Wide Sargasso Sea Sexism

Throughout history, literary works have been used to make social and political statements and encourage discourse between its readers and others. They provide insight into the views of the times during which they were written, and sometimes they are critical and try to instigate change. For ages, characters and plotlines have served to enlighten and entertain entire societies. When a novel comes along that manages to carve into the hearts of humanity for generations, resonating with people across time. In this case, two novels are working in tandem to make their points, advocating for equality from two different perspectives. Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, acting as two sides of the same story, serve to comment on the rampant sexism and racism

She does not run away, she does not launch an attack, and she is unable to preserve her past self while under Rochester’s thumb. She has no real power, as it all lies in the hands of her husband. The amount of control that Rochester has over Bertha’s life clearly characterizes him as a powerful figure, but it is how he uses his power that earns him the title of “male oppressor”. This is shown through the narrative structure displayed in the second half of Jane Eyre; it is what earns Rochester the right to be called truly oppressive. He saw Bertha “safely lodged in that third story room, of whose secret inner cabinet she has now for ten years made a wild beast’s den” (Bronte 360). In other words, Bertha was confined to one room for ten years, with only one woman to talk to. In this way, Rochester controls every aspect of Bertha’s life. He even goes so far as to claim that it was for her own safety—she was “safely lodged” and a “wild beast”. Bertha has no speaking lines at all when her story is being told. Again, she is at Rochester’s mercy. Again, she is the passive victim to Rochester’s controlling force. Again, Rochester is shown to be the male oppressor while his wife is the oppressed female.

In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rochester represents everything wrong with imperialist cultures—he has no respect for the culture that he finds in Jamaica. He insults the country almost as soon as he arrives, saying that Amelie is “sly, spiteful, malignant perhaps, like much else in this place” (Rhys 59). Later, Rochester willingly beds Amelie (Rhys 127), who is half-caste, despite her being so representative of the land that he clearly loathes. This shows that Rochester is capable of overlooking his prejudices when it suits him—like when he wants comfort, of the physical variety. However, the morning after, he reverted to his original, racist ways. All of a sudden, Rochester is focusing on her skin color, noting that “her skin was darker, her lips fuller than [he] thought… [He] had no wish to touch her and she knew it” (Rhys 127). The fact that these features, typically characteristic of those with African ancestry, are what made Amelie so unappealing to Rochester all of a sudden, is very indicative of his views. He is willing to take advantage of them, but he is unable to desire them. He can assert his power, but not show the slightest bit of compassion. He is truly an unsympathetic colonizer, taking what he wishes and giving nothing in return. This reflects the view of imperialism from the perspective of the colony (wholly negative and demeaning),