1. Wide Sargasso Sea Day 2

2. Quiz 1. What’s the name of the town near the Honeymoon retreat? 2. How much money does the male protagonist gain from his marriage to Antoinette? 3. Who is Amelie? 4. What does Daniel Cosway tell the male protagonist in the letter he sends? 5. What does the male protagonist see when he gets lost in the woods?

3. Quiz cont. 6. Why does Antoinette go to see Christophine? 7. What advice does Christophine give to Antoinette about her marriage? 8. Aunt Cora begs Richard to do something for Antoinette before the marriage. What is it?

4. Using Binaries to read Wide Sargasso Sea Center and Margin – we tend to think in terms of opposites. Mentioning one term in a pair, almost always evokes the opposite term. Black Black Good Good Truth Truth Femininity Femininity Rationality Rationality Mind Mind Up Up When we think in these terms, we also tend to privilege one of the terms over the other. One is better than the other. This is the centered term. The other is marginalized.

5. But, opposites aren’t really opposites. Take light vs darkness. Light needs darkness. If there were no darkness, we would not have light either because we would not recognize it for what it is… p. 129 of LT. Take light vs darkness. Light needs darkness. If there were no darkness, we would not have light either because we would not recognize it for what it is… p. 129 of LT. Oppostional terms end up marginalizing the “either/or” position and centering “both/and” position. Oppostional terms end up marginalizing the “either/or” position and centering “both/and” position.

6. Assignment With a partner, find examples of the following pairs of opposites in what you’ve read so far. Try to find examples of the way(s) Rhys moves from “either/or” to “both/and.” With a partner, find examples of the following pairs of opposites in what you’ve read so far. Try to find examples of the way(s) Rhys moves from “either/or” to “both/and.” Truth/falsehood Truth/falsehood good/evil good/evil rationality/irrationality rationality/irrationality thought/feeling thought/feeling nature/culture nature/culture masculinity/femininity masculinity/femininity black/white black/white rich/poor rich/poor

7. Metanarratives The center produces metanarratives – or texts which declare themselves to be universally valid. The center produces metanarratives – or texts which declare themselves to be universally valid. Postcolonial writers work to destablize these metanarratives, to tell the story of the margins, the sub-alterns, to create gestalts, so that you can never see the center without being conscious of the margin. Postcolonial writers work to destablize these metanarratives, to tell the story of the margins, the sub-alterns, to create gestalts, so that you can never see the center without being conscious of the margin. Has Rhys done this effectively in her novel so far? Has Rhys done this effectively in her novel so far?