Episode notes
Before she was the infamous "madwoman in the attic," she was Antoinette Cosway—a woman caught between cultures, identities, and the suffocating control of the man she married. This month on Reel Lit, we’re diving into Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and its two film adaptations (1993 & 2006) to examine how this novel reclaims the silenced story of Jane Eyre’s Bertha Mason.
McKenzie offers an ecocritical interpretation, arguing that the island itself is more than just a setting—it’s an active force, shaping Antoinette’s identity and sealing her fate. Meanwhile, Stephen takes a genre-focused approach, analyzing how the 2006 film manipulates the language of romance to lull viewers into false security—only to shatter those expectations.
Along the way, we’ll discuss Rochester’s hypocrisy, Christophine’s power, ...
Keywords
filmnovelThrillerClassicFilm StudiesBritish Cinemamidnight movielate-night moviecult classicobscure moviesArchetypal CriticismWide Sargasso SeaJean RhysJane EyreCharlotte BronteVictorian LiteraturePostcolonial LiteratureFeminist ReadingEcocriticismUnreliable NarratorErotic ThrillerBBC AdaptationsRebecca HallGaslighting in FictionMadwoman in the AtticGilbert and GubarMadness in LiteratureRochesterThornfield HallCaribbean in LiteratureUnderrated Literary FilmsArthouse filmsNC17 Rating