Shades of Grey in Wide Sargasso Sea

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Recommended: The history of jamaican slavery

Some believe the world is black and white but there isn’t always a clear person to blame for heartbreak or hardship. It is easier to blame something on one person but it’s not always realistic. Rhys portrays this “grey world” theme in Wide Sargasso Sea with her main characters: Rochester and Antoinette. She uses two unique connections to show how the two are intertwined: the first by the racism that they both experience and the second by their own actions/rationalizations that hurt each other portrayed through Rhys’ use of alternation perspectives. Rhys uses these two connections to show how the world is grey and that blame is hard to unburden on one person.

To fully understand the racism that Antoinette and Rochester experienced, you have to understand the racial history of Jamaica. According to an article concerning the emancipation of Jamaica in the 1800s ( jamica-guide.info), England attempted to abolish slavery but was met with fierce objections by the government in Jamaica. Jamaican parliament believed that the slaves were happy and did not crave change which led to an immense conflict which resulted in numerous revolts, one by Sharpe and one by the Creole population led by 21-year old Jordan. There was an immense racism towards whites and the Creole population during this time period, with the Jamaicans, Creoles and Jamaican whites wanting different things: freedom, rights and their power back, respectively. The intense racial tension is felt by Antoinette as a kid and an adult, and Rochester.

After the emancipation, Rhys starts with Antoinette as a young child, who is confused with her own identity. She knows she doesn’t fit into a group, calling the Jamaicans “black people” and the English as English or “white people” (15, 16) and never referring to them as if she belongs to each group; she understands she’s different like her mother who is “without a doubt not English, but no white nigger either.” (33). Rhys also shows how apparent the racism between white people and the blacks are, with Annette hinting at the destructive nature of the Jamaican people when she recalls a conversation between Mr. Mason and Annette with him saying “they’re too damn lazy to be dangerous” and Annette replying “[Jamaicans] are more alive than [Mr. Mason is], lazy or not, and they can be dangerous and cruel for reason [he] wouldn’t understand” (29).

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