Names and Power in WSS
In Wide Sargasso Sea (WSS), names are very important and have power. We can see the power of names in this universe by looking at the eerie similarities between Antoinette and Annette, and the effects of Rochester renaming Antoinette "Bertha".
Antoinette being a diminutive form of Annette foreshadows how Antoinette's and Annette's fate are similar. Both of them eventually get labelled by society as mad, get confined (Antoinette was locked in an attic and Annette was sent away for care), and they both die offscreen. Curiously, when Antoinette becomes more similar to Annette, Antoinette's name is abandoned and replaced with the name Bertha. Bertha is the name associated with the crazy woman in the attic, not Antoinette even though that name has more ties to the family "madness". Of course, Antoinette is not completely like her mother, whereas we don't know the circumstances surrounding Annette's birth, we do know Antoinette act of rebellion by burning town Rochester's estate. Antoinette burning down Rochester's estate puts her in contrast with her mother, who lost Pierre and Coulibri when the local black population burnt down Coulibri. In that sense, although Antoinette an Annette both are labelled as crazy, they seem to be occupying opposite roles in this scene.
Rochester replacing Antoinette's own name with Bertha is another matter entirely and very problematic. By forcibly changing Antoinette's name to something that sounds more British, he is exercising his power over Antoinette. Rochester is erasing Antoinette's identity and replacing it with the identity of Bertha Mason. In a more sympathetic light, Rochester could be calling Antoinette Bertha in order to separate her from her family's madness and but Antoinette into a context that Rochester can easily understand. Which makes me wonder if Rochester renames Antoinette as Bertha because of hatred and purely emotional reasons, or if this is a cold, and calculating maneuver to mold Antoinette into what he wants her to be.
One aspect of the novel I'm curious about is why Jean Rhys decided to name Antoinette but leave Rochester unnamed. Perhaps, Jean Rhys does so to emphasize Rochester's position as a person who gives names and not a person who receives names, thus highlighting Rochester's power. Not giving Rochester a name also dehumanizes him and isolates him from the rest the named characters. I think, for me, because Rochester is not given a name, WSS feels more like Antoinette's story rather than Rochester's even though Rochester has more actual pages of narration.
This is a very good point. I think that Antionette's name is a larger encapsulation of her identity. She is Antionette while she is sane and in the West Indies. However when her identity is taken from her she is reformed to be "Bertha". Antionette even mentions that "names matter" and Grace's name doesn't really match her. So Antionette is aware that her identity was taken from through her naming being forced to be change. Names are a source as identity so her very self is "stolen"
ReplyDeleteI found this to be a very interesting post. I have never encountered a novel that so intricately made use of the names of characters. Something as trivial as a name in WSS can give rise to all sorts of implications as you point out in your post. I really enjoyed reading your reasoning on how the themes of identity and predestination are connected to Antoinette's names.
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out that Antoinette is given the name Bertha when she is locked up in the attic instead of the name more associated with her mother's own madness. I would suggest that it was Rochester's calling her by the name Bertha itself that led to her madness and that she could only have been locked away as Bertha.
ReplyDeleteRochester's lack of a name is something very interesting to me. I agree that the lack of a name separates or distances the reader from Rochester (and draws the reader toward Antoinette), and that his status as "a person who gives names, not a person that receives names" is connected to Rochester's need for control (over the Cosway family estate and later Antoinette herself).
ReplyDeleteI like the topic of this post, especially since we're reading Song of Solomon right now which obviously places a lot of importance on names too. I (respectfully) disagree with your point about the omission of Rochester's name making this completely Antoinette's story though. I think part 2 of Wide Sargasso Sea is focused completely on the development and history of Rochester, regardless of whether his name is mentioned or not. While his character plays a massive role in Antoinette's life (who is ultimately the MAIN main character of the novel), we can't discount that this is his story too.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good point. I wondered throughout the book why Rhys chose to give Antoinette such a similar name to her mother, but now I think it makes sense as they go through very similar struggles and end up with the same fate. I also agree with your point about Rochester changing Antoinette to Bertha, a more english sounding name. I think this was definitely him attempting to control her by making her seem more English so he could better understand her.
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