A Myth-archetype Interpretation On Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea is regarded as the prequel to Jane Eyre. Since the publication of this novel, it immediately attracted much attention from the critics and the strong responses from the readers. Because of this novel, Jean Rhys was called"the best living English novelist"by A. Alvarez in the New York Times Book Review.The works studying on Wide Sargasso Sea appear numerously. Most of these works analyze from perspectives of feminism,post colonialism,its relationship with Jane Eyre and its Caribbean qualities. Besides these perspectives, many researches in the other aspects have been done, such as psychoanalysis, narratology, mythic features and so on. However, there are few persons to do research from the perspective of the myth-archetype. Therefore, on the base of the past research achievements, this thesis intends to explore the important archetypes by making use of the archetypal criticism. The deep meaning hidden in these archetypes are explored from three aspects of the archetypes, including archetypal images, archetypal characters and archetypal motifs.This thesis consists of three parts: introduction, body and conclusion.In introduction, a brief overview is made about Jean Rhys, the literature of this novel and the theory of archetypal criticism.The body of this thesis is composed of three chapters. In chapter one, the author mainly discusses three archetypal images. Coulibri and Granbois, as the Edenic image, are the central image in this novel. The fire of burning Coulibri and Granbois, as the archetypal image of the south fire in the Bible, is an expression of the black people's hatred to the slave-owner and Antoinette's hatred to Rochester and the patriarchal system he embodies. The mirror in this novel, displaced from Narcissus in Greek myth, shows Antoinette's construction of self-identity. In chapter two, three archetypal characters are analyzed in detail. Annette and Antoinette are the embodiment of the scapegoat in the Bible. Wandering in the cruel world, they get force from Christophine, a displacement of the Great Mother. Amelie and Daniel are the embodiment of Satan. On one hand, they are the destroyers of Antoinette's happiness, embodying the evil aspects of Satan; on the other hand, they are brave enough to pursue their own life, representing the good aspects of Satan. In chapter three, the author discusses the archetypal motifs. The displacement of archetypal motifs, such as: quest, betrayal, and death and rebirth, deepen the culture connotation of this novel. As a white Creole, Antoinette quests for the recognition of her self-identity all her life. In the process of her questing for self-identity, Antoinette undertakes a series of betrayals from the people around her and suffers lots of torture both in body and in spirit. Lastly, she gets her rebirth in fire.In conclusion, it reaffirms Jean Rhys's writing intention of displacing the archetype and the vital role of Bible and Greek myth in Jean Rhys's literary creation.