Subaltern Echoes

Subaltern Echoes in the White Creole: A Postcolonial Feminist Study of Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea"

Subaltern Echoes in the White Creole: A Postcolonial Feminist Study of Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea"
Tanvir Akhtar Khan, Department of English, Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan, Pakistan Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): Southern Journal of Arts & Humanitie

This study has examined the novel Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" in the context of Postcolonial Feminism, particularly Gayatri Spivak's Subaltern Theory. The novel portrays the marginalization of White Creole women in the British Caribbean after the slavery abolition Act (1833). The novel "Wide Sargasso Sea” was selected as a sample of study and textual analytical techniques were employed to analyze the main themes of the novel. Two main characters, Antoinette and her mother, Annette, embody the subaltern experience. They faced severe hardships due to their racial and gender discrimination in a society ruled by colonialism and patriarchy. The analysis explores how colonial ideology worsens the situation for subaltern women. The interplay of race, wealth, and power maintains social and economic inequalities, leaving Creole women marginalized and dependent. Marriage is depicted as superficial and exploitative, offers no solace, and is driven by factors beyond genuine love or choice.
In conclusion, The study sheds light on the plight of subaltern women in a colonial setting. Through Antoinette and Annette, Rhys exposes the harsh realities faced by White Creole women, their voices lost amidst colonialism and patriarchy. The novel is a powerful critique of unequal power structures in postcolonial societies, resonating with the ongoing fight for global gender equality.