An Ecofeminist Reading Of Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea

Jean Rhys(1890-1979) was regarded as “the best living English writer” and “oneof the finest British writers of this century” by Alfred Alvarez of New York TimesBook Review. Her publication of Wide Sagarsso Sea won her the Royal Society ofLiterarure Award and the W.H. Smith Award, which is considered as the her mostsuccessful work. Wide Sargasso Sea is usually regarded as the prequel to Jane Eyrewritten by Charlotte Bronte. Since its publication, it has produced heated disscusionsamong literary critics from various perspectives. International studies and domesticstudies on Wide Sagarsso Sea are mainly from the perspectives of its relation withJane Eyre, feminism, post-colonialism, psychoanalysis, the Caribean features of thenovel, and so on.Ecofeminism is the combining of feminism and ecology. Ecofeminists agree thatthere are important connections between the domination over women and nature, asthe common domination of women and nature is due to the binary oppositions of thepatriarchal society. All feminists embrace two common attitudes: one is thatecofeminists strongly reject the oppressive patriarchal concept which justifies men’stwin domination over nature and women; the other is that feminists aim at theachievement of ecological sustainability and equality between women and men.This thesis consists of six parts. Chapter One is an introduction to Jean Rhys andher works.Chapter Two is the theoretical basis and relevant literature review. It introducesthe development and major theories of ecofeminism, and the studies of this novel athome and from abroad. Studies of this novel have mainly focused on postcolonism,feminism, archetypal criticism, ecological ethics, character analysis, the causes of thetragedy and its relation with Jane Eyre.Chapter Three, Chapter four and Chapter Five are the main part of the thesis.Chapter Three reveals men’s domination over women through four aspects:ecomony, sex, identity, freedom and women’s resistance. Annette, Antoinette and Christophine are the representative resisters. They are brave and full of rebelliousspirit. They fight against patriarchal domination through refusing to be controlled bymen. Though they fail in the end, they do change their living situation to some extend.Chapter Four shows the patriarchal oppression over nature through the analysisof men’s and women’s different attitudes towards nature. On the one hand, men’saffection towards nature changes with his own emotion and they seldom stop spoilingnature. On the other hand, women care and love nature no matter what situation theyare in. So women are doomed to be loyal protectors of nature.Chapter Five shows the close relation between women and nature. Women inthe novel are naturalized and nature is full of female characteristics. The similar statusand experience in the patriarchal society make them more closely related.Chapter Six is the conclusion, which summarizes this paper, and addresses thesignificance and limitaions of this study.