Questions of Identity in Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea

Abstract

This paper explores Wide Sargasso Sea’s articulation of hybridity and the connection between the hybrid nature of the Creole protagonist and madness. I argue that the rejection of the protagonist (both in the private- and in the social sphere) pushes her into the state of inbetween- ness. Through the symbol of the zombie as a central motif, the novel captures and expresses the essence of the protagonist’s problematic hybrid nature.