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.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Monday, 29 October 2007
Wide Sargasso Sea, section one
p 24-29
Goes to see mother, goes to school.
Passage on pg 26
Antoinnette- Quite excited about seeing her mother, -wants to see her mother, wants her to have changed- doesn't really believe that it is going to be her mother.
Mother- Harsh, confused, angry and grief stricken...crazy?
Themes
Rejection- from mother, and people looking after her mother.
Black/White- makes a point of saying what colour skin the people have, ingrained in her.
Language-
Unsure, short sentences, not certain, now that she is in a safe place, whether her mother still exists, it's like that was another world. Not much emotion behind the words, fast action. Facts not thoughts.
'Trouble' - repeated several times, as if Antionnette is evil, they are trying to indoctrinate her. Like the black/white issue.
Similarities to Jane Eyre-
Rejected, not liked, not confident, gets expectations up and then is crushed a lot.
Part one.
Lot of similarities to Jane Eyre, exotic description. Narrative voice, so that you can get inside her mind. Racism seems to be the other way round, family is at the bottom of the scrap heap. Stark contrast between the amount of description in the passive and the lack of it in the fast action. Lots of thing scare Antoinnette- action- too painfull to cunjure emotions, blank.
Status
p11
' " She grow up worthless" ' (Christophine) even though she is white she has a very low status in the West Indies, she's a 'white cockroach'
p10
argument with Tia resulting in loss of dress. Prejudices' are passed down the generations, do they know any better, do they have any idea what they are saying?
p12
'sold her last ring' all she has left that has any worth.
'all better than people' she seeks solitude, she longs for it, massive contrast with Jane Eyre.
p14
'Obeah woman' ~(Christophinhe) seen by Europeans as superstition, whitchcraft, poison. Element of the supernatural.
Contradiction, they talk of Christophine as an Obeah Woman but she is in fact a Roman Catholic, unusual for Jamaica.
p15
' " You don't like, or even recognise, the good in them." ' Anette wants to understand and know the local people, even though they hate her.
p16
'the black people did not hate us quite so much when we were poor' it is better to be white and poor than white and rich. Anntoinnette wants to be liked by the black people.
p17
'I was glad to be like an English girl' she likes to feel normal, when she's behaving how she thinks other people think she should, .
p18
Mr Mason sets himself apart from the native people, with English Decor etc.
p20
'So did Mr Mason but more slowly' Mr Mason doesn't care about Pierre, so why is he marrying Annette?
Antoinnette shows very little emotion at anything, which is a huge contrast to her mother, is she bottling it up? Is she emotionally unstable, like her mother, but in a more quiet way?
p22
Aunt Cora: ' "They are laughing at you" ' Why are the people so cruel and spitefull?
Religion
'God who is indeed mysterious' she has faith of some sort.
p23
Religion 'Bad luck to kill a parrot' but not a human?
p24
'"You cry for her- when she ever cry for you? Tell me that?"' The bitterness from the locals is really strong.
Anto about Tia 'It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking glass' They are very similaer yet worlds apart, if circumstances were different they could be friends. It's very sad.
Motifs, snakes, evil the devil.
p25
Looks are important to Antoinnetter.
p27
She is hated by the local children, the prejudice runs deep.
p29
Similarities to Jane Eyre's life at Lowood.
p30
Antoinnettes Roman Catholic education sets her apart from the local childreen.
Helebn- Helen in JE
p31
'Would I be lonely? She asked and I said 'No' ' Like JE she has been cut off from her family.
'This convent was my refuge' a place where she can forget all about her past (JE)
p32
'Hot coffee and rolls and melting butter' stark contrast with meagre meals at Lowood
'wherever her soul is wondering for it has left her body' Her mother is dead? Or is she pretending that she is, in trying to forget, aor can she not quite beluieve that she is alive, what with her being safe.
'Everything was Brightness or dark' she likes things to be clear.
p33
Told that she's leaving with Mr Mason.
She thinks she ought to be happy, so she hides her feelings, she felt safe in the convent, set apart from the worl @(unlike JE)
p34
Dreams about a man and a dress and is worried...Hell?
p35
We learbn that the mother is dead, with very ittle emotion, as if she already knwe it.
Goes to see mother, goes to school.
Passage on pg 26
Antoinnette- Quite excited about seeing her mother, -wants to see her mother, wants her to have changed- doesn't really believe that it is going to be her mother.
Mother- Harsh, confused, angry and grief stricken...crazy?
Themes
Rejection- from mother, and people looking after her mother.
Black/White- makes a point of saying what colour skin the people have, ingrained in her.
Language-
Unsure, short sentences, not certain, now that she is in a safe place, whether her mother still exists, it's like that was another world. Not much emotion behind the words, fast action. Facts not thoughts.
'Trouble' - repeated several times, as if Antionnette is evil, they are trying to indoctrinate her. Like the black/white issue.
Similarities to Jane Eyre-
Rejected, not liked, not confident, gets expectations up and then is crushed a lot.
Part one.
Lot of similarities to Jane Eyre, exotic description. Narrative voice, so that you can get inside her mind. Racism seems to be the other way round, family is at the bottom of the scrap heap. Stark contrast between the amount of description in the passive and the lack of it in the fast action. Lots of thing scare Antoinnette- action- too painfull to cunjure emotions, blank.
Status
p11
' " She grow up worthless" ' (Christophine) even though she is white she has a very low status in the West Indies, she's a 'white cockroach'
p10
argument with Tia resulting in loss of dress. Prejudices' are passed down the generations, do they know any better, do they have any idea what they are saying?
p12
'sold her last ring' all she has left that has any worth.
'all better than people' she seeks solitude, she longs for it, massive contrast with Jane Eyre.
p14
'Obeah woman' ~(Christophinhe) seen by Europeans as superstition, whitchcraft, poison. Element of the supernatural.
Contradiction, they talk of Christophine as an Obeah Woman but she is in fact a Roman Catholic, unusual for Jamaica.
p15
' " You don't like, or even recognise, the good in them." ' Anette wants to understand and know the local people, even though they hate her.
p16
'the black people did not hate us quite so much when we were poor' it is better to be white and poor than white and rich. Anntoinnette wants to be liked by the black people.
p17
'I was glad to be like an English girl' she likes to feel normal, when she's behaving how she thinks other people think she should, .
p18
Mr Mason sets himself apart from the native people, with English Decor etc.
p20
'So did Mr Mason but more slowly' Mr Mason doesn't care about Pierre, so why is he marrying Annette?
Antoinnette shows very little emotion at anything, which is a huge contrast to her mother, is she bottling it up? Is she emotionally unstable, like her mother, but in a more quiet way?
p22
Aunt Cora: ' "They are laughing at you" ' Why are the people so cruel and spitefull?
Religion
'God who is indeed mysterious' she has faith of some sort.
p23
Religion 'Bad luck to kill a parrot' but not a human?
p24
'"You cry for her- when she ever cry for you? Tell me that?"' The bitterness from the locals is really strong.
Anto about Tia 'It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking glass' They are very similaer yet worlds apart, if circumstances were different they could be friends. It's very sad.
Motifs, snakes, evil the devil.
p25
Looks are important to Antoinnetter.
p27
She is hated by the local children, the prejudice runs deep.
p29
Similarities to Jane Eyre's life at Lowood.
p30
Antoinnettes Roman Catholic education sets her apart from the local childreen.
Helebn- Helen in JE
p31
'Would I be lonely? She asked and I said 'No' ' Like JE she has been cut off from her family.
'This convent was my refuge' a place where she can forget all about her past (JE)
p32
'Hot coffee and rolls and melting butter' stark contrast with meagre meals at Lowood
'wherever her soul is wondering for it has left her body' Her mother is dead? Or is she pretending that she is, in trying to forget, aor can she not quite beluieve that she is alive, what with her being safe.
'Everything was Brightness or dark' she likes things to be clear.
p33
Told that she's leaving with Mr Mason.
She thinks she ought to be happy, so she hides her feelings, she felt safe in the convent, set apart from the worl @(unlike JE)
p34
Dreams about a man and a dress and is worried...Hell?
p35
We learbn that the mother is dead, with very ittle emotion, as if she already knwe it.
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
38
Summary
Jane marries Rochester. Adele lives with them. They have a child, Mr R regains some sight. Diana and Mary get married too!
Interesting phrases/extracts
'Reader, I married him' Jabe is proud to be his wife, it is important.
THE END
Jane marries Rochester. Adele lives with them. They have a child, Mr R regains some sight. Diana and Mary get married too!
Interesting phrases/extracts
'Reader, I married him' Jabe is proud to be his wife, it is important.
THE END
37
Summary
Jane returns to Rochester.
Themes
Motherliness- Jane is motherly towards Rochester, swapping of roles, at last Jane has someone to be motherly towards.
Places
link to chapter one, lots of negative place description.
Interesting phrases/extracts
Jane returns to Rochester.
Themes
Motherliness- Jane is motherly towards Rochester, swapping of roles, at last Jane has someone to be motherly towards.
Places
link to chapter one, lots of negative place description.
Interesting phrases/extracts
'It was my master, Edward Fairfax Rochester, and no other.' even though she calls him master does it mean that she still feels inferior? For once in her life she could be called superior, but she doesn't feel it, not really.
' "I am my own mistress" ' she is free of being dependant.
' "Ah! But Jane I want a wife" ' ... ' "Her I love best, Jane" ' contrast with Rivers (SJ) Jane loves Rochester and he wants to marry Jane.
36
Summary
Jane sets off in search of Rochester. Jane goes to Thornfiled, it's been burnt down to the ground, she enquires at the inn as the whereabouts of Mr Rochester. Mr R burnt it down and Mr R has fled to Thorndean, having been blinded and one armed by the fire.
Themes
Religion- Jane refers to Paul and Silas, coming out of the prison freed.
Entrapment- In a way Jane has allowed herself to become trapped again, trapped in her longing to do what she thinks is 'right', when all she wants to do is return to Rochester.
Jane sets off in search of Rochester. Jane goes to Thornfiled, it's been burnt down to the ground, she enquires at the inn as the whereabouts of Mr Rochester. Mr R burnt it down and Mr R has fled to Thorndean, having been blinded and one armed by the fire.
Themes
Religion- Jane refers to Paul and Silas, coming out of the prison freed.
Entrapment- In a way Jane has allowed herself to become trapped again, trapped in her longing to do what she thinks is 'right', when all she wants to do is return to Rochester.
35
Summary
Jane hears Mr Rochester from over the moors, calling her back him, she replies tyhat she is coming.
Themes
'Not that St John harboured a spirit of unchristian vindictiveness-' St John, incapable it sweems of being unchristian, yet not many people feel comfortable in his presence.
' "I must find out what is become of him." ' no 'might' she feels she has to know what has happened to him, she still loves him very much.
Jane hears Mr Rochester from over the moors, calling her back him, she replies tyhat she is coming.
Themes
Religion- St John.
Character
Diana, becomes somewhat of a motherly figure to Jane, along with Helen, Miss Fairfax, Hannah all in contrast with Mrs Reed.
Interesting phrases/extracts
'Not that St John harboured a spirit of unchristian vindictiveness-' St John, incapable it sweems of being unchristian, yet not many people feel comfortable in his presence.
' "I must find out what is become of him." ' no 'might' she feels she has to know what has happened to him, she still loves him very much.
34
Summary
Jane arranges Moor house with Helen for the Rvers. They return home. Rosamund is engaged to another. St John tells Jane to learn Hindustani, then he asks her to marry him and come to India. She refuses sayiong that to marry him she would have to love him and she'd have to know he loves her too.
Character
St John- so very very helpful, almost too much so.
Interesting phrases/extracts
'Since those days I have seen paysannes and Bauerinnen,' She has travelled, will do so in the future, clue about what happens next.
' "The selfish calm and sensual comfort of civilised affleunce" ' (St John to Jane) he is almost unbearable in his need and pushing for justice, helping others, being faithful in faith etc.
'I never dared complain' being in St John's company makes it uncomfortable to be yourelf, knoiwing that he does so much more and never complains.
Jane arranges Moor house with Helen for the Rvers. They return home. Rosamund is engaged to another. St John tells Jane to learn Hindustani, then he asks her to marry him and come to India. She refuses sayiong that to marry him she would have to love him and she'd have to know he loves her too.
Character
St John- so very very helpful, almost too much so.
Interesting phrases/extracts
'Since those days I have seen paysannes and Bauerinnen,' She has travelled, will do so in the future, clue about what happens next.
' "The selfish calm and sensual comfort of civilised affleunce" ' (St John to Jane) he is almost unbearable in his need and pushing for justice, helping others, being faithful in faith etc.
'I never dared complain' being in St John's company makes it uncomfortable to be yourelf, knoiwing that he does so much more and never complains.
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