Comparison of the Wide Sargasso Sea BBC film and of the novel by Jean Rhys.

After reading the novel for the first time I was not particularly impressed by it. I had read Jane Eyre before it and was naturally inclined to compare them to each other, and Wide Sargasso Sea, I thought, was poorer in comparison. I then re-read section one of WSS, and, having been reading more analytically, was more disposed to liking it. I particularly liked the descriptions of ‘wild’ Coulibri. The novel is fast paced and post modern, underneath layers of confusion and wildness.

Like the novel the BBC interpretation is fast paced and very colourful. The way it is shot allows viewers to delve into the story, and follow the characters through their up and downs. However the film, I think, lends itself to the story much better than the novel, because of the ability to switch from one moment and character, to the next, without a need to spend time on explanation or ‘scene setting’. However I thought that the fact that the film did not focus any of its time on the first section was to its demise; I think that because of this we do not have a fair opinion of Bertha, she had no way of explaining her actions. I think that her experiences in the first section gravely stimulate a lot of Bertha’s behaviour, in reaction to the challenges in section 2. I would argue, from the film, that Bertha was not mad, but grimly misunderstood and not in any way treated fairly; it distorts the story. However that is not the impression that I received from the book, this is, I think a bizarre way of representing the novel.

Furthermore I think that the way in which the film epitomises Bertha’s turning ‘mad’ is very unsubtle and far too unexplained. I don’t think that the novel here was fairly adapted, it is, in my opinion, far too simplified, there is no real battle in Rochester’s mind, it appears, as to whom he should believe, this is interesting as it puts into question whether Rochester was ever truly happy with Bertha, or perhaps he was always guarded? This, then, could be a way of explaining Bertha’s reaction to the viewers, she has possibly realised this.

However the film did put more pressure on highlighting the social issues entwined within the novel, the issue of slavery certainly stuck out more in the film than in the book. The element, which film also highlighted to a greater extent, was sex. The film made sex one of its key themes and these scenes were very graphic. Certainly when I read the book this did not appear to be the case and I think that it was not very necessary to do so, however I think that the rape/affair with Amélie the servant was a very well handled element in the film, very much brought out the issues of status after the slave emancipation, and really highlighted the sense of despair which this causes to Bertha.

Overall I thought that the film was certainly an interesting interpretation of the book but that it was very one sided and the book could have been interpreted very differently, but it did make me re-evaluate my opinions of the story.