Analysis Of Antoinette Cosways Defiant Journey In Wide...

The Importance of Self-Truth and Active Protest: Analysis on Antoinette Cosway’s Defiant Journey in Wide Sargasso Sea Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys calls forth ideas of feminism and self-worth in the fight against colonization during the 19th century. Antoinette Cosway lived in Jamaica her entire life, and yet, as a white woman, remains alienated from her neighbors throughout the novel. Just a few short years after the Emancipation Act, her family is still greatly suffering from the loss of slave labor and receiving the backlash due to their ties to the slave business. Antoinette is placed into an uncomfortable situation; she is torn between her past life as a slave owning Jamaican and her position as a member of the newly restructured†¦show more content†¦In a fit of rage and curiosity, Rochester angers Antoinette with unkind words about her mother and cruel accusations of madness within her. After realizing that Antoinette was close to opening up in an emotional, messy way, Rochester attempts to push the conversation to another, more reasonable time. Antoinette responds with passion of h er own: â€Å"‘You have no right,’ she said fiercely. ‘You have no right to ask questions about my mother and then refuse to listen to my answer’† (Rhys 117). With her fierce and aggressive words, Rochester eventually succumbs and listens to Antoinette’s truth about her mother’s life. Rhys portrays a defiance to the early and perpetual idea of women being regarded as a lesser sex and having a more passive, emotional, and second-class lifestyles in their relationships. This is greatly seen in Antoinette’s interactions with Rochester. Antoinette’s ability to attack Rochester’s oppressive nature with such forceful language not traditionally seen in women of her time shows her resistance to a submissive, lonely life typical for her gender. In an interest to preserve their futures and relationships with their husbands, most women would stand back and take whatever blows came their way, but Antoinette stand aside. Antoine tte’s direct opposition, specifically when she says â€Å"you have no right to ask questions†¦ and then refuse to listen to my answer† shows how she fought back against Rochester’s dominance. Antoinette’s