Antoinette Cosway

Antoinette Cosway

The character Antoinette, in Wide Sargasso Sea, written by Jean Rhys, derives from Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. Bertha Mason, a mad woman in Jane Eyre is replaced as Antoinette. Rhys describes the earlier life of Bertha Mason and describes how she became a mad person in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea.

It is described from the Antoinette’s side in which the reason for her madness is clearly depicted. We can see the misunderstanding of Rochester, that her madness was in her blood and later it breaks down their life. Rochester starts doubts on Antoinette after receiving the letter from her half-brother Daniel Cosway. She is unknown about all these and wondered of her husband’s hatred felt despair.

In her childhood she lived in Coulibri estate in Jamaica with her mother Annette, her brother Pierre and three Black servants. She lived in a Black dominated society. Antoinette is white. So she gets ridiculed and had no friends at that time. People consider Antoinette’s family as outsider. She was called as ‘white cockroach’ by the Black children who irritated and disturbed her. We can see the trouble and agitation of her earlier life. She led an isolated life from her childhood onwards. Later she had a life in a convent.

When she was at marriage, the faith never supported her even there too. She had to marry a man with different of her taste, culture and custom. It distressed her a lot. She might have thought that marriage would be a favouring one for her. But it happened reversely. So it led her to insensibility.

Rochester is not a good partner for her. He never loved her. He married her only for wealth.so Antoinette is not satisfied with her husband’s attitude. She never gets the love and care from her husband that she very much desired for. Meanwhile Rochester has doubts on her after receiving a letter from her half-brother Daniel cosway, claiming that Annette Cosway had been insane and promiscuous and Antoinette had an illicit sexual relationship with her black cousin Sandi Cosway. But Antoinette is unknown about this. She never understood the reason for Rochester’s hatred. All these pushed her into madness which is not in her blood as Rochester misunderstood. Her circumstances created her madness. Ignorance and restriction from a happy life made her mad person. There is no way for confusing how a women like  her with lots of trouble in her life became a mad person.