I'm back!
I follow the YouTube channel Booksandquills : https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandquills
She has recently done a whole week of videos dedicated to Jane Eyre so I was inspired to create my own post in a similar style.
As stated in the title, there may be possible spoilers only because it isn't really possible to discuss 'Wide Sargasso Sea' without giving away some spoilers. If you would like to read 'Jane Eyre' and/or 'Wide Sargasso Sea' and haven't done so already, I suggest you don't continue reading this post.
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre follows Jane's life through her own perspective. The novel starts with a young Jane Eyre talking about living with her aunt and three cousins who she feels inferior to and she becomes very isolated.
The novel follows her journey for independence and freedom through a harsh school she attends called Lowood where the children are made to eat burnt porridge and not wash their dresses more than once a week because the very religious Mr Brocklehurst thinks that otherwise the children will be spoilt and their immortal souls will suffer.
Jane leaves Thornfield and eventually moves to Thornfield hall where she meets Mr Rochester. He pays her 30 pounds per annum for being a governess. She finds herself falling in love with him but he has a few secrets that make Jane question is love if more important than her principles.
This novel brings up many questions about social hierarchy and marriage during that time period. Men would have all the power and control in the marriage instead of relationships being built on equality. Jane Eyre falls in love with someone above her station who she is dependant on largely going against social conventions.
Wide Sargasso Sea
Jean Rhys decides to write from the perspective of a character in Jane Eyre who is mentioned to prevent Jane ignoring her principles. Rhys decides that she wants to give this character a context by writing about her life.
This novella is split up into three main sections. The first section is from the perspective of this particular character. Section 2 is from the perspective of a particular male character Mr Rochester, though he is not named.
'Wide Sargasso Sea' is particularly disjointed in the narrative which can make it hard to follow but it's a really good read once you give it a chance.
It is important to consider ......
I'm studying both of these texts for English Literature which means I initially read these books because I had to analyse them instead of being my choice.
There are several film adaptations of Jane Eyre. I have seen the 2011 version and I'd recommend reading Jane Eyre before watching this as the film follows the sequence of events in a different order.
I have read both of these which means that it is very hard to think about 'Jane Eyre' without remembering what happens in 'Wide Sargasso Sea'
Overall..
I preferred Jane Eyre to Wide Sargasso Sea as the narrative was so much simpler to follow.Saying that, Wide Sargasso Sea has a very interesting storyline.
I hope you enjoyed this type of post.
I will be back to my usual more light hearted/ beauty posts in the near future
Thanks for reading,
Mcsophwar xoxo
