Noted on page 63, Rochester stumbles and lost within the woods to run into an abandoned road named Morne d'Orange Martinique, south of Saint Pierre. Rochester is curious on how beautiful the place is, but notices the untamed nature of it being in the forest. The area is beautiful because it was secluded and overlooked the water. But, there is a mysterious and frightful void in the area when he sees a little girl sprint and scream in fear and also the vodou inspiration with an "orange tree" and "bunches of flowers tied with grass". Rochester is compelled to learn more, but met with a man who denies any advancements and taken back to the house. In the footnotes of the page, it explores priest Pere Labat's usage of the land, his involvement of odeah and the spiritual work he delved in, giving the area its ominous feel.
Morne d'Orange Martinique is significant to Wide Sargasso Sea because, here, we see Rochester facing the unknown of his new environment, but powerless to understand it. Morne d'Orange is a beautiful area and looks over the water. Despite its lavishness, Rochester continues to feel like an outsider and an alien to it all. This symbolizes Rochester inability to accept or be accepted by this new culture he is involved in and reminiscent of his interactions with his servants and his treatment of Antoinette. His inability to control or understand his environment continues to create that gap and resentment he has throughout this story.
This information comes from Alicia Lim's article, "How Jean Rhys used landscape to mirror Victorian power dynamics in Wide Sargasso Sea". In the article, the author delves deeper into the area as a symbol over imperialism and pride over the colony. This area is a place of lavish and symbol of power over the native, which aligns with Rochester's intrigue into it, but noticing the untamed, wild, and mysterious nature of it.
This location illustrates the imperialist beliefs the area symbolizes, but how it is left to ruins and controlled by a culture misunderstood by Rochester. Rochester's feeling of unsafety and inability to control is emphasized by this moment and a flag for the audience to see his overall distaste for the people, island, and environment as a whole.
Mapping this location is important because it reveals Rochester's comfortability with the imperialistic ideology and need to control the misunderstood. Because of its isolation and it now being used as a resort for leisure for those who can afford it, Rochester wanting to regain that control in an environment he truly doesn't understand and doesn't wish to.