In this essay I would like to focus the factors which led to the madness of the protagonist. The author transforms the first Mrs Rochester into an individual figure whose madness is caused by imperialistic and patriarchal oppression The vision of Bertha/Antoinette as an insane offspring from a family plagued by madness is no longer plausible to the reader. The heroine of Wide Sargasso Sea, the beautiful Antoinette Cosway, heiress of the post-emancipation fortune is created out of the demonc and bestialic Bertha Mason. Rhys's great achievement in her re-writing of the Bronte's text is her creation of a double to the madwoman from Jane Eyre. The heroine in Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette Cosway, is created out of demonic and bestialic Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre. Wide Sargasso Sea influences the common reading and understanding of the matrix novel, as it rewrites crucial parts of Jane Eyre. The plot takes place in West Indies where Rochester met his first wife, Bertha Antoinette Mason. The novel written by Jean Rhys tells the story of Jane Eyre's protagonist, Edward Rochester. Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,00, University of Koblenz-Landau (Anglistik), course: Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures, language: English, abstract: Wide Sargasso Sea is one of the best-known literary postcolonial replies to the writing of Charlotte Bronte and a brilliant deconstruction of what is known as the author's "worlding" in Jane Eyre. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with ! Wide Sargasso Sea The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. Questions for further reflection Why choose ? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey.Find out everything you need to know about Wide Sargasso Sea in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: It was also partially influenced by Rhys’s own childhood in the Caribbean. Wide Sargasso Sea was the last novel published by Jean Rhys prior to her death in 1979, and is generally considered her masterpiece. Rhys’s novel takes the reader back to Bertha’s childhood in the Caribbean, when she was known by the name Antoinette Cosway, and explores how her status as an outcast, her unhappy marriage and the pernicious influence of rumour and slander eventually transform her from a quiet child into the deranged character from Brontë’s novel. Unlock the more straightforward side of Wide Sargasso Sea with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which was inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and tells the story of the most frequently overlooked character in that novel: Bertha Mason, the infamous “madwoman in the attic”.