Erwin Lee in “History and Narrative in Wide Sargasso Sea” explains where did Jean Rhys took the idea to write “Wide Sargasso Sea.” Lee explains that the idea came as a nationalistic approach. Rhys, who lived in England and wrote the novel post WWII, felt uncomfortable in how people saw Bertha from “Jane Eyre,” and decides to write a novel about Bertha/Antoinette. Wide Sargasso Sea makes one realize that Bertha is no longer the “Poor Ghost” from “Jane Eyre”, but a person with a background and history, a human being, a Heroin. Furthermore, this helps one question whether Antoinette AKA Bertha was the villain in Jane Eyre. Hence, the inevitable realization from “Wide Sargasso Sea” is that Bertha was the savior in Jane Eyre, and tried to help Jane from the bad person, Mr. Rochester.

In Addition, Lee also mentions that we must look at the book as a whole and understand that Rhys writes a two points of view on purpose. Not only to authenticate the validity of Antoinette’s information, but also to show her blindness to her surroundings. Mr. Rochester’s points of view prove that he was true misogynist as well as racist. When Mr. Rochester said “for a moment she looked much like Amelie” he makes one realize that he cannot distinguish between different people, and only because they have a dark skin it does not mean that they are the same, that they are “family.” Lee’s significant analysis on the latter assists one understand that it is not Antoinette’s fault for all that is happened to her, and that true responsible for the Antoinette’s destiny is the colonialism that took everything away from her, or more specifically Mr. Rochester who was the last straw for her to commit suicide.

-Ilya Ratner