During the mid 1800s, Jamaica was a place of gender and racial inequality. There was a social hierarchy that existed with white Englishmen at the top, then there were the creoles, who were whites born on the island, after that there’s the freed slaves, and finally the slaves. Women also experienced some sort of oppression the way slaves were oppressed. They were merely pawns used as methods of exchange for money and power through marriages. Wide Sargasso Sea and The Black Widow depicts life in post emancipation Jamaica.

“The Black Widow” by Kathleen Wilson talks about the divisions that existed in 19th century Jamaica. There were four classes: whites who had access to English common law, free people of color who have special privileges earned by private acts, freed people of color who do not have these privileges, and slaves. Among these groups were further divisions. For example, among the whites, there were the English and after them in ascending order were the Jews, Irish, and Scots. Laws were passed to keep this hierarchy in place and have those from lower classes striving to move upwards. Women were used as means of acquiring wealth and upwards mobility through marriage. According to Wilson, the disproportionate ratio of men to women allowed “women from fairly petty backgrounds could aspire to good marriages, but also that widows, as women of property, were highly desirable prizes.” This social hierarchy and gender construction is portrayed in Wide Sargasso Sea.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys takes place in post emancipation Jamaica. During this time, there were many divides among population based on race. Antoinette and her mother, Annette, are both creoles and after the death of Antoinette’s father, they were basically going broke. Annette’s status as a poor widow garnered her the hate of the freed slaves who were also dealing with oppression even after emancipation as many of them were servants to their former masters. This hatred is portrayed in the scene where a little girl follows Antoinette and calls her a “white cockroach” telling her to go away. The freed slaves finally stopped calling them that once Annette married Mr. Mason, who was a wealthy Englishman with multiple estates. Mr. Mason reportedly married Annette for love but one can argue that he actually married her to acquire her estate. He was looking to expand his properties and what easier way to do it than to marry a poor widow.