England is referenced several times throughout the course of the novel Wide Sargasso Sea. It first appears in conversation between Antionette and her unnamed husband on their honeymoon as a place of fascination and desire. As the novel progresses, England becomes a place of mystery and mistrust, as Christopine mentions she has never seen England and does not believe it to be a real place. Christophine says, "I don't say I don't believe, I say I don't know, I know what I see with my eyes and I never see it" (Rhys 67). Towards the end of the novel, Antionette has arrived in England, where she is held in the attic of her unnamed husband's estate. Since she did not see the arrival to England, she does not actually belive she is in England, similar to what Christophine had mentioned previously. Antionette says, "They tell me I am in England but I don't believe them. We lost our way to England. When? Where? I don't remember, but we lost it" (Rhys 107). England becomes a place of illussion and captivity, as Antionette is being held there against her will. This progression of England shows how Antionette's reality and perspective changes over time, as she slowly loses herself in the process of marrying her husband. She loses herself as she is belittled by her husband, and holds no power over him as a married woman, since the men in the marriage at this time held power of everything over their wife, including herself. This goes to show the representation of England in the form of power and struggle, Antionette's unnamed husband using the power he has of his estate to restrain Antionette in his attic, and drive her to insanity.
Bibliography:
Research: Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. Edited by Judith L. Raiskin. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.