So, although Jean Rhys wrote her own novel as a form of ‘writing back' in dialogue with Jane Eyre, she chose not to use the same narrative method. Wide Sargasso Sea is told by different narrators: mainly the un-named Rochester, Antoinette (who becomes the mad Bertha in Jane Eyre) and Grace Poole, her guardian and nurse.Jane Eyre says on the title page ‘An Autobiography' and it is told in the first person by a single narrator, Jane herself.One of the most significant technical differences between Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea is the narration. Narrators do not necessarily voice the opinions or experiences of their author directly.
The second are constructions in language: they are made up. Authors and narrators are two different things: Whichever method of narration you are reading, do bear in mind that the voice you are hearing is not the author. The distinction between the author and the narrator They were interested in finding ways of representing the workings of the mind and subjective experience. It was first developed by Modernist writers such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf in the early part of the twentieth century. It is often used as a way of representing a wandering mind, confused memories, dreams or the unconscious. This is a method of narration in which the writing mimics a disjointed flow of interior thoughts and sense impressions. The effect of this is to create a sense of distance between the reader and the narrator. They may also be unaware of their own shortcomings. In a first person narration, for example, readers may be made aware that the narrator does not disclose things they know or have done. This happens when the author wishes to show that to some extent the narrative is unreliable. Other aspects of narration to consider Narrative irony You may come across the term ‘ omniscient' or ‘all knowing' to describe this kind of narrator. Sometimes the narrator may use the first person ‘I' or ‘We' but this is used as a way of commenting on events and their significance The narrator refers to all the characters as ‘ he', ‘ she' or ‘ they'. The narrator is not a character within the events related but is distanced from - or outside - them. This is the alternative form of narrative method and the more popular. These devices include letters, questions and reported speech/dialogue. The author must use a range of other devices for telling readers the things the narrator does not know. What this narrator does not see or understand must be left out. This point of view is therefore one-sided and incomplete The action is seen only from a single point of view the narrator's. However, first person narration imposes limitations on the way in which the story can be told: The story can also seem authentic and ‘real' for these reasons. The story feels direct and immediate because the narrator participates in the action. Readers feel close to the narrator because they share their experience. The narrator is a character in the story so readers come to know them as a person. It offers a writer some powerful possibilities: This method relates the story in the first person using ‘I'. The novel's form contributes to its themes and ideas.įirst and third person narrative First person narration. Jean Rhys builds up her story from multiple perspectives. By looking at these different narrative methods carefully you can see how: This mixture of competing and often contradictory voices has meant that Wide Sargasso Sea has been called a ‘ multi-vocal' or many-voiced novel. 
Also, the voices of other individuals and groups contribute to the narrative via such devices as: Jean Rhys' novel has two main first person narrators who give their own point of view on the events of the story. Websites on Jean Rhys and Wide Sargasso SeaĪ variety of narratives Multiple perspectives.Critical approaches to Wide Sargasso Sea.Biblical, mythological and literary references.Imagery, metaphor and symbolism in Wide Sargasso Sea.Themes and significant ideas in Wide Sargasso Sea.Narrative genres in Wide Sargasso Sea - realism and Gothic.Character, structure and theme in Wide Sargasso Sea.Character presentation in Wide Sargasso Sea.The role and significance of characters in Wide Sargasso Sea.Part two: Rochester's narrative resumes.Wide Sargasso Sea and other writing from the Caribbean.Slavery, slave resistance and the anti-slavery movement.Thomas Hardy, selected poems: context links.Romantic poets, selected poems: context links.The Return of the Native: context links.The Mayor of Casterbridge: context links.
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