The Mother (land) as a Mirror: Reflections on Identity in Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea Wide Sargasso Sea is a strangely beautiful and haunting tale of a certain Creole Madwoman locked up in an English attic without a voice and without a past. Jane Eyre provided the inspiration for Rhys novel but the work is not limited to a simple answer to the earlier text. Rhys takes on a multitude of issues concerning the effect of the decaying colonial system onthe Caribbean. Among these concerns is the issue of identity, which Rhys addresses through the complicated and often symbolic mother-daughter relationship.
Antoinette Cosway begins her narration at a definitive point in her childhood when the circumstances under which she lives have begun to intensify. She lives in a volatile world of sudden change and uprising- herold way of life is crumbling before her young eyes. This is the arena in which Jean Rhys sets up her post-colonial discourse of one of the most mysterious characters in English Literature, and the most intriguing part of that discourse is the issue of identity in relation to the Mother and motherland. The mother-daughter relationship can be defined in terms of a mirror, and the success of that relationship is shown in the quality and the depth ofthe reflection. The mother figure represents the first external mirror, eventually internalized, into which a girl child looks to discover her identity. (Scharfmann, p.
The Essay on Mother and Daughter, a Heavenly Relationship Failed
Daughter and mother relationship is an endless topic for many writers. They are meant to share the bond of love and care for each other. In the real world, however, their relationship is not as successful as it ought to be. The stories “How to Talk to Your Mother” and “I Stand Here Ironing” are the examples of this conflict. Lorrie Moore is distinguished for the clever ...
89) This novel uniquely depicts how different issues, some beyond human control, can thwart this mirror bond and cause a destruction ofidentity- mother s face is not then the mirror. The result of this is detrimental. So perception takes the place of apperception, perception takes the place of that which might have been the beginning of a significant exchange with the world, a two-way process in which self enrichment alternates with the discovery of meaning in the world of seen things (Winnicott p. 113).
There is an intense focus on the power of the mother figure and the search for identity in the novel. The most important aspect of that power isthe ability to give to and receive from the daughter the strength of a concrete identity, the peace in knowing who you are, and the foresight of where youre going and where you have been. This beautiful and revolving flow ofidentity realization between the mother and daughter is not possible in this novel for two distinct and separate reasons, one is selfishness and the other isthe problem of when the land and the body do not coincide. The mother figure and failed mirroring is represented in two characters-Christophinewhose power lies in love that transcends biology and race, and AnnetteCosway (the birth mother) who has an equal and opposite power to wreck havoc and despair through the cold rejection of her daughter. The [birth] mother herself is an emblem and a victim of the colonial system. Her plantation is a relic, an island of white now adrift in a black sea where, as she says, she is marooned.
(Scharfmann, p. 100) The protagonist Antoinette longs to have a connection with her biological mother but the alienation of their relationship is apparent even on the first page. Her mother Annette, from which her own name is a derision, is described as she pretty like pretty self (Wide Sargasso Sea, p 1).
The insinuation of such extreme narcissism is very telling. Her coldness is proven quickly as well: A frown came between her black eyebrows, deep-it might have been cut with a knife.
I hated this frown and once touched her forehead trying to smooth it. But she pushed me away, not roughly, but calmly, coldly, without a word, as if she had decided once and for all that I was useless to her… Oh let me alone, she would say, let me alone. (p.
The Essay on In The Name Of Salome: Mother And Daughter Forever
Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Name of Salome” weaves together the life and spirit of Salome Urena, and her daughter, Salome Camila, through a journey of political turbulence in the Dominican Republic. Throughout her life, Salome describes the chaotic days of rebellions and the calmness of transitory peace between political powers. The book trails the history of the Dominican ...
20) Christophine, a old wise Obeah woman who is a former slave of theCosways, takes over as the emotional mother of Antoinette. Her failure lies in the distinct correlation in the novel between the reflective quality of them other-daughter relationship and the land of their birth. This is the reason that keeps Christophine, despite all her love, from being Antoinette s mirror. Antoinette Cosway is a girl without a nation. She is alien in any setting whether it be the land of her birth or the land of her ancestors.
Even thoughChristophine is essentially Antoinette mother, her strength, the only one who can console Antoinette and understands all her complexities she cannot save Antoinette. This love may seem boundless but it cannot over step one deep divide-Antoinette is not and can never be one of Christophine s people. Christophine cannot see herself in Antoinette. The reflection is one sided. Antoinette cannot be a part of the island, she is a lone and dying exotic breed-a strange mix of Creole culture and English skin. She exists in the margin, she is a blur of different textures that are destined to decay in the wake of the passing colonial way of life.
This gap cannot be bridged by love, hope or understanding -for it is as wide as the Sargasso. She cannot belong: It is that song about white cockroach. That s me. That s what they call us who where here before their own people in Africa sold them to slave traders.
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