Various Ties Linking Modern Literature
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Various Ties Linking Modern Literature:
The Multiple Relationships Defining Wide Sargasso and Jane Eyre
Abstract
Throughout Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë and Wide Sargasso Sea, written by Jean Rhys, there are obvious connections that link both pieces of literature. Within both texts, there are prevalent religious themes, along with feministic and Marxist ideas that both authors implemented in their writings. While researching and precisely choosing these texts, the underlying motifs, helped to peak interest in continuing the analysis provided below. The common questions that came across during the research process fueled the logic to identify additional correlations that outlined the works. A few of the questions stumbled upon, included: How does Ideology, Agency, and Class, contribute to the novel of Jane Eyre? (Vanden Bossche, 2005, p. 46), How does Feminism and Christianity tie into Jane Eyre? (Lamonaca, 2002, p. 245), How do the Feminist Criticisms connect to Wide Sargasso Sea? (Bosche, 2005, p. 46). Finding the answers to these questions, while posing quite difficult, paved the way for an interesting connection between the two novels that could go unnoticed.
Keywords: Religion, Christianity, Marxism, Class and Feminism
In many pieces of modern literature, written anywhere from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century, there have been common ideologies that are able to connect with many other works. When researching Jane Eyre, as well as Wide Sargasso Sea, many similarities stuck out. Throughout Brontë's novel, it is apparent that Jane feels stuck in the ways of the British class structure along with the reoccurring issue of whether or not she should succumb to the patriarchal society. Jane allows herself to acquire a confident mindset, in which she tries to break out of her set class and live a different lifestyle. This confident mindset also grants her a new outlook that differs from those who are the main patriarchal figures in the novel. Religion and femininity are often found to be intertwined and Brontë tries to include the importance of the two by making them one. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Annette also struggles with class, due to the oppression and entrapment she endures as a result of slavery. Along with the conflicts that arise with slavery, Antoinette, another main character, faces dependency issues upon her husband. The women's "childlike" dependence on largely important patriarchal figures in the novel, illustrates a sort of figurative slavery that becomes very literal once Antoinette is taken into physical captivity. The introduction to new religions also plays a role in how Antoinette and other protagonists are cleverly forced to aide England and boost their economic as well as international standing.
In history, religion has been a prevailing topic in literature and writing. Brontë depicts religion in a way that may go undetected in the novel. As a young woman, Brontë...
