A Postcolonial Analysis Of Symbolism In Part 1 Of Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea

The paper offers an analysis of symbols in Part 1 of Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea,a response and prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.It argues that symbolism in the first part of the novel can predict Antoinette's eventual mental collapse.Hence,the research accepts the use of the postcolonial framework with particular reference to the work of Homi K.Bhabha.The postcolonial perspective is supplemented by Edward Said and the psychoanalytical perspective is supplemented by Julia Kristeva's abject.The research proposes that Part 1 of Wide Sargasso Sea preambles the action that takes place in following parts of the novel.The postcolonial theories unpack the varying symbols that lend insight into Antoinette's identity.The ideas that aid the understanding of the symbols are:the colonialist ideology.Eurocentrism,hybridity,double vision,mimicry,the abject.unhomeliness and alienation.The paper concludes by offering a summation of the ideas put forth and by outlining the implications of the perspectives presented.