Task: Read the following prompt and answer to the best of your ability! Choose a symbol used in a novel or play of your choice and discuss its function in the world of the work. Be sure to give the title of the work and its author in the Introduction paragraph. You should strive for 4 - 5 paragraphs. Good Luck! After posting, read and comment on 4 other postings. Your comments should be helpful to the writer and may be things you noticed, something for them to think about, and some words of encouragement. You must complete your essay and your comments by Tuesday, January 12th!
The Use of "Le Bois" to Symbolize the Darkness of Human Nature
In the novel Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, the main character, Antoinette, grows up on a failed plantation in Jamaica, surrounded by a wild and untamed landscape. Similar to the forest in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the forests of Jamaica and nature symbolize the darker side of human nature, chiefly greed, exploitation, hatred, sinfulness, loss of innocence, and isolation.
The novel begins with Antoinette narrating her childhood. After the death of her father and the emancipation of slaves, the estate that Antoinette lives at, called Coulibri, falls into ruins. The white society of the island ostracizes Antoinette's family, while the black community humiliates them, calling Antoinette a "white cockroach".
Antoinette finds relief from the degrading insults of society in the overrun garden of Coulibri. This garden and the surrounding forest signify Antoinette's isolation and lost innocence. Even though Antoinette finds relief here from the problems in her life, this uncivilized escape from humanity alters Antoinette's personality. The more time Antoinette spends in the wilderness, the more isolated from society Antoinette becomes. As Antoinette devotes more of her time to wandering the garden, she is increasingly distressed by the manner in which she is tried by society, until she completely hates people.
To Antoinette, the garden at Coulibri is luscious and beautiful, comparable to the Garden of Eden. However, the garden contains a sinister atmosphere, and the plants are animistic in nature - "One was snaky looking, another like an octopus with long thin brown tentacles bare of leaves hanging from a twisted root." (Pg 17) Before Antoinette was born and the estate ruined, the garden was both beautiful and tamed, an innocent Eden. Now the garden is wild and excessive, just like the rest of Coulibri, including its inhabitants.
Completely engrossed in her escape from reality, Antoinette doesn't feel the need for human companionship. Antoinette's mother, however, hates being isolated from society, and finds relief when new neighbors settle in a nearby estate. The neighbors visit Coulibri and laugh at Antoinette's wild and dirty appearance, furthering Antoinette's predisposed view of people being evil and causing Antoinette to feel ashamed.
After the visitors leave, Antoinette has a nightmare where she is running through a forest, being chased by someone who hates her. Antoinette is unable to identify the man pursuing her, and as he gets increasingly closer, Antoinette screams and wakes up. The dark forest defines the atmosphere of the nightmare, symbolizing the hatred, greed, and sinfulness of the man hunting her.
Tragic events in the novel force Antoinette to attend a convent school in Spanish Town, where Antoinette is finally liberated from her horrible past. Sheltered from nature and the wild forests, Antoinette spends the most normal part of her life studying under the nuns of the convent.
When Antoinette turns seventeen, Mr. Mason (her stepfather) visits Antoinette to inform her that she will be leaving the convent and returning to society. Antoinette obediently accepts the decision, feeling a great sense of loss and sadness for losing her only refuge. That night she has the same nightmare that she experienced years before, only she is wearing a white wedding dress and following the man, crying when she looks at his face and seeing only hatred. When Antoinette refuses to follow any further, the trees around her jerk violently. These trees once again symbolize the hatred, sinfulness, and greed of the man with her.
Shortly after leaving the convent, Antoinette is forced to marry an unnamed Englishman. For their honeymoon they travel to one of Antoinette's estates in Granbois, meaning great forest in French (gran = great, bois = forest). Antoinette's husband is intimidated by the colorful environment of the island, feeling uncomfortable and out of place. Both Antoinette and her husband enjoy their marriage until Antoinette's husband receives a letter from a Creole who claims to be Antoinette's half-brother. This man describes the madness and cruelty of Antoinette's family, causing Antoinette's husband to feel confused and distressed. Antoinette's husband starts to distance himself from Antoinette, and one night runs into the forest surrounding the estate. He finds an abandoned estate in the middle of the forest, and frequently returns to the site. The forest takes over and controls Antoinette's husband, much as it had controlled Antoinette as a child. Instead of causing a feeling of isolation, the forest fosters his hatred and greed, further ruining his relationship with Antoinette. His hatred for Antoinette continues to grow as he spends more time on the island, until he completely despises Antoinette.
The destructive nature of the forest on a person's personality denotes the forest as a symbol of the dark qualities of human nature. As a manifestation of the greed, exploitation, hatred, sinfulness, lost innocence, and isolation that are felt so abundantly in the atmosphere of post-slavery Jamaica, the forests serve as an important symbol in Wide Sargasso Sea.
