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Wide Sargasso Sea is an interesting take on Jane Eyre, although one cannot truly call it a sequel. It is far, far more than that. Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel of the struggle for individuality, repressed sexuality, and the looming threat of psychosis.This story begins during the post-colonial era in Jamaica, just after the British emancipation of the slaves in 1813. The once prosperous plantations have now fallen into disarray and disuse. The Cosway plantation is no exception. The proprietor, Mr. Cosway, has died and left his wife, Annette, and children, Antoinette and Pierre, in a state of severe poverty. The estate home, as well as the wife's sanity, are quickly deteriorating.
One day, an Englishman named Mr. Mason appears on the island and quickly falls in love with Annette, proposing to her shortly thereafter. Mr. Mason uses his wealth to help restore the manor, yet his attempts were in vain. In a brutal scene of mob violence, the former slaves burn down the Cosway home, causing Antoinette's mother to break with reality and become insane. Everyone believes that the insanity is hereditary and it is only a matter of time before Antoinette succumbs as her mother did.
A few years pass by and Antoinette is shocked to discover that she has been sold into an arranged marriage to an English gentleman by the name of Rochester. Antoinette's step-brother has given Rochester control over her dowry, bringing fortune to him despite his role as a second son. Rochester, though pleased by the passion and sensuality of Antoinette, regrets the decision that he made to marry a woman that he barely knew despite the financial independence that is associated with his marriage.
All is well with the marriage, especially as the two become addicted to the sexual aspect of their relationship, until one day Rochester receives a letter from a man who claims to be Antoinette's half-brother. He explains to Rochester that he has been tricked into marrying a madwoman. Rocheter is infuriated and now refuses to have anything to do with Antoinette, especially sexually. Antoinette, who craves their previous relationship, falls into a state of madness due to her husband's hatred for her.
My Thoughts
The aspects of this novel that seem most important to me are sexuality and madness. Although I can't claim that the two are mutually exclusive, I can say that Annette's madness had less to do with her sexuality, as some would suggest, and more to do with her oppression under the system of patriarchy. Antoinette has been forced to submit to the will of her husband, a man who barely knows her and certainly does not care for her at all. As terms of their marriage agreement, Antoinette's wealth was all transferred in Rochester's name. This deprives Antoinette of the financial independence necessary to free herself from her husband's brutality. Rochester is the ultimate representation of patriarchal supression.
An excellent novel and one that once read, will not quickly be forgotten.
Anna is only thirteen and yet she already bears the burden of an age upon her shoulders. She's been through numerous surgeries, procedures, hospitals, and doctor's offices, yet Anna is not sick. She was born to be a genetic match for her sister, Kate, who has leukemia. She offers precisely matched blood and bone marrow to her sister in hopes of keeping her well enough to fight the cancer. Anna has performed her duties lovingly for her sister, until this point in time. 
This book is moving, to say the very least. With so many facets of human emotion displayed so openly in the book, it's hard not to be immediately drawn into the situation. At times, it almost seems as if Kate and Anna are your own sisters or daughters. 
Is it the sweet relief of death or the glorious experiences of life that is man's true desire? Is God a protector who guards his flock of lambs to their ultimate destiny or is he a sinister figure who revels in the pain of those whose existences he controls? Can one truly find perfection within them self?
This book is one of the most philosophically intriguing pieces of literature that I've come across in the past few years. Luca's struggle through life is particularly fascinating to me. He has no memory of his past, coupled with an urgent need to discover where he came from. He feels incomplete without the knowledge of his lineage, yet also tainted by the nature of the work that had been forced upon him.
This is the story of little Chiyo, the daughter of a fisherman from Yoroido, Japan. When her mother falls ill, her father sells Chiyo and her sister, Satsu to men from urban Japan. The girls arrive in Kyoto, they are separated; Satsu is sold into prostitution and Chiyo is adopted by a Geisha house as a servant. Hatsumomo, the house's lead geisha, is jealous of Chiyo and constantly torments and belittles her. When young Chiyo becomes depressed with her life, a man called the Chairman, has pity on her and buys her something sweet to eat. Chiyo has never experienced such kindness and is immediately taken by the Chairman's charity. She vows that everything she does will be to bring herself closer to him.
The most interesting contrast in this book is the role of a prostitute versus that of a geisha. This distinction is one that eludes many foreign minds, especially those who choose not to see the beauty in what a geisha is; an artist.