Discussion

Pg 121 line 24 to Pg 123 line 31 The dream about the fire + the actual setting of fire on Thornfield

Link to Jane Eyre An innkeeper tells Jane that Rochester's mad wife set the house alight and then committed suicide by jumping from the roof. Rochester rescued the servants from the burning mansion but lost a hand and his eyesight in the process of attempting to save his wife.

Question 1 What are some of the factors that might have led to the difference between Charlotte Brontë's version and that of Jean Rhys?In Jane Eyre, the madwoman in the attic is an obstacle to the union of Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë portrays Mr. Rochester as a man with a dark past who is not to blame for the burden with which he is saddled. Wide Sargasso Sea sees this situation from a different angle. What are some of the factors that might have led to the difference between Charlotte Brontë's version and that of Jean Rhys?

Answer to Qn 1 Charlotte Bronte’s version of Rochester: a moody yet wonderful, passionate, Byronic (possessing the characteristics of Byron or his poetry, esp. romanticism, melancholy, and melodramatic energy), and charismatic gentleman Portrayed as a selfless person for he has a ward, Adèle, from a previous romantic relationship with a French ballerina. Rochester took her in, after her mother died, even though he is completely aware that Adele is not his daughter, because the ballerina had many affairs. Evokes readers’ pity for him when he becomes a blind cripple after attempting to rescue Bertha (Antoinette) from the fire (same as the one at the end of WSS)

Con’t Answer for Qn 1 Jean Rhys’ version of Rochester: Controlling, authoritative; Pg 112 lines 13 – 15, changing Antoinette’s name to Bertha; Pg 123 line 13 Weak of mind/easily deceived; his perception of Antoinette is easily distorted by Daniel Cosway Cruel; He makes love to Amelie as revenge against Antoinette when he found out Antoinette wanted to use a love potion on him Cold; Misread Antoinette’s need for love and understanding as signs of lunacy

Question 2 Is Antoinette really mad in the passage?

Answer to Qn 2 Yes; She becomes paranoid and solitary, prone to vivid dreams and violent outbursts Increasing paranoia over nothing; Pg 121 lines 25 – 26 Unable to identify herself. She doesn’t know that the ‘ghost of a woman’ that she hears about is herself. Also indicates her frightening presence in the house. Caused by her madness. Did not recognise herself in the mirror; Pg 121 line 28, Pg 122 line 23 – 25 Joy at destruction of house and herself; Pg 122 line 21 Unclear about her surroundings at times; Pg 122 lines 26-27, 35-36, Pg 123 line 4 Mood Swings; Pg 122 line 9

Con’t However, she does maintain threads of sanity Able to see through mankind; ‘Gold is the idol they worship’ Pg 122 line 8

Question 3 Why are candles mentioned so many times in this passage?

Answers for Qn 3 Candles Foreshadows eventual death by fire A sign of hope; release from her prison through her death by the fire Pg 122 line 5-7; symbol of a safe haven by being a reminder of a church. Pg 122 line 14-16; Parallels her identity, that it had ‘burned down’ (disappeared gradually), until she ‘took one of the others’ (change of identity, from Antoinette to Bertha)

Constant dropping and finding of another candle; Symbolises her constant changing of identities Pg 123 lines 29-31; Symbolises her spirit, that there had been ‘a draught for the flame flickered’ (Rochester’s interference in her life and identity) and she ‘thought it was out’ (she became a lifeless person for a while). However, it eventually ‘burned up again to light me along the dark passage’ (she got back enough of her spirit to fight her depression by putting an end to it)