After doing some research on Jean Rhys, I found out she did not have the smoothest life. She apparently was an alcoholic and was arrested at some point for being drunk and disorderly. She also had to get married a few times and was at times a homewrecker. A lot of her work seems like she was writing about herself and almost venting. She had a husband and 2 kids (one died at birth). Her husband was imprisoned, and that was when she began writing after being taken under the wing of Ford Maddox Ford. Rhys lived with Ford and his wife in 1924.
Her first novel, Postures (1928) was described as "the fate of the innocent, helpless victim who do not have control of her own life." According to the website posted at the bottom of this post, which has a more detailed explanation about everything, this book was actually about the affair she ended up having with Ford. In the book apparently the main character is a woman who's husband was imprisoned, and while he was gone, the woman is seduced by a friend. Amongst her other novels, there is After Leavin Mr Mackenzie, (1931) which is about a woman who is separated by her lover and has set off to live in cheap hotels where apparently she would talk to herself.
The second novel I mentioned is basically parallel towhat happened Rhys, and it seems as if she considered her writing as a form of talking to herself. If that was how she looked at writing it is kind of inspiring that she was able to take to something she loved and use that as a way to release her inner demons which she evidently had plenty of. She was criticized by others for her opposition of slavery which obviously was a mindset ahead of her time. One last interesting quote taken from her autobiography:
"Black women Rhys considered stronger than white - 'Dear God, let me be black,' she wrote in her autobiography."- I found this to be a very powerful statement, considering the time period. She was clearly very troubled.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rhys.htm Heres the article that I got my information from if anyone is interested in more details.
Her first novel, Postures (1928) was described as "the fate of the innocent, helpless victim who do not have control of her own life." According to the website posted at the bottom of this post, which has a more detailed explanation about everything, this book was actually about the affair she ended up having with Ford. In the book apparently the main character is a woman who's husband was imprisoned, and while he was gone, the woman is seduced by a friend. Amongst her other novels, there is After Leavin Mr Mackenzie, (1931) which is about a woman who is separated by her lover and has set off to live in cheap hotels where apparently she would talk to herself.
The second novel I mentioned is basically parallel towhat happened Rhys, and it seems as if she considered her writing as a form of talking to herself. If that was how she looked at writing it is kind of inspiring that she was able to take to something she loved and use that as a way to release her inner demons which she evidently had plenty of. She was criticized by others for her opposition of slavery which obviously was a mindset ahead of her time. One last interesting quote taken from her autobiography:
"Black women Rhys considered stronger than white - 'Dear God, let me be black,' she wrote in her autobiography."- I found this to be a very powerful statement, considering the time period. She was clearly very troubled.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rhys.htm Heres the article that I got my information from if anyone is interested in more details.
Reading your blog post and learning about Rhys's life story definitely indicates that her novel Wide Sargasso Sea is a reflection of her own life. Knowing that her novels so closely reflected her life indicates that she blended the content of her novel with her personal history. It makes me think of J.M. Coetzee blending elements of his own life and studies into his novel Disgrace.
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