Symbolism in Wide Sargasso Sea

In class yesterday, we had a panel discussion about Wide Sargasso Sea. At the end of the presentation, there was a mention of the possibility of the ending of WSS symbolizing Jane Eyre. I wanted to elaborate on some other symbolic themes in the story and what they might mean.

                First, there is the garden. Antoinette both loves and fears this garden, and compares it to the garden of Eden. I think this symbolizes her relationship with those around her. Though there are some people Antoinette has liked (like Tia, for example), and has tried to get close to, it has always ended badly. As a result, Antoinette has never had a real friend and is very lonely throughout her childhood. She can never get close enough to the people she likes, and they somehow end up leaving her (the scene where Antoinette goes running to Tia and Tia’s mother for safety after the fire, but Tia throws a rock at her).

                There is also Antoinette’s repeated dreams about the forest. Unlike the colorful, lively brightness of Jamaica that Antoinette is so accustomed to, this nightmare is of a dark and sinister place she is unfamiliar with. In the dream she finds a closed off stone garden behind some tall trees. This unfamiliarity with the place and environment around her is perhaps symbolic of her nearing, inevitable captivity in England, a place she is initially unfamiliar with but will be trapped in forever,

just like the nightmare.

                Another creepy thing is that the name of the place “Granbois”, translates literally into “great forest”. Just like her dream, this name warns her of her future move to the forests of England. It is at Granbois that her husband gets lost in the woods and comes across the eerie, lonely ruins of a stone house. This encounter is a sign of the consequences of his future actions (mistreating Antoinette and holding her captive), which lead to the ultimate ruin of his own estate.  

                Lastly, at the end of Part 1 of the story – when the Mason home is burned down – there is mention of a parrot named Coco who belongs to Annette. Coco’s wings are clipped, which symbolizes Antoinette’s own flightless dependency. Throughout the novel she seems to have no freedom, constantly dependent on others. Antoinette states; “[Coco] made an effort to fly down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell screeching. He was all on fire.” This vivid imagery depicts Antoinette’s own fiery fall from the attic at the end of the book.