The Postcolonial Rewriting of Colonial Stories: Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Rewriting Colonial Stories
  • The Need to Rewrite Jane's Story
  • Intertextuality in the Novels
• The Construction of Otherness
  • The Dichotomy Between Europe and Its Others
  • Knowledge is Power
• Other Modes of 'In-Betweenness'
  • Marginality and Madness
  • Translation
  • The Fear of "Going Native"
• Beyond Rewriting
  • Local Knowledge
  • Limits of Speaking
• Conclusion

Objectives and Key Themes

This thesis aims to investigate the extent to which Wide Sargasso Sea can be considered a rewriting of Jane Eyre and to explore the characteristics that allow it to stand as an independent novel. The analysis employs a selection of postcolonial theories to support the presented arguments.

• Rewriting colonial texts from a postcolonial perspective
• The intertextual relationship between the characters of Jane, Bertha and Antoinette
• The concept of Otherness and the binary division between European and non-European cultures
• Racial stereotyping in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea
• The connection between knowledge and power in the perception of Otherness

Chapter Summaries

The introduction provides a brief overview of the historical context of Jane Eyre's publication and highlights the influence of colonial ideology on the novel. It further introduces the concept of caste as reflected in Jane's choice of Lowood School.

Chapter 1 focuses on the concept of rewriting colonial texts from a postcolonial perspective. It explores the intertextual relationship between Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, examining the characters of Jane, Bertha and Antoinette.

Chapter 2 delves into the concept of Otherness, exploring the binary division between European and non-European cultures. It examines racial stereotyping as represented in both novels and the connection between knowledge and power in reinforcing the perception of Otherness.

Chapter 3 examines other modes of not-belonging, including Jane and Antoinette's marginal positions in their respective societies and Antoinette's descent into madness. It explores Rochester's perceived inferior position in the Caribbean and his desire to escape, using the concept of translation in a postcolonial context and the fear of "going native."

Keywords

The primary keywords and focus topics of this thesis include postcolonial theory, intertextuality, colonial discourse, Otherness, race, gender, madness, translation, and the fear of going native. The work examines these concepts through a comparative analysis of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, exploring how colonial power structures and ideologies manifest in both texts.