The Gothic Imagination In Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea  

Oleh:

Hartadi, Yohanes

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: 57th TEFLIN International Conference: Revitaziling professionalis in ELT as a response to the globlazed world, Bandung, 1-3 November 2010
Topik: Culture; Literature; and Linguistics; Gothic; isolation; magic; madness and colonialism.
Fulltext: Yohanes Hartadi.pdf (121.81KB)

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Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea was published in 1966. Rhys wrote the novel as a response to Brontë’s Jane Eyre. In her novel, Rhys gave voice to Rochester’s first wife who is locked up in the third story of his Thornfield Estate. This paper argues that Wide Sargasso Sea consists of the Gothic elements with which Rhys develops the theme of colonialism in Jamaica. Generally, the Gothic text displays several key qualities namely a fondness for the eccentric, the supernatural, the magical, and the sublime; psychological insights; representation and stimulation of fear, horror; the exotic settings and locations; omens and ancestral curses. After examining the novel thoroughly, it is found that Rhys makes use the Gothic elements to communicate her criticism of colonialism. The novel is laden with a sense of isolation, as seen in Coulibri Estate after the death of Mr. Cosway and at the end of the story, Antoinette’s isolation in the attic of Rochester’s house in England. A strong macabre atmosphere also haunts Antoinette’s life. It can be observed from the very beginning of the novel when Antoinette tells about three deaths: Mr. Cosways’s, Mr. Luttrel’s and the death of Annette’s horse. Another key elements unfolded in the novel is the terror which haunts both Antoinette and Rochester. They constantly feel that they are being followed and watched by somebody. Another is the spectacle of horror seen in the miserable life of mother and daughter, Annette and Antoinette. Antoinette fails to recognize her mentally-degraded mother when she visits her in her house. Likewise, her stepbrother Richard Mason cannot recognize Antoinette when he visits her in the attic of Rochester’s Thornfield house. Finally, Antoinette who is growing mad becomes her mother’s doppelgänger, the double of Annette. Antoinette becomes the Female Gothic persecuted by her villainous patriarchal husband. Through the strong atmosphere of the dark, death, magic and madness, Rhys criticizes colonialism and patriarchy which subjugates women.

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