was like for her growing up in Jamaica, how she met Mr Rochester, and what ultimately drove her to madness. I was required to read this book, along with Jane Eyre, for my English course. I can't say I found Sargasso Sea quite as enjoyable as Jane Eyre, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

Sargasso Sea's main downfall for me was the way in which it is written. As it is set in Jamaica, much of the dialogue contains references and language which I found hard to understand. My version of the novel had annotations and notes at the back explaining some of the references, but it was annoying having to flip to the back of the book every few pages to look up a word or phrase. This made reading the book quite hard work, unlike Jane Eyre which made for quite easy reading, despite it being written in the 1800's and Sargasso Sea only in the 1960's!

However, the book is not without its good points. It is basically a back story for Bertha Mason, a character who is not gone into with much detail in Jane Eyre, and thus we are unable to feel any sympathy for her - she is just portrayed as a lunatic who Mr Rochester is tricked into marrying. The novel also touches on the harsh truths of race and social class discrimination in 18th century Jamaica. Certain sections in the book are very hard-hitting and disturbing - the end of Part One - when the Cosways house is burnt down, the parrot dies, and Antoinette is shunned by her former best friend - moved me to the point of tears.

I would reccommend this book to anyone who has read Jane Eyre, or is going to, though I would suggest that they read it only after reading Jane Eyre. It provides a thoughtful insight into one of the story's most misunderstood yet crucial characters.

[Eyre-thee-well]

I skimmed through your review because I didn't want to read any spoilers, since I will definitely be checking this book out. I am so excited to read this, since Jane Eyre is my favorite book of all time.