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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in Wide Sargasso Sea
Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—Blindness and Deafness:
In Wide Sargasso Sea, characters invoke deafness and blindness as metaphors for an unwillingness to confront the truth. While these conditions sometimes carry a negative connotation, characters at other times identify them as desirable qualities. In one instance, the motif coincides with dramatic irony and foreshadowing.
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Part 1
Explanation and Analysis—White Cockroach:
Characters use the designation "white cockroach" multiple times in Wide Sargasso Sea. Seizing both on race and class, this metaphorical term of abuse is used to emphasize the non-belonging of Antoinette and her family in post-Emancipation Jamaica. Through this motif, Rhys shows the reader how the Cosways are seen by the Black community.
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Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Like A Doll:
At the end of the second part, the husband repeatedly uses similes and metaphors to liken Antoinette to a doll. These comparisons show the reader how he views his wife and her wellbeing. Already tormented by Antoinette's soundness of mind, the husband is increasingly certain that she's mentally unstable. This conviction inspires revulsion rather than compassion in him.
The first time the husband uses a doll comparison, he watches Christophine comfort Antoinette after she's had an emotional outburst.
Unlock with LitCharts A+I could see Antoinette stretched on the bed quite still. Like a doll. Even when she threatened me with the bottle she had a marionette quality.
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Explanation and Analysis—White Cockroach:
Characters use the designation "white cockroach" multiple times in Wide Sargasso Sea. Seizing both on race and class, this metaphorical term of abuse is used to emphasize the non-belonging of Antoinette and her family in post-Emancipation Jamaica. Through this motif, Rhys shows the reader how the Cosways are seen by the Black community.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Little Deaths:
When the husband describes the passionate aspects of their relationship, he uses death as a metaphor for orgasm. This corresponds with a French idiom from the 17th century, la petite mort. In this section, Rhys also makes an allusion to Shakespeare, as Antoinette articulates herself in a way that is reminiscent of a line spoken by the titular character of Othello.
In the early part of the honeymoon, before Daniel's letters have damaged the husband's view of Antoinette, they spend their evenings in intimacy. The husband recalls a night when Antoinette asks whether he would take her life, now when she feels complete bliss.
Unlock with LitCharts A+"If I could die. Now, when I am happy. Would you do that? You wouldn't have to kill me. Say die and I will die. You don't believe me? Then try, try, say die and watch me die."
"Die then! Die!" I watched her die many times. In my way, not hers.
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Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—New Home:
In the third part, Grace Poole and Antoinette describe Thornfield Hall for the reader. Whereas Grace describes the house in positive terms, Antoinette describes her new home using bleak imagery and a stark metaphor. The women's contrasting descriptions of the house shed light on their varying levels of information. Grace is employed and knows what her role is at Thornfield; Antoinette has no idea where she is and even has a tenuous grasp on who she is.
In the italicized portion that opens the third part, Grace gives the reader some context about her role in the narrative. She metaphorically describes Thornfield as a "shelter," and uses imagery to describe the orderly grounds and inviting rooms.
Unlock with LitCharts A+After all the house is big and safe, a shelter from the world outside which, say what you like, can be a black and cruel world to a woman. [...] The thick walls, she thought. Past the lodge gate a long avenue of trees and inside the house the blazing fires and the crimson and white rooms. But above all the thick walls, keeping away all the things that you have fought till you can fight no more.
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