Why does rochester hate antoinette

On the contrary, however, Rhys does not portray a character who recovers her sense of self from the merciless clutches of an unjust society, but rather discovers it amidst the very social constraints that culture imposes upon her. Drake, Sandra. Judith L. New York: Norton, Emery, Mary Lou. Austin: University of Texas Press, Erwin, Lee. Fayad, Mona. Gilbert, Sandra M. New Haven: Yale UP, I have only read the sections of Jane Eyre where Rochester talks about the "mad woman", and it seems accurate to that.

He gives Antoinette the mad woman very little time and no chance to fall in love. From the way he described her in Jane Eyre, he holds her in high contempt and talks of her always challenging him in conversation and never being reasonable, Jean Rhys takes this in the way I read it and it basically becomes Rochester being forcibly ignorant of Caribbean culture, as it is opposite his own and therefore worthless.

Marie Rhys' Rochester is malicious, while Bronte's isn't. Gillian Brownlee I agree with you, Mari. Rochester in Jane Eyre was clever, passionate, and good man. The worst I can say about him is that he may have had a quick temper, but he was nothing like awful person Rhys made him out to be. Thomas Jr. I'm entering this conversation a little late, but you ask a great question, Suzan. I like both of these novels a lot, actually; I'm a longtime fan of literary re-treatments: "Beowulf" and "Grendel," "Robinson Crusoe" and "Foe," "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Mary Reilly," etc.

At the same time, it's hard for me to to see Rochester's ease courting Jane and, even more, his history of comfortable sexual indulgence with Celine Varens as being in any convincing way continuous with the basic fear of female sexuality that I think drives Rhys's character away from Antoinette.

I think Rhys understood perfectly the pathology of certain men, but I'm not sure Rochester would ever have wrestled with those particular demons. Thanks for helping me nail down a longstanding unease with "WSS. Iris I think this is a plausible portrayal of Rochester.

He is a little younger and so perhaps a smidgen more spiteful and rash, but at his core the character is the same. He's moody. He's angry. But above all he wants to be loved; he wants happiness just as badly as Antoinette. Ylva It's not really plausible. Or well, his actions except for changing Antoinette's name, which makes no sense at all are rational and relatable, but the author wants to paint him in a bad light by suggesting he is not rational and therefore she writes in a confusing style but the whole book is written like that.

She tries to make him fit into the story, but in my opinion, she fails to do that. Kristin, I understand that you feel he's more malicious in this version as compared to Bronte's version. I would argue in defense for him that it may have to do with impulsiveness and impressionability of youth especially the effect of Daniel Boyd's rumours about Sandi's rendezvous with Antoinette, as well as his pride issue after the one night stand with Amelie.

As the second son, he inherits nothing from his father's estate, and has to marry Antoinette if only for his own financial survival. He could also have, you know, gotten a job, but that would have conflicted with his gentlemanly pretensions… And he's understandably humiliated by his situation. To his credit, he seems touched by Antoinette, perhaps seeing in her vulnerability a mirror of his own.

But he does end up doing some pretty awful things. He treats Antoinette horribly without giving her time to reply to Daniel's allegations. He sleeps with the maid — on his honeymoon, with his wife in the next room. He gets Antoinette declared mad and locks her up in his attic. Rhys 9. In this scene, Tia portrays the stereotypes for blacks, which Gregg introduces in her work.

Eating with the fingers, sleeping directly after eating and being able to do the somersault shows how animal like, strong and lazy Tia is cf. Gregg After this occurrence, Tia and Antoinette do not spend time with each other any longer. Their next meeting symbolizes the climax and the real end of their friendship. The black community puts fire on Coulibri Estate and Antoinette and her family are forced to leave their property behind in order to save their lives cf. When Antoinette flees from the fire and faces Tia, it first creates a feeling of security, since for Antoinette Tia has been one of her attachment figures.

Though Tia has betrayed her already once, Antoinette says, […] I saw Tia and her mother and ran to her, for she was all that was left of my life as it had been. We had eaten the same food, slept side by side, bathed in the same river. Not to leave Coulibri. Not to go. However, Tia throws a stone towards Antoinette and wounds her on the forehead cf.

Ultimately, Antoinette has not just experienced rejection by her mother but also by Tia. Later, Antoinette meets Rochester. After having married, both travel to a small estate called Massacre for their honeymoon.

First, Antoinette seems to be happy of having found a respected man, who is willing to live with her. Innocently, she perceives his husband as a godlike person, who is better than everyone else and even on a higher position than herself cf.

Thus, she does everything possible in order to satisfy him. Convinced that Rochester will, like her, fall in love with the beauty of the island, she presents it very euphorically and contentedly cf.

Early in her childhood, Antoinette was enthusiastic with the great nature of Jamaica. She used to compare Coulibri Estate with the Garden of Eden in order to underscore the complete magnificence of nature cf.

Rhys 4. Thus, her basic aim is to persuade his husband from this splendour. But in spite of this, she again fears rejection and alienation due to her past. Her doubts are illustrated in the conversation between Rochester and Antoinette, in which she utters her fears cf. Is that a bargain? He receives a letter from a supposed family member of Antoinette and is told of her madness cf. One could perceive her behaviour as one of that person without self-esteem, who tries obsessively everything to impress its master cf.

Therefore, this can be interpreted as the ultimate doom of the marriage cf. McWatt In the following, he calls his wife no longer Antoinette, but Bertha in order to split the connection to her mother Annette cf. Rhys 87, It is not the issue that he uses the name Bertha, for it is not proven or even clarified in the novel whether Mr Rochester has any connection to it, but rather the very fact that Antoinette is redefined through an arbitrary chosen name. She loses her last hope of getting recognition and love.

But I loved this place and you have made it into a place I hate. I used to think that if everything else went out of my life I would still have this, and now you have spoilt it.