WIDE SARGASSO SEA BY JEAN RHYS

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CARIBBEAN LITERATURE
RESEARCH PAPER/PROJECT
Research Topic: ‘Dysfunctional Families leading to Paranoid Identities in
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys’
Fragmentation and paranoia are the two vital concepts of postmodernism that
are dominant in Wide Sargasso Sea, by Rhys. In postmodern texts, the psychology
becomes the new reality. Most of the postmodern and postcolonial novels like God
of Small Things by Roy and Maps for Lost Lovers by Aslam have been narrated with
the aid of the psychological perspectives of their protagonists. God of Small Things
unveils the psychological conflicts from which the characters (Estha, Rahel, Ammu
and Velutha) suffer because of their oppressive lives. On the other hand, Aslam’s
Maps for Lost Lovers portrays the physical and oppression that the stereotypical
Eastern societies conduct on the inhabitants of Dasht e Tanhai (a town in Great
Britain). The novel vividly portrays the shattering effects of Diaspora and paranoia
that cause intense inner turmoil in lives of its main characters (Shamas and Kaukab),
stifling their internal growth and the ability to acquire success and happiness.
Like Arundhati Roy and Nadeem Aslam, Rhys has contributed in the field of
literature by composing such a remarkable piece of literature that clearly sketches
the consequences of gender discrimination, cultural hybridity and the psychological
conflicts that racism incites. The novel revolves around the tragic lives of Antoinette
and her mother Annette. Antoinette’s father died when she was very young. Due to
the atrocities of the natives of pure hatred and discrimination against whites,
Antoinette’s childhood was filled with loneliness, poverty, anxiety and fear. After
the black slaves set Antoinette’s house on fire, her brother died during that incident
and unluckily her mother lost her mind. Afterwards under the arrangement of her

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stepfather, Antoinette got married to Edward Rochester. Because of some
misunderstandings, the essence of her marriage got lost and she, like her mother lost
her mind. Confused and horrified because of the tortures that she faced during all
her life she sets the attic on fire and therefore commits suicide.
Born as a Creole and a female Antoinette seems to be doubly marginalized in
a society that is highly patriarchal and racist. As an oppressed Creole in Jamaica, the
tussle between blacks and whites locked the ‘hybrid’ Antoinette into a cage of
psychological paranoia and anxiety as she was unable to locate where she actually
stands and exist. The conflicts of her family and the stereotypical Jamaican society
caused little Antoinette to suffer confusion of self-identity. The blacks called her
‘white nigger’ or ‘white cockroach’, and told her that nobody wants her. It is like a
curse that went deeply rooted in Antoinette’s heart. Antoinette’s whole childhood
as mentioned earlier, was surrounded by chaos. She did not get and enjoy the
pleasures of a wealthy family. She suffered the austerity and instability of life at a
very immature age. During her childhood, nobody would talk to her or with her
mother. She never had any friends. The people around her were hostile and impolite
towards them. Therefore, it is just and expected of her to become the victim of the
social contradictions.
An absent father figure and an insane mother are the only ones that she can
call her own in an era that is marred by in humanism and hostility. Her mother due
to her failed marriage and loss of her only son lost her mind. Annette became so
paranoid due to the tragic circumstances that she faced, that she completely
distanced herself from her daughter Antoinette, and the society. Antoinette’s
childhood was surrounded by a perpetual darkness of hatred and revenge. The tragic
fate of her family had great influences on little Antoinette’s life. Since her childhood,
her whole family was disturbed, fragmented and paranoid. Even her neighbors and

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servants, turned against her, because she was a part of a dysfunctional family of
hybrids.
As, Antoinette’s family failed to provide her enough attention and care
therefore she became gloomy and depressive. Her mother also did not give her
enough attention and care. As the novel opens, the readers come to know that
Annette devoted much of her time to her sick son, looked after him and, thus paid
very little attention to her. As Antoinette says, “But she pushed me away, not
roughly but calmly, coldly, without a word, as if she had decided once and for
all that I was useless to her …I was a little afraid of her” (J. Rhys, 1966). In
general, Antoinette lost her father in her childhood, she did not have a normal, happy
family and her life was lacking in love and harmony. The familial and societal
conflicts that kept repeating in her life, gloomed Antoinette’s childhood and her
whole life. As the famous psychologist, Freud pointed out, “childhood has
immeasurable influence on people’s life and is source of happiness and
painfulness when people become adults” (1). Fate rules the life of every human
being in this world. Humankind cannot control their fate or mold it according to their
own wishes, especially a woman who was born in a dysfunctional family. A
stereotypical flawed society and family are responsible for Antoinette’s tragic fate.
Like Oedipus Rex, she is a tragic figure. Her childhood was marred by loneliness
and depression. When she grows up, marriage seems to be the only way that could
bring a change to her tragic life. Therefore, she expected a lot from her future
husband.
Unfortunately, events did not happen according to her wishes. She married an
English man named Rochester, and therefore the war of racial inequality and gender
inequality started in their home. Thus, abandoned by her husband is the direct cause
that makes Antoinette fall into despair and set the fire to end her life.

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The role of the community is dominant and decisive. To some extent, the
personal destiny is in the hands of the society. If Antoinette was not born in this
drastically stereotypical and harsh society and had a normal happy family, then there
is a possibility that her life might have been completely reversed and better.
Adversity coupled with misfortune gloomed her, totally nearly suffocated her and
made her prone to paranoia and self-annihilation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES:
Lapsley, Daniel K. and Paul C. Stey. “Id, Ego, and Superego.” University of Norte
Dame:
Indiana, 2011. Print.
"Paranoia." Cause, Symptoms, Treatment and Cure. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1997. Print.
(The End)