paper -203 assignment "The Concept of Pastoral in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys"

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Name :- Aditi Vala

Ma sem :- 03

Batch :- 2020-2022

Paper no.:- 203 [ The Postcolonial Studies ]

Topic :- The Concept of Pastoral in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Roll no. :- 01

Enrollment no. :- 3069206420200018

Email id :- valaaditi203@gmail.com

Submitted to :-

Smt.S.B.Gardi Department of English, MKBU

 Introduction :

Wide Sargasso Sea is a postcolonial novel written by Jean Rhys. This novel is an indicative example of Great Britain’s postcolonial era and how the pastoral discourse accounts for the 

prominence of discussions of identity, displacement and landscape in Caribbean literature. The story is set partly in Jamaica, in Dominica and in England, where it ends. The novel portrays the life of Antoinette from a young age to adulthood. Since Antoinette’s mother turns 

insane, she is practically brought up by the Martinique slave Christophine, who was given as a wedding present to Antoinette’s mother. When Antoinette grows older she marries an English man who is kept unnamed during the whole novel.

Theoretical Framework :

In this section the concepts postcolonialism and pastoral will be defined and discussed. In relation to these concepts, the terms alienation and ecocriticism will be given brief definitions. 

The answer will also illustrate in what way these terms connect to the novel Wide Sargasso Sea.

In similarity, Marx (qtd in Gifford 10), Huggan & Tiffin and Gifford also bring up the subject of escaping when treating the term pastoral. Marx divides the term into two aspects. Firstly, there is ”the sentimental kind of pastoralism” .. Secondly, there is ”the pastoral of mind” .. 

Furthermore, the definitions of concepts that will be used in the analysis of Wide 

Sargasso Sea are Huggan & Tiffin’s, Gifford’s, Sales’ and Marx’ theories about the terms involving identity, displacement, escape and return. In the novel, the protagonist Antoinette struggles to find her identity. She wants to be English at the same time she wants to keep her 

Caribbean culture and she identifies with her childhood friend Tia and the former slave Christophine, both being locals. Huggan & Tiffin are clearly in agreement with these themes playing an important role in the concept of pastoral. Furthermore, Gifford, Sales as well as Marx argue for the importance of escape and return. It could be said that both Antoinette and her husband escape and return in order to show the complexity of postcolonialism.

Lack of belonging and finding your identity in relation to the pastoral :

In this section, the postcolonial themes displacement and identity in relation to the pastoral in Wide Sargasso Sea will be treated.

Ciolkowski, argues that Antoinette’s narrative has the “impossible task in Wide Sargasso Sea to negotiate between the contradictory logics of British colonialism while also wending her way through the Creole culture and post emancipation” . This struggle of loss of identity and belonging in Wide Sargasso Sea is perhaps first represented in the relationship with Antoinette’s black childhood friend Tia. Antoinette’s reflection upon Tia’s betrayal when throwing a rock at her represents her views on her life and the social differences, that imperialism has brought. When I was close I saw the jagged stone in her hand but I did not see her throw it. I did not feel it either, only something wet, running down my face. I looked at her and I saw her face crumple up as she began to cry. We stared at each other, blood on my face, tears on hers. It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking-glass. Antoinette’s struggle for identity is something that returns throughout the novel and it is understood that Antoinette never really comprehends the cultural and physical differences

between herself and the former slaves. In her critical text, Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism, Gayatri Spivak claims that Antoinette is caught between the Creole and English culture and therefore is lost in her identity . Olaussen, too, makes observations on Antoinette’s struggle to find her identity.

Antoinette’s family being former slave-owners and Antoinette being a white creole do not place them in a good position in the new society formed. Again the balance between anti-pastoral and pastoral is apparent in Rhys’s way to portray the postcolonial aspect of the novel.The answer to the question whether the novel is pastoral or antipastoral is perhaps most evident at the end of the novel. As stated earlier, Antoinette is struggling with her identity, not knowing if she belongs to England or Jamaica. By showing the complexity of the pastoral and displacement in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys gives the reader an idea of the internal struggle within the characters as well as aftermath of postcolonialism.

The terms of escape and return in relation to the concept of pastoral :

Two themes that are frequently discussed within the concept of pastoral are escape and return. In Wide Sargasso Sea it could be said that both Antoinette and her husband make some sort of 

escape and return at some point in the plot. As proven earlier in this essay, Antoinette is constantly glorifying England and her image of Britain is clearly beautified. ”Is it true,’ she said, ’that England is like a dream? Because one of my friends who married an Englishman wrote and told me so” . When she realises that she is not loved by her husband she turns to Christophine for advice. Her solution is to go to England, however, she does not have the means to do so. When her husband takes her with him to England she still believes that England will improve her life. At the end of the novel, Antoinette commits suicide by setting fire to the house. In her mind she returns to Coulibri and her childhood.

In Antoinette’s narrative, which continues in Part Three and fives the final meaning to the events taking place in Part One, the alternative vision is expressed. The vision can only exist if the reality of England and the meaning of being a white woman in the context is denied. An identification with blackness is established as the only possible escape . This, therefore shows that Wide Sargasso Sea clearly depicts the two themes of escaping and 

returning that are frequently observed in the concept of pastoral.

Imagery and symbolism connected to the concept of pastoral :

Huggan & Tiffin also connect the patronising animalistic imagery with the historical aspect of the novel. However, it is not only animals that are symbolically used in Wide Sargasso Sea andother postcolonial literature. It is evident that the husband sees Antoinette as a possession and means to get wealthy. When having sex he calls her Marionette instead of Antoinette, referring to her as a puppet . This shows a relationship of power and subordinate often used in the pastoral concept .

In the beginning of the novel, Antoinette is hiding in the garden when eaves-dropping on two gossiping women talking ill of Coulibri. “And what about the stables and the coach house dark as pitch, and the servants’ quarters and the six-foot snake I saw with my own eyes curled up on the privy seat last time I was here” . The presence of the snake obviously is a 

clear symbol of the snake in the Garden of Eden. Snakes are commonly a symbol for danger and poison . The snakes reoccur in the novel once more when Antoinette and her husband are living in Coulibri. “When I asked her if the snakes we sometimes saw were poisonous, she said, ‘Not those, ‘but how can they be sure? Do you think they know?’ Then, ‘Our snakes are not poisonous. Of course not.” . Even though the snake is a common Christian symbol for betrayal, Kubitschek, claims that “The voodoo-tradition, however, considers snakes not only sacred to Damballah, the mightiest of gods, but manifestations of him” . This could be the reason as to why Antoinette replies in such an ambiguous way. The indistinctness in the way the symbol of snakes is present in the novel strengthen the notion of the ambiguous way the pastoral is portrayed. As already 

discussed earlier, Antoinette’s lack of belonging and loss of identity is portrayed through the pastoral and here we see it occur again, in the symbolism of the snake.

Conclusion :

To conclude, the essay has found much proof of Antoinette’s identity crisis and lack of belonging. Her constant struggle between Creole and English is evident in the representation of her pastoral view. She is idealising both cultures and places, perhaps more dominantly England 

during the plot. However, at the end, which is more significant, Rhys’ obviously chooses ‘side’ and let the idea of rural tradition conquer. Moreover, the husband is trying to make himself at home in the Caribbean, a method said to be common in the concept of pastoral. Similarly to his 

spouse, he too, idealises both places, showing the ambiguous perspective of pastoral in the novel.The pastoral characteristics of the imbalanced relationship between coloniser and colonised is portrayed in Wide Sargasso Sea.

Refrence :

Huggan, Graham and Tiffin, Helen. Postcolonial Ecocriticism: Literature, Animals, Environment, London: Routledge, 2010. 

Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2001. 

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism in Critical 

Inquiry” Race, Writing, and Difference Autumn 1985: 243-261. Jstore. Web. 12 Oct. 2012.

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