A Study Of Wide Sargasso Sea From The Perspective Of New Historicism

Jean Rhys, a celebrated writer of West Indies in20thCentury, springs into fame byvirtue of her representative work Wide Sargasso Sea. As a white Creole herself, Rhyschooses a specific period in the history of the West Indies Jamaica as the literary context.This specific period is exactly when the slavery was abolished in the1830s, but the blackand white people were not equal and the relations in colonies still remained complicated.It tells how a white Creole girl Antoinette goes insane and this novel becomes theimmortal work in her literary career. In the field of literary criticism, few scholarsanalyzed this novel from the perspective of New Historicism. Using the core theory ofNew Historicism “the historicity of texts” and “the textuality of history”, this thesisattempts to demonstrate the relationship between text and history.This thesis is divided into four parts:The introduction part discusses Jean Rhys herself and her major works. Besides, itsummarizes the research condition of her representative work Wide Sargasso Sea athome and abroad. Then it points out the significance of this thesis.The first chapter introduces the related theories of the New Historicism. It mainlydiscusses the rise and development of New Historicism, as well as the main ideas of itsrepresentatives Stephen Greenblatt, Louis Montrose and Hayden White.The second chapter mainly discusses how one of the main theories of NewHistoricism “textuality of history” embodied in Wide Sargasso Sea. First, the thesisexplains Jean Rhys’s first person narration when recording history. Second, itdemonstrates the driving forces of ordinary, marginalized characters in the constructionof history. Third, this thesis introduces the writing strategies Rhys adopted when creatingWide Sargasso Sea. For example, the using of the stream of consciousness technique, thecreation of a gothic atmosphere and the application of intertextuality.The third chapter mainly discusses how one of the main theories of New Historicism “the historicity of texts” embodied in Wide Sargasso Sea. First, the paper illustrates howJean Rhys’s life experiences influence her in writing Wide Sargasso Sea. The protagonistof the novel Antoinette and Rhys have many things in common, for example, both aswhite Creoles, the particularity of their cultural identity. This paper tries to demonstratethat Wide Sargasso Sea not only reflects Rhys’s personal life experiences, but also thepolitical, economic, and cultural situation of West Indies in that special period. It is theproduct of history; second, as a historical novel, Wide Sargasso Sea participates in theconstruction of history and plays an active role in the development of history and society.Finally, the conclusion part summarizes the significance of analyzing the thesisfrom the “textuality of history” and “historicity of the text”. Interpreting Wide SargassoSea from the perspective of New Historicism, Rhys’s readers will have a completely newunderstanding of her works. Jean Rhys is not just a postcolonial writer, but a “NewHistoricism writer” who attempts to reflect the historical issues through her works. WideSargasso Sea is not only a postcolonial novel, but also a “new historical novel” involvingpolitical, economic, and cultural significance. It reconstructs West Indian colonial historyand provides the people of the world, especially the people who love Jean Rhys with anew perspective of enjoying the work. At the same time, it makes the readers understandthe various social problems of that special era and attempts to revive people’s thinkingthrough the problems. It tells the people of the world, especially the people living in theThird World, how to deal with the relationship between country and country, between thecountry and its people when facing up to the opportunities and challenges. Throughapplying new historicist strategy, this thesis is intended to provide a fresh perspective ofdoing further research into the novel Wide Sargasso Sea.