Publicación: “This Is My Place and This Is Where I Belong”: Memory and Place in Jean Rhys’s "Wide Sargasso Sea"
Cargando...
Fecha
2019-10-22
Autores
Editor/a
Director/a
Tutor/a
Coordinador/a
Prologuista
Revisor/a
Ilustrador/a
Derechos de acceso
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (España). Facultad de Filología
Resumen
In her novel Wide Sargasso Sea, the Dominican-born British writer Jean Rhys depicts the identity formation of Antoinette, a white Creole of British origin who lives in the Caribbean island of Dominica. In the course of the narrative, Antoinette feels different degrees of attachment to Dominica‟s natural world as she undergoes an evolution in her Creole consciousness, and she reflects such a link with the landscape through memory retrieval. Although scholars such as Jessica Gildersleeve or Sandra Paquet have explored the relationship between character and place in the novel, none of them have provided an in-depth analysis of how Antoinette‟s interaction with Caribbean landscape reflects an evolution in the formation of her Creole identity throughout the narrative. Therefore, the main aim of this dissertation is to demonstrate that there is a close relationship between Caribbean landscape and the evolution in Antoinette‟s identity formation as a Creole. As regards methodology, I have used memory studies through a narratological analysis. This approach is aimed at identifying how Antoinette recalls both certain events belonging to her past and her interaction with Dominica‟s landscape at different stages of her Creole consciousness. Accordingly, this piece of research will devote one chapter to each one of the sections into which the novel is divided: part I deals with Antoinette‟s sense of alienation stemming from the attacks inflicted by Dominican blacks; part II revolves around the Creole‟s growing identification with her native place as her husband feels at odds with the natural world of the island; finally, part III takes place in the English attic where Antoinette has been incarcerated, and the subtle references to Dominica‟s landscape in this section contribute to enhancing that the Creole favours her Caribbean side to the detriment of her British lineage. As for results, it has been found that Antoinette‟s interaction with the Caribbean natural world mirrors an evolution in her Creole consciousness. Indeed, she is afraid of the landscape in the first part of the novel, while she eventually grows more attached to it when she marries an English man. By examining the relationship between identity formation and Caribbean landscape, this dissertation attempts to widen the bulk of literature on the retrieval of memory in Jean Rhys‟s fiction while casting new light on the paramount role of the Caribbean landscape in Wide Sargasso Sea.
Descripción
Categorías UNESCO
Palabras clave
Jean Rhys, memory studies, creoleness, Wide Sargasso Sea, caribbean landscape
Citación
Centro
Facultades y escuelas::Facultad de Filología
Departamento
No procede