Victorian notions of hysteria and female sexuality in this novel, reappropriating them for her own. Historiographic metafiction chapter 17 the cambridge history of. Jean rhys wide sargasso sea 1966, john fowles the french. This is categorically a postmodern art form that relies heavily on textual play, parody and historical re. Jean rhys wide sargasso sea gives a radically different reading. Since wide sargasso sea writes back to a precursory novel, which is. Books such as jean rhyss the wide sargasso sea 1966, fowless the french lieutenants woman 1969, ishmael reeds mumbo jumbo 1972 and flight. Wide sargasso sea is a novel by jean rhys that was first published in 1966.
Wide sargasso sea is a powerful, dramatic, and demanding book which offers great rewards to the careful reader and this penguin student edition is a valuable help to those exploring the strange world created by rhyswhether or not they are making a detailed study of the text for course work. The theory and practice of selfconscious fiction a bit of a bible on metafiction. And fingersmith recalls rhyss the wide sargasso sea by once. An introduction to wide sargasso sea the british library. She has also written good morning, midnight 1939 and sleep it off lady 1976 and the internationally acclaimed wide sargasso sea 1960.
Space and sexuality in the postvictorian fiction of sarah. As a work of postmodernist and historiographic metafiction, it violates established. See a complete list of the characters in wide sargasso sea and indepth analyses of antoinette, christophine, and mr. She writes wide sargasso sea as a prequel to charlotte brontes nineteenth century famous novel jane eyre, which tells a backstory of a character from jane eyre. Rochester antoinette cosway aka madwoman in the attic. A term originally coined by linda hutcheon, in a poetics of postmodernism, historiographic metafiction includes those postmodern works, usually popular novels, which are both intensely selfreflexive and paradoxically lay claim to historical events and personages. Set in postemancipation jamaica, the novel traces the life of antoinette cosway, better known as bertha mason, as she becomes the first wife of edward rochester and finally, the notorious madwoman in the attic. Jean rhyss wide sargasso sea takes a stab at what that story might have been.
Bidisha describes how jean rhyss novel portrays the racial and sexual exploitation at the heart of western civilisation and literature. Historiographic metafiction literary theory and criticism. In wide sargasso sea, author jean rhys creates a metafictional rewriting of. Jean rhyss reputation was made upon the publication of this passionate and heartbreaking novel, in which she brings into the light one of fictions most mysterious characters. Cosway, reportedly drunk himself to death, his finances in ruins after the passage of the emancipation act of 1833. Jean rhyss wide sargasso sea 1966 and john fowless the french. It anticipates jean rhyss influential wide sargasso sea published in 1966.
Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a. In wide sargasso sea, author jean rhys creates a metafictional rewriting of charlotte brontes jane eyre. Wide sargasso sea is not just a great novel, it is many brilliant books in one. Set in postemancipation jamaica, the novel traces the life of. Evaluation of intertextuality and irony in jean rhyss wide sargasso. Wide sargasso sea is a 1966 novel by dominicaborn british author jean rhys. This is categorically a postmodern art form that relies heavily on textual play, parody and historical reconceptualisation. Rhyss revision of brontes novel aims at giving a voice to the silenced other, to a jarring. It is worth noting, though, that rushdies novel never claims to be anything more. The white daughter of exslave owners, she lives on a rundown plantation called coulibri estate. Evaluation of intertextuality and irony in jean rhyss. The number of rewritings prompted by charlotte brontes novel made it ideal for the experiment3. Hutcheons historiographic metafiction, as well as characters and events from earlier.
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