One of the principle ideas that is present throughout Wide Sargasso Sea is the idea that Antoinette doesn't really belong anywhere. Due to her ethnic background she is rejected in the land where she is raised, and because of her ethnic background and because of where she was raised she finds nothing but rejection and isolation in England. This idea manifests itself in a physical sense in the form of fire twice in the novel, causing literal destruction as well as burning away Antoinette's sense of self.
When it comes to Antoinette's childhood home, tensions between the black servants of the area and the white creoles are constantly simmering. Antoinette faces near constant abuse and harassment because of her light skin, and her mother repeatedly warns Mr. Mason that it is not safe to stay where they are. Tensions boil over and her mother's fears are confirmed when black servants set fire to Antoinette's home. The fire isn't enough however, when the family comes outside they are faced with stones and shouts of "Look the white niggers! Look the damn white niggers!" from the angry mob that has gathered. Antoinette is caught between her childhood going up in flames and the people who have made it so shouting even more hate, and she is forced to come to grips with just how rejected she is in this community, the only one she's ever known. The fire is a symbol for any hope that Antoinette has of a normal life being destroyed, a symbol of her being lost.
The second fire is implied in Wide Sargasso Sea, but Antoinette dreams it and anyone who has read Jane Eyre that there actually is a large fire that occurs at Rochester's mansion during the last act of the novel. This fire is set firmly during Antoinette's stream of consciousness section which coincides with her descent in to madness, and her dream reflects that. She imagines one of the common rooms as a church, and sees images of many of her family as she sets fire to Rochester's drapes. Having left her home and taken to someplace that seems more nightmare than reality, Antoinette dreams of setting fire to her master's house--though initially she doesn't know why. It is only when she wakes and waits for Grace Poole to go to sleep that she reflects "Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do" (Rhys 112). The dream inspires her to set the actual fire, representing the first real directive to action she's had since making it to England. This fire represents Antoinette trying to carve her own place in the world since no one else will allow her one--she'll set fire to the place that has imprisoned her as a way to get back at those who would have her silenced. While the first fire in the novel represents loss and a lack of belonging, the second fire will represent redemption.
When it comes to Antoinette's childhood home, tensions between the black servants of the area and the white creoles are constantly simmering. Antoinette faces near constant abuse and harassment because of her light skin, and her mother repeatedly warns Mr. Mason that it is not safe to stay where they are. Tensions boil over and her mother's fears are confirmed when black servants set fire to Antoinette's home. The fire isn't enough however, when the family comes outside they are faced with stones and shouts of "Look the white niggers! Look the damn white niggers!" from the angry mob that has gathered. Antoinette is caught between her childhood going up in flames and the people who have made it so shouting even more hate, and she is forced to come to grips with just how rejected she is in this community, the only one she's ever known. The fire is a symbol for any hope that Antoinette has of a normal life being destroyed, a symbol of her being lost.
The second fire is implied in Wide Sargasso Sea, but Antoinette dreams it and anyone who has read Jane Eyre that there actually is a large fire that occurs at Rochester's mansion during the last act of the novel. This fire is set firmly during Antoinette's stream of consciousness section which coincides with her descent in to madness, and her dream reflects that. She imagines one of the common rooms as a church, and sees images of many of her family as she sets fire to Rochester's drapes. Having left her home and taken to someplace that seems more nightmare than reality, Antoinette dreams of setting fire to her master's house--though initially she doesn't know why. It is only when she wakes and waits for Grace Poole to go to sleep that she reflects "Now at last I know why I was brought here and what I have to do" (Rhys 112). The dream inspires her to set the actual fire, representing the first real directive to action she's had since making it to England. This fire represents Antoinette trying to carve her own place in the world since no one else will allow her one--she'll set fire to the place that has imprisoned her as a way to get back at those who would have her silenced. While the first fire in the novel represents loss and a lack of belonging, the second fire will represent redemption.
Prior to reading your post I did not realize what the fires in the novel symbolized. Now that I know the first represents a lack of belonging and the second redemption their timing in the book and their purpose makes a lot more sense.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that your blog post connects a similar theme involving events from Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. Your connection here is really interesting, and I had never thought about the significance of the fires for Antoinette's character early in the novel in the Caribbean, and at the end of the novel in England.
ReplyDeleteWhat about cinsidering the fire from another point of view . I mean from the slaves's point of view .then we will have another interpretation which is the notion of regeneration .that is , they want to get ride of all the things that remind them of slavery
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