For the most part, many critics have argued that Jane Eyre is a feminist text. This is because throughout the novel, Jane repeatedly maintains authority over the characters who attempt to belittle her due to her status, with indisputably the most important one being Edward Rochester. Her consistently standing up for herself expresses the idea that both man and woman are equal in the eyes of God. While Edward Rochester is not the central character in both Jane Eyre and the respective adaptations, he is nevertheless a significant figure in the text. In the source text, Rochester is the object of Jane’s affection in her quest for romantic love, whereas in Wide Sargasso Sea he repeatedly enforces patriarchal standards upon his first wife Bertha, …show more content…
You like the light brown girls better, don’t you? You abused the planters and made up stories about them, but you do the same thing. You send the girl away quicker, and with no money or less money, and that’s all the difference”. The word “mincing” here is especially biting here as it means “dainty” and reflects back onto his behaviour in Jane Eyre and his reasons behind it; Rochester is particularly threatened by women and femininity. He seems to perceive it as negative qualities to possess, and to have Antoinette claim such a thing in a feminine way is all too telling of Rochester’s personality. Another thing Antoinette mentions, which is arguably her main point, is that he “abused the planters” and does not like black people. This shows that Rochester is not as progressive as he seems in Jane Eyre, and it creates a much darker undertone for what happens to Antoinette near the end of the novel, as she seems to go insane. In both the source text and the 1996 adaptation we, much like Jane, are expected to dismiss Bertha’s behaviour as insane and as a villain attempting to come between two forbidden lovers. However, after reading Wide Sargasso Sea, it is clear that this is not the case, and Antoinette’s insanity is possibly brought on by Rochester’s cruel mistreatment of her and is the direct cause of her