Sun F i r e — Painted F i r e :

Jean Rhys as a Caribbean Novelist

LOUIS JAMES

í6T~**OR i f this novel does not occupy a central place i n

the g r o w i n g body of W e s t I n d i a n literature — i f it
* is not a touchstone against w h i c h we assay West
Indian f i c t i o n before and after i t — then W e s t Indian
literature is i n a bad w a y . " J o h n Hearne's comment on
1

Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) was not characteristic of earlier

c r i t i c i s m of the novel, and it w o u l d not be universally ac-
cepted i n the C a r i b b e a n today. J e a n R h y s h a d earlier been
considered a E u r o p e a n novelist. She h a d left D o m i n i c a ,
where she was b o r n into a w h i t e C r e o l e f a m i l y , i n 1911
when she was sixteen, and her w r i t i n g was largely set i n
E u r o p e where, w i t h one short r e t u r n to the W e s t Indies, she
has l i v e d ever since. A l t h o u g h Wide Sargasso Sea was set
almost entirely i n the Caribbean, its f i r s t c r i t i c s were more
interested i n its l i n k s w i t h the V i c t o r i a n classic, Charlotte
Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847), for it told the story of
Rochester's m a d w i f e kept i n the attic of T h o r n f i e l d H a l l .
T h e point that J e a n R h y s ' book was a r a d i c a l revaluation
of Jane Eyre and its E u r o p e a n attitudes f r o m the perspective
of a W e s t Indian Creole was largely missed.
I n 1968 W a l l y L o o k L a i , a J a m a i c a n , claimed the novel
belonged to W e s t Indian literature. T h i s was not because
of its W e s t I n d i a n setting, but because the setting and the
characters were used as a poetic d r a m a t i z a t i o n of basic
C a r i b b e a n concerns — the conflict between E u r o p e a n and
W e s t I n d i a n consciousness, the roots of C a r i b b e a n society
and history. Wide Sargasso Sea was different i n k i n d f r o m
J e a n R h y s ' previous explorations of isolated womanhood
— here the i n d i v i d u a l concerns were symbolic of the W e s t
Indian predicament. T h e poetic intensity w i t h w h i c h this
112 LOUIS JAMES

was done " m u s t surely place this novel among the major
achievements of W e s t Indian l i t e r a t u r e . " Some s i x years
2

later both the novel a n d L o o k L a i ' s claims were attacked

by E d w a r d B r a t h w a i t e i n a monograph Contrary Omens
(1974). F o r B r a t h w a i t e , the r e a l centre of W e s t Indian
culture is that of t h e folk : a novel d r a m a t i z i n g the d i l e m m a
of a white Creole cannot penetrate the experience of t h e
predominantly black a n d poor W e s t Indian peoples. 3

A s K e n n e t h R a m c h a n d has noted, B r a t h w a i t e ' s c r i t i c i s m

indicates " t h e danger of p r e s c r i p t i o n that exists whenever
we attempt to base definitions upon social and p o l i t i c a l con-
t e n t . " A s P r o u s t knew, m e m o r y c a n intensify and make
4

clearer childhood experience, a n d i t is no paradox that

J e a n R h y s ' novel furthest i n t i m e f r o m h e r C a r i b b e a n life
should also be h e r most profoundly W e s t Indian. T h e
speech r h y t h m s , t h e total i m a g i n a t i v e context, f r o m t h e
sense impressions to t h e m i n u t i a e of social relationships,
have a n accuracy that give p a r t i c u l a r pleasure to those
i n t i m a t e w i t h the C a r i b b e a n , a n d this is validated b y the
relevance of the themes to aspects of W e s t Indian culture.
J e a n R h y s ' v i s i o n is not that of E d w a r d B r a t h w a i t e , a l -
though i n i m p o r t a n t w a y s t h e t w o do overlap — notably
both reject E u r o p e a n m a t e r i a l i s m i n favour of the v i t a l i t y
of the black folk culture. Y e t C a r i b b e a n culture c a n never
be n a r r o w e d to one perspective. C o u p l i n g J e a n R h y s w i t h
the Guyanese w r i t e r W i l s o n H a r r i s , H e a r n e writes " T h e y
belong [to the W e s t Indies! ; b u t on t h e i r o w n terms.
G u e r r i l l a s , not o u t s i d e r s . "
5

J e a n R h y s w a s b o r n i n Roseau into a large f a m i l y , the

daughter of a W e l s h doctor, W i l l i a m R h y s W i l l i a m s , and
M i n n a L o c k h a r t , a third-generation D o m i n i c a n Creole. 6

T h e house i n w h i c h she w a s brought up — on the corner

of C o r k a n d S t . M a r y ' s Streets — a n d t h e f a m i l y holiday
house D r . W i l l i a m s b u i l t i n the hills above Massacre, c a n
be seen today. Jean, then G w e n W i l l i a m s , was a sensitive,
f r a i l child, overshadowed b y h e r elder brothers a n d b y h e r
vivacious younger sister, B r e n d a . H e r m o t h e r largely left
 JEAN RHYS 113

her to herself. H e r profound l i n k w a s w i t h her father, a

r o m a n t i c figure — n o t o n l y i n Gwen's i m a g i n a t i o n — w h o
loved v e n t u r i n g into h i g h seas i n a r o w i n g boat, and shocked
the local w h i t e population b y h i s relaxed attitudes to the
blacks, w h o m he accepted as equals.
Gwen's childhood days formed the basis f o r her i m a g i n a -
tion (as surely as W o r d s w o r t h ' s mountains and D i c k e n s '
early memories of L o n d o n h a u n t t h e i r best w o r k ) . T h e y
reappear i n t e r m i t t e n t l y throughout h e r w r i t i n g , and some-
times the same details recur. H e r great love w a s the
m o u n t a i n house — transformed into the honeymoon house
of G r a n b o i s i n Wide Sargasso Sea — " v e r y new and v e r y
ugly, l o n g a n d n a r r o w , of unpainted wood, perched oddly
on h i g h posts." O n t h e verandah was a n "enormous brass
telescope," upon four legs. S h e w o u l d l i e i n the h a m m o c k
and w a t c h t h e sea. I n the early m o r n i n g the sea was a
" v e r y tender blue, l i k e the dress of the V i r g i n M a r y , and
on i t were l i t t l e w h i t e triangles. T h e f i s h i n g boats." B y
m i d d a y the sun could only be looked at b y screwing up the
eyes for the glitter. " E v e r y t h i n g w a s s t i l l and languid,
w o r s h i p p i n g t h e s u n . " W h e n t h e s u n slipped below the
sea, n i g h t came suddenly, " a w a r m , velvety sweet-smelling
night, b u t f r i g h t e n i n g a n d d i s t u r b i n g i f one was alone i n
the h a m m o c k . " H e r nurse, M e t a , added to the i n t u i t i v e
7

fear of t h e other w o r l d of the night. S h e must not sleep

i n t h e moon. She w a s t e r r i f i e d b y stories of jumbies,
soucoyants (vampires), a n d great spiders t h a t would creep
above the sleeping c h i l d and drop onto its face. She gained 8

her i m a g i n a t i v e understanding of obeah that give such

h a l l u c i n a t o r y vividness to t h e love potion scene of Wild
Sargasso Sea.
J e a n R h y s ' early w r i t i n g about the C a r i b b e a n has a wide
range. Some of i t is v i v i d recreation — m i x i n g cocktails
for h e r father i n the holiday house, o r p o r t r a y i n g a n illiter-
8

ate R o s e a u newspaper e d i t o r . 10
O t h e r pieces are short
stories, C h e k h o v i a n i n t h e i r depth a n d economy. " T h e
D a y they B u r n t the B o o k s " encapsulates n o t only a con-
1 1
114 LOUIS JAMES

flict between m u l a t t o a n d E u r o p e a n , but between two ways

of life. M r . Sawyer, settled i n D o m i n i c a w i t h p r i v a t e means,
tries to preserve h i s o l d w a y of life b y f i l l i n g h i s house full
of books. H e resents a n d insults h i s m u l a t t o wife, a n d she,
silently, resents a n d hates h i m . A f t e r h i s death, years of
subdued anger explode. S h e builds a fire a n d has a r i t u a l
b u r n i n g of h i s books, l e a v i n g f o r sale only those w i t h fine
bindings — a n d where the w r i t e r was a w o m a n , even
leather b i n d i n g cannot save it. T h e scene is counterpointed
against the attitude to the b u r n i n g of t h e i r son — himself
c u l t u r a l l y divided — a n d the w h i t e g i r l w h o loves h i m .
T h e relationships of w h i t e C r e o l e and expatriate D o m i n i c a n s
w i t h the black c o m m u n i t y are explored w i t h even greater
complexity i n two m o r e recent stories, " O h Pioneers, O h ,
Pioneers" and " F i s h y Waters."
12 13

Imaginatively, perhaps the most r e m a r k a b l e achievement

among h e r C a r i b b e a n stories is " L e t t h e m C a l l i t J a z z " ,
w h i c h appeared i n The London Magazine f o r 1962. In it, 14

J e a n R h y s writes — i n dialect — f r o m the point of view

of a black g i r l f r o m M a r t i n i q u e , l i v i n g i n N o t t i n g H i l l ,
L o n d o n . S h e finds herself estranged a n d friendless. H e r
C a r i b b e a n sensibility makes E n g l a n d a l i e n : " n o t m u c h r a i n
all t h e summer, b u t n o t m u c h s u n l i g h t either. M o r e of a
glare." H e r easy attitude t o money makes h e r a n easy
prey to h e r landlady, w h o robs h e r of h e r savings, then
ejects h e r f o r n o t h a v i n g money. She finds temporary
refuge i n a n otherwise e m p t y house speculatively bought
by a shady property developer, b u t g r o w i n g tensions w i t h
her " n i c e " neighbours explode w h e n she f i n a l l y gets d r u n k
and answers t h e i r insults b y b r e a k i n g a hideous stained
glass w i n d o w . She ends i n gaol, a shock of f i n a l rejection
that destroys h e r s p i r i t . " I t a l l d r y up h a r d i n me now. . . .
There's a s m a l l l o o k i n g glass i n m y cell and I see myself a n d
I ' m l i k e somebody else."
One w a y i n w h i c h she m a i n t a i n s h e r identity i n p r i s o n
is t h r o u g h h e r C a r i b b e a n songs, a n d h e r s i n g i n g is one
habit p a r t i c u l a r l y a n n o y i n g to h e r w h i t e neighbours: " I ' m
 JEAN RHYS 115

here because I w a n t e d to s i n g , " she t h i n k s i n prison. I n

gaol she hears a song composed b y h e r fellow prisoners —
the p r i s o n song. H e a r i n g i t she feels t h e relief and release
slaves must have felt h e a r i n g negro s p i r i t u a l s at another
t i m e a n d place. It becomes h e r adopted song. Released
f r o m prison, p u r s u i n g a series of jobs, she allows a white
composer to hear the tune, a n d he makes i t a h i t song. A t
first she feels betrayed a n d desolate; t h e n realises that
n o t h i n g c a n take away w h a t the song means to her, just
as the exploitation of black m u s i c cannot remove t h e black
sense of jazz. I n i t s evocation of black emotional w a r m t h
and essential awareness of m u s i c a l r h y t h m , t h e story has
an unassuming relationship to t h e insights of négritude. 16

T h e range of J e a n R h y s ' w r i t i n g about the C a r i b b e a n

has n o t been previously f u l l y noticed, a n d w h e n i t has
been t a k e n into account at a l l , i t h a s been seen as the
p r i m a r y m a t e r i a l f r o m w h i c h the masterpiece Wide Sargasso
Sea w a s to be fashioned. K e n n e t h R a m c h a n d ' s recent essay
on the subject, f o r instance, w h i l e n o t i n g t h a t J e a n R h y s '
16

Voyage in the Dark (1934) is " o n e of the most m o v i n g of

the W e s t I n d i a n novels of e x i l e , " considers h o w t h e later
w o r k distances a n d develops t h e " t o o s i m p l e " divisions of
Voyage in the Dark. W h i l e t h i s is largely true, i t c a n lead
to a d i m i n u t i o n of t h e importance o f t h e earlier book. It
was the f i r s t - w r i t t e n of a l l J e a n R h y s ' novels, a n d is still
her favourite. It bears the same k i n d of relationship to
Wide Sargasso Sea as D i c k e n s ' a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l David
Copperfield bears t o Great Expectations. N o t o n l y is one
the m a t u r e r e w o r k i n g of t h e other, b u t w h a t the earlier
w o r k l a c k s i n symbolic objectivity, t h e f i r s t - w r i t t e n makes
up i n the freshness a n d poignancy of t h e personal element.
Voyage in the Dark w a s composed f r o m exercise-book
diaries kept b y the y o u n g J e a n R h y s when l i v i n g the desolate
life of a chorus g i r l t o u r i n g m i n o r theatres i n E n g l a n d . "
A s i t is less k n o w n t h a n Wide Sargasso Sea, I intend to
explore i t s achievement i n t h e r e m a i n d e r of this essay.
116 LOUIS JAMES

Voyage in the Dark concerns A n n a M o r g a n , a fifth-

generation Creole, w i t h a W e l s h doctor as a father, cast
adrift i n E n g l a n d a n d s t r u g g l i n g f o r a l i v i n g i n a t h i r d - r a t e
t o u r i n g theatre company. She i s f r o m D o m i n i c a . T h e
story is i n four parts. I n the first, she enters into a relation-
ship w i t h a y o u n g m a n , W a l t e r Jeffries; w h e n he nurses
her t h r o u g h a m i n o r illness there is a brief f l o w e r i n g into
love; w h e n he leaves her, she is broken. I n a short section,
we see A n n a footloose i n L o n d o n . She sets u p as a n assistant
to a one-time chorus g i r l friend, n o w a f o r m of prostitute,
operating a " m a s s a g e " c l i n i c i n B i r d Street, L o n d o n . T h i s
venture is l i k e w i s e doomed. I n t h e t h i r d section, A n n a
conceives a c h i l d b y a n A m e r i c a n , C a r l , a n d f i n a l l y has to
appeal to W a l t e r f o r money f o r a n abortion, a n agonizing
and sordid operation i n w h i c h the baby, k i l l e d w i t h i n her,
is still-born. I n the f i n a l terrible c l i m a x she has the dead
child, a n d the doctor says b r i s k l y , " S h e ' l l be a l r i g h t . . .
R e a d y to start a l l over again i n no time, I've no d o u b t . " 18

S u c h a s u m m a r y does essential violence to the book,

w h i c h is a delicate counterpoint of A n n a ' s L o n d o n experi-
ences against h e r inner memories of the C a r i b b e a n . T h e
s k i l l w i t h w h i c h t h i s is done defeats analysis. A c c o r d i n g to
D i a n a A t h i l l , R h y s ' method of composition is the p a i n f u l
1 9

w r i t i n g a n d rearrangement of " a n almost incredible mass

of tangled notes and d r a f t s " w h i c h continues u n t i l t h e w o r k
" f e e l s " r i g h t . T h e process suggests, o n one hand, a f o r m of
self-analysis, and o n the other h a n d a k i n s h i p w i t h m u s i c a l
composition. F o r d M a d o x F o r d accurately called i t R h y s '
" s i n g u l a r instinct f o r f o r m . " E a c h emotion a n d theme
2 0

has to have i t s appropriate a n d unique r h y t h m . T h i s pro-

cess i s v i v i d l y described i n a short story, " T i g e r s are Better-
L o o k i n g , " i n w h i c h the w r i t e r , M r . Severn, finds he c a n -
2 1

not w r i t e about the Jubilee u n t i l he has spent a dissolute

n i g h t experiencing the m i x t u r e of celebration a n d despair.
T h e n , and only then, do the style a n d the experience coin-
cide. " T h e swing's the t h i n g — otherwise t h e cadence of
 JEAN RHYS 117

the sentence . . . " S i t t i n g down to his t y p e w r i t e r the

m o r n i n g after he finds himself released, he " h a s got i t . "
It is t h i s sensitivity of style t h a t makes w h a t m a y appear
a simple contrast between E n g l a n d a n d t h e C a r i b b e a n so
moving. A n n a , o n c o m i n g to E n g l a n d , w r i t e s : " I t was as
if a c u r t a i n h a d fallen, h i d i n g e v e r y t h i n g I h a d ever k n o w n .
It was almost l i k e being b o r n again. T h e colours were
different, the smells w e r e different, t h e feelings things gave
y o u r i g h t down inside yourself was different. N o t just the
difference between heat, cold; light, darkness; purple, grey.
B u t a difference i n the w a y I was frightened and the w a y
I was h a p p y " (p. 7 ) .
The difference not o n l y i n w h a t is felt, but i n the ways
of feeling, is c r u c i a l to t h e effect of Voyage in the Dark.
W h e n J e a n R h y s recreates the W e s t I n d i a n house w i t h its
v e r a n d a h and latticed jalousies, dazed b y the sun at noon,
haunted b y the moon at n i g h t , the prose itself becomes
luminous. W e see t h r o u g h the eyes of a child, r e a c t i n g w i t h
responses of wonder a n d fear to a m o o n l i t boat-ride; and
to the discomfort of Sunday, p r i c k l y i n starched w h i t e
drawers t i g h t at the knees, w h i t e petticoat and embroidered
dress, w i t h b r o w n k i d gloves ordered f r o m E n g l a n d and,
by the t i m e they a r r i v e d , one size too s m a l l — " O h , y o u
n a u g h t y g i r l , you're t r y i n g to split those gloves; y o u are
t r y i n g to split those gloves on p u r p o s e " (p. 36). There is
the m i s e r y of feeling the p e r s p i r a t i o n t r i c k l i n g under the
a r m s a n d k n o w i n g t h a t there w i l l be a wet patch under the
armpit, " a disgraceful t h i n g to happen to a l a d y " (p. 36).
Then, after the boredom of the service, a moment of release
w a l k i n g t h r o u g h the s t i l l palms i n the c h u r c h y a r d . " T h e
l i g h t is gold and w h e n y o u s h u t y o u r eyes y o u see fire-
c o l o u r " (p. 38). In the passages of m e m o r y the senses are
all f u l l y alive — sight, smell a n d touch.
A n d the s k y close to the earth. H a r d , blue and close to the
earth. T h e m a n g o tree was so b i g that a l l the g a r d e n was
i n its s h a d o w and the g r o u n d u n d e r it a l w a y s looked d a r k
and damp. T h e stable-yard was b y the side of the garden,
white-paved and hot, s m e l l i n g of horses and m a n u r e . A n d
then next to the stables was a b a t h r o o m . A n d the bath-
118 LOUIS JAMES

r o o m too was a l w a y s d a r k and d a m p . It h a d no windows,

but the door used to be hooked a little bit open. T h e light
was a l w a y s dim, greenish. T h e r e were cobwebs on the roof,
(pp. 36-37)

B y contrast, descriptions of E n g l a n d are l a c k i n g i n these

qualities. T h e fields are "squares l i k e pocket-handkerchiefs;
a s m a l l t i d y look it had, everywhere fenced off f r o m every-
where else." T h e few sensuous details of E n g l a n d express
a l i e n a t i o n : " T h e streets l i k e smooth shut-in ravines and the
d a r k houses f r o w n i n g d o w n . " T h e r e is monotonous same-
ness. " T h e r e was always a l i t t l e g r e y street leading to the
stage-door of the theatre a n d another l i t t l e g r e y street
where y o u r lodgings were, and rows of l i t t l e houses w i t h
chimneys l i k e funnels of d u m m y steamers and smoke the
same colour as the s k y " (p. 8 ) . I n the Caribbean, even a
cobweb was a significant detail.
T h e lack of w a r m t h and detail i n the E n g l i s h landscape
is echoed, for A n n a , i n the people. E n g l i s h people " t o u c h
life w i t h gloves o n , " J e a n R h y s was to w r i t e elsewhere.
2 2

T h e r e is l i t t l e concern for other h u m a n beings, and i n

p a r t i c u l a r for women. " M o s t E n g l i s h m e n don't care a d a m n
about w o m e n " (p. 70). V a l u e s are focussed on money and
clothes. " Y o u can get a v e r y nice g i r l for five pounds,"
one m a n explains to Maudie, " a v e r y nice g i r l indeed; y o u
can even get a v e r y nice g i r l for n o t h i n g if y o u k n o w how
to go about it. B u t y o u can't get a v e r y nice costume for
her for five pounds. T o say n o t h i n g of underclothes, shoes,
etcetera and so o n " (p. 40). T h e evaluation is that of an
exploited, single g i r l i n L o n d o n . B u t extreme as i t is, i t is
the reflection of a difference between life i n a closely-knit
island c o m m u n i t y and t h e impersonal m a t e r i a l i s t i c life of
an E n g l i s h city.
T h e division, however, is not only between D o m i n i c a and
L o n d o n ; it existed i n D o m i n i c a itself. T h e f a m i l y circle,
ruled over b y A u n t Hester, caught i n the straight-jacket
of being w h i t e and respectable, is a cold climate for the
sensitive A n n a . So A n n a forms her deepest relationships
w i t h F r a n c i n e , the black k i t c h e n g i r l , a l i t t l e older than
 JEAN RHYS 119

she, a n d both m o t h e r a n d sister to her. F r a n c i n e is extro-

vert, l a u g h i n g and singing. A n n a listens t o her songs and
joins i n the stories. " A t t h e s t a r t of t h e story she h a d to
say ' T i m m , t i m m , ' and I h a d t o answer ' B o i s sèche' " (p.
61). W h e n A n n a has h e r f i r s t period, i t i s significantly
F r a n c i n e w h o tells h e r w h a t is happening, and it a l l sounds
n a t u r a l ; Hester then lectures h e r o n it, m a k i n g h e r feel
soiled and ashamed.
T h e w h i t e f a m i l y resents A n n a ' s friendship w i t h blacks.
"Impossible to get y o u away f r o m the servants. T h a t
awful sing-song voice y o u h a d ! E x a c t l y l i k e a nigger y o u
talked — and still do. E x a c t l y l i k e t h a t dreadful g i r l
F r a n c i n e " (p. 56), explodes Hester. A n n a is marooned be-
tween being white a n d being black. (In E n g l a n d , some
friends call h e r a " H o t t e n t o t " (p. 1 2 ) , and she has fantasies
of being of m i x e d blood as she remembers seeing the name
of a n illegitimate m u l a t t o g i r l o n a slave list, M a i l l o t t e
Boyd.) S h e loves F r a n c i n e , b u t race dictates t h a t F r a n c i n e
w i l l hate her. She wants t o be wedded to the sun, b u r n t
black, o r die. She goes deliberately under the midday sun
w i t h o u t a h a t and waits. " T h e sun at home can be terrible,
l i k e G o d . " T h e sun punishes h e r f o r h e r presumption, a n d
she is i l l w i t h sunstroke a n d t h e n fever f o r some months.
She turns, not black, b u t " t h i n a n d u g l y a n d yellow as a
g u i n e a " (p. 63). T h e simile identifies her w i t h the E u r o p e a n
c o m m e r c i a l w o r l d , i n w h i c h she is stamped a n d coined
irrevocably.
T h r o u g h o u t Voyage in the Dark, the t w o worlds inter-
weave, the i m a g i n a r y remembered w o r l d more real t h a n
the a c t u a l present. W h e n W a l t e r takes out the g i r l he has
just met, he opens the door behind the d i n i n g r o o m a n d i t
is a bedroom. S h e i s shocked and frightened; he covers h i s
awkwardness w i t h forced casualness. She goes i n , s h u t t i n g
the door against h i m . T h e room, t h e bed, even the fire,
are cold — " T h e fire w a s l i k e a painted f i r e ; no w a r m t h
came f r o m i t " (p. 4 8 ) . B u t she i s d r a w n t o W a l t e r , and h e r
flickering, incipient emotion is reflected i n h e r observation
120 LOUIS JAMES

of the b r i g h t e r colours, the r e d of the lampshades. T h i s

evokes a sense of the C a r i b b e a n , a n d at the same time,
significantly, of childhood. It h a d " a secret feeling — quiet,
l i k e a place where y o u c r o u c h down w h e n y o u are p l a y i n g
hide and seek." Love, w h e n it comes, brings a web of w a r m
memories. " T h i n k i n g of the w a l l s of the O l d E s t a t e House,
still standing, w i t h moss on them. T h a t was the garden.
One r u i n e d r o o m for roses, one for orchids, one for tree
ferns." A n d the sleep that follows is l i k e the l i t t l e death,
sleep, taught i n the Convent. " C h i l d r e n , every n i g h t before
y o u go to sleep y o u should lie s t r a i g h t down w i t h y o u r
a r m s b y y o u r sides a n d y o u r eyes shut and say: 'One day
I shall be dead. One day I shall lie l i k e this w i t h m y eyes
closed and I s h a l l be dead.' " Sex brings a flicker of A u n t
Hester's condemnation of M a i l l o t t e B o y d , the illegitimate
slave g i r l : "But I like it like this," she t h i n k s ; "I don't
want it any other way but this" (p. 79).
T h e childhood innocence she knew, both i n D o m i n i c a and
i n her love for W a l t e r , are betrayed, and t h e two levels r u n
together i n a s t a r t l i n g image. R e a d i n g the letter i n w h i c h
she learns W a l t e r is c a s t i n g her off, she t h i n k s suddenly
of the verandah at home, a n d of creeping b y her sleeping
U n c l e B o to p i c k up a magazine.
I got up to the table where the m a g a z i n e was and U n c l e
B o moved and sighed and l o n g y e l l o w tusks like fangs
came out of his m o u t h and p r o t r u d e d d o w n to his chin —
you don't s c r e a m w h e n y o u are frightened because y o u
can't and y o u don't m o v e either because y o u can't — after
a l o n g time he sighed and opened his eyes and clicked his
teeth back into place a n d said w h a t on e a r t h do y o u w a n t
child — it was the m a g a z i n e I said — he turned over and
went to sleep a g a i n . . .
T h e image comes and goes. " W h a t ' s t h i s letter got to do
w i t h false t e e t h ? " (p. 82) she asks herself. B u t the rele-
vance is complex. A t one level the sudden t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
of her genial uncle into a toothed monster associates her
b e t r a y a l b y W a l t e r w i t h her rejection b y the f a m i l y , a
rejection she m a y not f u l l y realize as a c h i l d but w h i c h
becomes clear i n a heartless letter he w r i t e s l a t e r to her
A u n t Hester refusing to help A n n a . Deeper, it brings a
 JEAN RHYS 121

t e r r i f y i n g c r a c k i n her whole sense of reality. T h i n g s are

not w h a t they seem. A t another time, the image is re-
versed: an i n a n i m a t e mask becomes alive; U n c l e Bo's face
becomes a hideous mask. B u t i n the island masquerade,
M e t a , A n n a ' s black nurse, is w e a r i n g a huge w h i t e mask
when, suddenly, she looks at the c h i l d and thrusts a con-
temptuous p i n k tongue out t h r o u g h the slit. A g a i n , the
c h i l d is terrified. B o t h occasions are moments when the
shock breaks out of a conflict of structures of reality, a
t r a u m a seen, i n its widest sense, i n A n n a ' s confused c u l t u r a l
and r a c i a l identity. T h e shock splits her psyche at the
roots. H e r v e r y personality is betrayed. "I saw that all
m y life I h a d k n o w n that this was going to happen, and
that I'd been a f r a i d for a long time, I'd been a f r a i d for a
long time. There's fear, of course, w i t h everybody. B u t
now it h a d grown, i t h a d g r o w n gigantic; it filled me and
it filled the whole w o r l d " (p. 82).
T o w a r d s the end she has a n i g h t m a r e of s a i l i n g t h r o u g h
doll-like islands i n a glassy sea. One of the islands is her
island, but the trees are wrong, they are E n g l i s h trees.
Someone has fallen overboard. D r o w n i n g appears i n the
book as a n image of abstraction and s p i r i t u a l death. Thus,
w h e n W a l t e r had ditched her, " I t was l i k e l e t t i n g go and
f a l l i n g back into w a t e r and seeing yourself g r i n n i n g up
t h r o u g h the water, y o u r face l i k e a mask, and seeing the
bubbles c o m i n g up as if y o u w e r e t r y i n g to speak f r o m
under the w a t e r " (p. 84). W h e n A n n a returned to a p a r t y
after h i d i n g herself i n a ladies' r o o m her f r i e n d L a u r i e
had told her, " W e thought y o u ' d got d r o w n e d " (p. 103).
B u t t h i s t i m e it is not A n n a . O r is it? Is she d r e a m i n g of
a scene of her own death? A sailor brings a coffin w h i c h
opens a n d a c h i l d rises, a doll-like child-bishop. She
wonders if she should kiss its r i n g . B u t it has a cruel face
and eyes, and sways woodenly i n the grasp of the sailor.
P e r h a p s her c h i l d — her o w n childhood — is dead and
condemns her. She tries to w a l k to the shore, t h r u s t i n g
122 LOUIS JAMES

t h r o u g h confused figures, but the deck heaves and she

struggles helplessly.
T h e images of falling, of violation, of d r o w n i n g , of the
mask, come together again i n the t e r r i f y i n g c l i m a x of the
book, the b i r t h of h e r dead c h i l d . P h y s i c a l l y , she experi-
ences the giddy sensation of the w o r l d heaving and d r i p p i n g
away. T h e pains of sex, b i r t h and death merge, a n d h e r
protests against the f u m b l i n g m i d w i f e — "stop, please
s t o p " — mingle w i t h remembered cries against v i o l a t i o n
b y a white-faced lover. T h e fear, the remembered w h i t e
face, b r i n g together another moment of t e r r o r experienced
in childhood i n D o m i n i c a . She a n d h e r f a m i l y were w a t c h -
i n g the masquerade of the black c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h the
jalousie slats. T h e dancers' masks are painted pink, w i t h
m o c k i n g blue eyes, s t r a i g h t noses and l i t t l e heart-shaped red
lips under w h i c h are slits f o r the dancers to t h r u s t out
t h e i r tongues. T h e y are m a s k s of m o c k e r y a n d hatred.
Ironically, the w h i t e onlookers cannot see the satire d i r -
ected against t h e m — they see the dance only as proof of
the blacks' l a c k of decency a n d self-respect. " . . . You can't
expect niggers to behave like white people all the time
Uncle Bo said it's asking too much of human nature —
look at that fat old woman Hester said just look at her —
oh yes she's having a go too Uncle Bo said they all have a
go they don't mind . . ." (p. 157). N o t only are the
maskers i m i t a t i n g w h i t e people, one remembers t h a t i t was
the hideous mask of the sleeping U n c l e B o t h a t terrified
Anna.
T h e remembered scene is punctuated b y the cries of A n n a
— both as the t e r r i f i e d c h i l d a n d as t h e w o m a n g i v i n g
b i r t h to h e r o w n s t i l l b o r n baby — " I ' m g i d d y . " A n d the
first person " I " of A n n a the w a t c h e r changes to the " w e "
of the dancers as she merges, i n h e r i m a g i n a t i o n , w i t h the
dancers. "We went on dancing forwards and backwards
backwards and forwards whirling round and round" (p.
157). T h e s u r g i n g pains intensify, a n d she is n o w on a
horse, s w a y i n g dizzily, w i t h no s t i r r u p s to hold to, a n d the
 JEAN RHYS 123

road leading along the sea and up t h r o u g h ghostly shadows

to see "a cold moon looking down on a place where nobody
is a place full of stones where nobody is" (p. 158). She is
falling, but still she clings w i t h her knees feeling v e r y sick.
She wakes. T h e dead c h i l d is b o r n .
T h e scene, l i k e t h a t of the n i g h t m a r e w i t h the doll-
bishop, cannot be explained i n t e r m s other t h a n itself. It
brings together, w i t h t e r r i f y i n g conviction, the actual agony
of abortive c h i l d b i r t h and the levels of experience, the
qualities of pain, t h a t have emerged t h r o u g h the book,
and lead t h e m to the u l t i m a t e v o i d , the wasteland i n the
cold moonlight. T h e ending echoes the beginning: both
describe childhood impressions of D o m i n i c a . H e r past is
her future fate, w a i t i n g l i k e a trap to destroy her. B u t the
lonely r u i n is not only a profound image of her own
desolation. T h e image reminds us of E l i o t ' s i n The Waste
Land; l i k e E l i o t ' s desert, it is the expression of a s p i r i t u a l
state and the s y m b o l of a culture l a i d waste by its h i s t o r y :
In this decayed hole a m o n g the m o u n t a i n s
In the faint moonlight, the grass is s i n g i n g
O v e r the tumbled graves, about the chapel
T h e r e is the e m p t y chapel, o n l y the wind's home. 23

T h e haunted, r u i n e d p l a n t a t i o n house h a d appeared earlier

i n the story, a m e m o r y associated w i t h a moment of love,
planted w i t h flowers. A n n a ' s tragedy leads her i n t u i t i v e l y
back i n t i m e before even her b i r t h , before the r u i n s were
made into gardens. She is led into the collective conscious-
ness of her history, its h i s t o r i c a l and psychological roots.
B u t for a fuller e x p l o r a t i o n of t h i s i n t u i t i o n , we must ex-
amine Wide Sargasso Sea.
F o r the r u i n e d house not only looks f o r w a r d to the b u r n -
i n g of C o u l i b r i w h i c h is a c l i m a x of the l a t e r book, it looks
backwards to a moment i n J e a n R h y s ' personal history.
I n 1824, J o h n P o t t e r L o c k h a r t of O l d J e w r y , L o n d o n —
J e a n R h y s ' great-grandfather — acquired "several planta-
tions and estates i n D o m i n i c a . . . now k n o w n b y the name
of Genever P l a n t a t i o n , " some twelve thousand and thirteen
acres and two hundrend and fifty-eight souls. T h e journey 24
124 LOUIS JAMES

to Genever f r o m R o s e a u t h e n w a s v e r y l i k e t h a t described
i n Voyage in the Dark i n A n n a ' s child-bearing v i s i o n : " T h e
r o a d goes along b y t h e sea. T h e coconut palms lean crook-
edly down to t h e water. . . . Y o u t u r n to the left a n d the
sea is at y o u r back, a n d t h e r o a d goes zig-zag upwards. . . .
W h e n y o u see the sea again i t ' s f a r below y o u " (p. 129).
There, the other side of Loubière and M o r n e E l o i w o u l d
have been t h e stone p l a n t a t i o n house, w i t h its broad ver-
andah, the little wooden slave huts, a n d t h e coffee planta-
tions s t r u g g l i n g against t h e encroaching bush. T h e L o c k -
harts h a d to face the b i t t e r effects of t h e Napoleonic wars,
w h i c h h a d t u r n e d F r e n c h against E n g l i s h settlers, a n d the
black population against b o t h ; the d i s r u p t i o n of the E m a n c i -
pation of t h e slaves; a n d t h e 1829 coffee blight. P e r s o n a l
tragedy also struck. I n 1837, J a m e s L o c k h a r t died. H i s
wife courageously remained, b u t i n 1844 riots broke out
over the census, a n d Genever P l a n t a t i o n was sacked and
burnt. I t w a s rebuilt, a n d a garden planted i n the r u i n s . 28

T h e y o u n g G w e n W i l l i a m s v i s i t e d the plantation a n d was

fascinated b y i t s history. These were t h e r u i n s of Voyage
in the Dark; t h i s w a s the b u r n i n g of t h e G r e a t House t h a t
had such tragic results i n Wide Sargasso Sea.
T h e point is w o r t h m a k i n g , not to reduce either book t o
h i s t o r y — w h i c h they a r e n o t — b u t to emphasize the
imaginative interfusion of t h e C a r i b b e a n context w i t h t h e
personal themes w h i c h are t h e content of J e a n R h y s ' books,
and to underscore a difference between Voyage in the Dark
and Wide Sargasso Sea t h a t is as i m p o r t a n t as t h e fact of
poetic r e w o r k i n g of earlier themes: Voyage in the Dark
ends w i t h the silent agony of t h e r u i n e d house. Wide Sar-
gasso Sea ends w i t h t h e fire. F i r e is t h e ambivalent s y m b o l
of both destruction and passion. T h e y o u n g A n n a suffers;
the m a t u r e A n t o i n e t t e rebels against the life-denying i m -
prisonment of t h e E n g l i s h Rochester, and asserts h e r h u m a n
need f o r colour, f o r passion, f o r love. A n d t h i s development
of theme not o n l y shows J e a n R h y s developing h e r treat-
ment of the white-black d i l e m m a i n the W e s t Indies; i t also
 JEAN RHYS 125

shows a deepening understanding of the W e s t Indian pre-

dicament itself.
F o r i n the later novel, J e a n R h y s returns to the experi-
ence of her g r a n d m o t h e r i n t h e b u r n i n g of Genever, and
explores the m e a n i n g of the ruins. H e r heroine, Antoinette
Cosway, is exiled i n J a m a i c a f r o m her homeland on a
smaller island i n the A n t i l l e s . J a m a i c a is p o r t r a y e d w i t h
the beauty of E d e n , but after the fall. " O u r garden was
large and beautiful as t h a t garden i n the B i b l e — the tree
of life grew there. B u t it h a d gone w i l d . " T h e alienation
2 0

A n t o i n e t t e senses is caused p a r t l y by the social disintegra-

t i o n that follows the b r e a k u p of the old slave system —
" A l l C o u l i b r i E s t a t e h a d gone w i l d l i k e the garden, gone
to bush. N o more slavery — w h y should anyone w o r k ? "
(p. 17). T h e Creoles face not only hate f r o m the Blacks,
but t h e i r contempt as well, for they are now powerless
and poor. T h e r a c i a l s i t u a t i o n undermines Antoinette's
friendship w i t h a black g i r l , T i a . W h e n Antoinette's mother
m a r r i e s the E n g l i s h m a n , M r . Mason, w h o has no under-
standing of the B l a c k s , violence breaks out. T h e ex-slaves
b u r n down the Great House, k i l l i n g Antoinette's brother.
A n t o i n e t t e r u n s to T i a , w h o cuts her head open w i t h a stone,
then stands c r y i n g . T h e Creole f a m i l y is saved only because
t h e i r pet p a r r o t falls f r o m the house i n flames, and the
rioters pause i n superstitious fear.
T h e cycle of h i s t o r y holds A n t o i n e t t e as its v i c t i m . W h e n
the y o u n g Rochester m a r r i e s her for her money, they
r e t u r n for t h e i r honeymoon to the island of Antoinette's
childhood; l i k e J a m a i c a , i t is a w o r l d of intense t r o p i c a l
beauty, but a garden before the F a l l . F o r a moment they
are profoundly happy. B u t Rochester's cold, m a t e r i a l i s t i c
nature is tantalised and tormented by the sensuous w a r m t h
and beauty. W h e n he hears allegations that Antoinette's
mother was depraved and mad, i t confirms his desire to
w i t h d r a w f r o m w h a t he cannot f u l l y enter. Antoinette,
desperate for his love, t u r n s to her black one-time nurse,
C h r i s t o p h i n e , who, against her w i l l , gives her a love potion
126 LOUIS JAMES

for Rochester. It is the last t h i n g his cold temperament

can take. D r i v e n into d e p r a v i t y and violence, he makes love
not t o Antoinette, but, w i t h deliberate cruelty, to her m a i d ;
he then sets about emotionally k i l l i n g Antoinette. "I saw
the hate go out of her eyes. A n d w i t h her beauty, her hate.
She was only a g h o s t " (p. 140).
H e takes her back to E n g l a n d , ostensibly insane, and
imprisons her i n t h e attic of T h o r n f i e l d H a l l . Here, finally,
she senses that she knows " w h a t I have to d o " (p. 156).
She goes out w i t h a candle to b u r n down the house. T h e
end is complex and profound i n its meanings. F r o m one
perspective, A n t o i n e t t e has been absorbed into the destruc-
tive cycle of C a r i b b e a n h i s t o r y : her home was b u r n t ; now
she i n her t u r n destroys. F r o m another view, her act is
positive: Rochester has not a n n i h i l a t e d her, and she asserts
her passionate s p i r i t w i t h hot fire. T h e novel does not
show her d e a t h : we are left w i t h t h e image of A n t o i n e t t e
c a r r y i n g the l i g h t t h r o u g h t h e darkness t h a t cannot over-
come it.
Wide Sargasso Sea and Voyage in the Dark are interre-
lated. T h e movement f r o m A n n a to A n t o i n e t t e is a pro-
gression i n J e a n R h y s ' heroines f r o m passive suffering to
passionate strength, just as the exploration of the cold
r u i n s of A n n a ' s n i g h t m a r e back to the b u r n i n g of C o u l i b r i
is the deepening of her i n s i g h t into West I n d i a n history.
T h e one novel lies at the beginning of her w r i t i n g career;
the other at its m a t u r e c u l m i n a t i o n . Y e t the e a r l y book
does not suffer i n the comparison. Voyage in the Dark
remains her most personal and evocative book. N o t only
does it capture a C a r i b b e a n childhood w i t h delicacy; i t also
intensifies i t w i t h i n a powerful exploration of t h e experience
of exile. A n d t h i s is an experience k n o w n b y m a n y West
Indians, both w h i t e and black.

NOTES

' J o h n Hearne, " T h e Wide Sargasso Sea: A West Indian Reflection,"

Cornhill Magazine ( S u m m e r 1974), pp. 323-24.
 JEAN RHYS 127

2
W a l l y L o o k L a i , " T h e R o a d to T h o r n f i e l d H a l l , " New World
Quarterly ( C r o p t i m e 1968); r e p r i n t e d New Beacon Reviews I
( L o n d o n : N e w Beacon, 1968), p. 44.
3
E d w a r d B r a t h w a i t e , Contrary Omens (Mona, J a m a i c a , 1974), pp.
34-38.
K e n n e t h R a m c h a n d , An Introduction
4
to the Study of West Indian
Literature ( L o n d o n : 1976), p. 99.
SHearne, p. 323.
See, for example, E l g i n W . M e l l o w n , " C h a r a c t e r and T h e m e s i n
8

the N o v e l s of J e a n R h y s , " Contemporary Literature, 13

( A u t u m n 1972), 458-77; for m o r e detail, based on new re-
search, see m y study Jean Rhys, f o r t h c o m i n g f r o m L o n g m a n
Caribbean.
7
J e a n R h y s , " M i x i n g C o c k t a i l s , " in The Left Bank (London:
J o n a t h a n Cape, 1927) ; r e p r i n t e d i n Tigers are Better Looking
( L o n d o n : Deutsch, 1968), pp. 173-75.
spersonal i n f o r m a t i o n .
« ' M i x i n g Cocktails,' Tigers, pp. 173-76.
i o ' A g a i n the A n t i l l e s , ' Tigers, pp. 177-180.
^Tigers, pp. 40-46.
^Sleep it Off, Lady ( L o n d o n : Deutsch, 1976), pp. 11-22.
™Ibid., pp. 45-62.
14
R e p r i n t e d , Tigers, pp. 45-67.
1 5
C f . R a m c h a n d ' s s i m i l a r point, op. cit., p. 100.
i«/bid., p. 100.
" P e r s o n a l information.
^Voyage in the Dark (Harmondsworth: P e n g u i n , 1969), p. 159.
A l l subsequent references w i l l be made to this edition.
i D i a n a A t h i l l , " J e a n R h y s a n d the W r i t i n g of Wide Sargasso
9
Sea",
Bookseller (August 20, 1966), pp. 1378-1379. Wide Sargasso
Sea took nine years to write.
2 0
F o r d M a d o x F o r d , Introduction to The Left Bank, reprinted
Tigers, p. 148.
^Tigers, pp. 68-82.
J e a n R h y s , Quartet
2 2
( H a r m o n d s w o r t h : P e n g u i n , 1973), p. 9.
2 3
T . S. E l i o t , The Waste Land, Collected Poems 1909-1935 ( L o n d o n :
F a b e r , 1936), p. 76.
2
* I n f o r m a t i o n , A r c h i v e s , Roseau, D, no. 5, fol. 600-603.
S . W . B o y d , Historical
2 5
Sketch of the Grand Bay Area (Roseau,
D o m i n i c a , 1976).
J e a n R h y s , Wide Sargasso Sea ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h : P e n g u i n , 1968),
2 6

p. 16. A l l subsequent references w i l l be made to this edition.