Introduction to Wide Sargasso Sea

Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre

In this course, we explore Jean Rhys' 'Wide Sargasso Sea' alongside 'Jane Eyre'. Written as a prequel to 'Jane Eyre', 'Wide Sargasso Sea' shares many of the same themes (not to mention characters) as Bronte's novel. In this course, we look at the structure of both novels, before comparing and contrasting the major and minor characters. We then move on to explore key themes, including 'Neglect', 'Violence', 'Magic and the Supernatural', and 'Romantic Love'. The course also includes a useful overview of the ethnic backgrounds of all the characters in 'Wide Sargasso Sea' (including a definition of 'Creole')

Introduction to Wide Sargasso Sea

In this module, Janelle introduces Jean Rhys and her 1966 novel, 'Wide Sargasso Sea'. After talking about the author herself, we then discuss the general structure of the book and its relation to Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'