The Portrayals of Rochester from Wide Sargasso Sea and Jayne Eyre

Quite frankly I did not like Wide Sargasso Sea this does not mean that I didn’t think that it was a good book. Quite the contrary, I thought that it was extremely well written; I just hate being wrong. And Wide Sargasso Sea seems to have been written for the sole purpose of making me, and people like me, admit that we were wrong.

When we read Jane Eyre I saw Rochester as a man who had good intentions however he had made some mistakes by going off of the lies and deceit of his father and older brother. However after reading Wide Sargasso Sea I realized just how wrong my assumptions on Rochester’s character were. In Wide Sargasso Sea Rochester is portrayed as an overly pessimistic, weak willed individual who refused to see any views other than his own. Not to mention the scene with Amelie… yhea that’s not helping Rochester’s, “I’m the victim” story.

It wasn’t hard for Wide Sargasso Sea to get its point across since it seems like this book was written for the sole purpose of discrediting every single part of the story of Rochester’s past that is presented in Jane Eyre. And it does this very well. Wide Sargasso Sea uses subtle hints, multiple viewpoints, including Rochester himself, and even surrounding environments (look at how Rochester views Jamaica and how Antoinette viewed England) to hammer in it’s portrayal of Rochester into every one of its readers. This means that I have to admit that I am wrong (and I REALLY hate admitting this) and I owe Bertha an apology for believing the story of the man who was being accused for attempted adultery. Though in my defense he did do something heroic in the end.

Peace out

Will Pugh