39 Comments

Loved reading this, Kate - so well-researched and thoughtful on these fascinating themes. Reminds me of reading both at uni too and getting stuck into The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. It was one of the first books of feminist literary criticism I'd ever read and shaped so much of what - and how - I've read since.

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Thank you, Charlene. Yes! I pored over that text too!! It has influenced my reading (and writing) ever since :)

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Such a classic, I knew you’d know it! I got myself a copy a few years ago (was always a library copy I used at uni!) and have liked having it around again to dip in and out of.

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Ooh, that sounds like such a great idea! Just having it on the bookshelf alongside the feminist classics is a comforting thought…

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Exactly! She fits right in. 📚

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This is an example of a novel from an earlier era which is successfully critiqued by a later writer working from a slightly more informed and "enlightened" perspective. (More recently, Percival Everett's "James" has reworked Mark Twain"s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in a similar fashion).

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Thanks, David. I find it so interesting when later writers return to the novels that have been so influential and explore their themes through a critical lens.

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You can do it with other media as well. Much of the fiction I write is in similar respectful but critical dialogue with the animated television series I know best.

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I wish more 19th Century novels were reworked. There are some wonderful stories but they are often inaccessible to readers. Of course many were serialised which did not help to make a cohesive story. I read many of these novels when I was a teenager but they are less accessible to the younger people today.

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There has been a recent series of books published that have been offering "remixes" of 19th century novels, which brought this thing to mind for me. An Indigenous Canadian author named Cherlie Demeline has produced a "remixed" version of "The Secret Garden" which tries to remove the negative elements of the original text while retaining the positive ones.

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That is a difficult road to tread. Of course, attitudes and experiences depicted in the past can be hard for the modern reader to understand or tolerate. And you can’t include hundreds of explanatory footnotes. Presumably it is too hard to move stories to the modern day (e.g. Black Beauty pulling carriages), which is why the market is not flooded with updated versions of these stories.

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Unsurprisingly, Kate, I love this... ! Fascinated by the way in which you tease out the dynamics of power - male/female, colonizer/colonized. It's so rich and layered.

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Thank you so much, Laura! That means a lot. I'm so glad you enjoyed reading. Rhys was such a clever writer.

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She's the best! And you make me see new things in her, thank you.

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💕

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I so enjoy your articles, Kate. This is fascinating and a great read. I will definitely read ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ and re-read Jane Eyre. Thank you for all the research you undertake.

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Ah, thank you, Maureen! You are always so kind 💕

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I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you. I remember when I first read Wide Sargasso Sea it gave me a very different perspective on Jane Eyre; which I guess was Rhys's point.

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Thank you, June! Yes, me too. As a lit student at the time, it was so interesting to realise that classic texts can't necessarily be taken as the last word on a subject.

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A fascinating exploration of one of my favourite novels, thank you!

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You’re welcome! Thank you for reading :)

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Oct 5Liked by Kate Jones

Fantastic essay, I love the themes you’ve discussed here and it’s fascinating to see how Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys represented trapped women in their novels. Thank you for sharing :)

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Thanks 😊 Jane Eyre has never been my favourite Bronte novel, but I think there are some really interesting themes in it. Rhys clearly felt compelled to tell Bertha/Antoinette's story.

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I loved reading this, Kate. I’m fascinated by the reworkings of earlier novels, and the subject was ‘shortlisted’ as a possible dissertation idea. So brilliantly researched and beautifully written as always. Thank you!

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Thank you, Victoria. What a fascinating study that would make! 😀

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Kate - Jane Eyre is one of my all time favorite books but I haven't read the Wide Sargasso Sea yet so I am saving this for a later date!

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Thanks, Matthew! Ah, definitely do save the essay as it will spoil the story. With your voracious reading, you will easily read WSS in a sitting I would have thought! It's much shorter than JE but packs a huge, atmospheric punch. Love to know your thoughts on it 😀

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I forgot to tell you that I am saving this for after I read the book! 🤓🙈📚

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That's a good plan as it totally contains spoilers!! I'd forgotten what a short book it was when I re-read it; you could probably do it in one sitting!

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Sep 29Liked by Kate Jones

This is such a well researched and detailed piece, it was such an interesting listen.

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Thank you 💕

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Ok, I've had Wide Sargasso Sea on my shelf for so long...I'm archiving your piece, and I'm going to dust it off this week! It's time to dive in...

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That’s great, Sarah! Yes; definitely don’t read the essay until you have read the book :)

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Sep 29Liked by Kate Jones

Thank you for this enlightening and very well-researched piece. The theme of insanity as the only form of female autonomy available against the backdrop of patriarchal contexts (such as in “The Yellow Wallpaper” & “Desiree’s Baby”) is such a troubling yet an impactful way to communicate how the denial of voice leads to the undermining of any sense of stabilizing selfhood throughout the history of women’s literature.

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Thank you for.reading. I agree; it appears often in women's narratives, sadly.

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To me, a really good book does not need a prequel. But after reading Jane Eyre, you want to know the history of his marriage to his mad wife. Wide Sargasso Sea is a wonderful book. The mad wife becomes a real person, Antoinette and it is one of the most atmospheric books I have ever read.

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I agree; atmospheric is definiely the right word for it. I find it radiates a kind of claustrophobic heat almost. I can almost feel Rhys’ blood boiling when she read Bertha's part of the story, and feeling draw to putting her story across!

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When I first read Jean Rhys’ version of this story I was fully sympathetic towards the mad woman in the attic & how poorly she had been treated. Even though I realise that Jane was a product of the times I always felt like giving her a good slap & telling her to stop being so wet! So glad that, even though there is still much to achieve for women, at least we won’t be used like this anymore.😡

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Thanks, Wendy! Yes...I wasn't a huge fan of Jane either!

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