Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys: short stories

Under the influence of Ford, Rhys began her writing career; Ford was the one to suggest she change her name.

Her first short story collection, titled The Left Bank and Other Stories, was published in 1927 with an introduction by Ford: it originally held the subtitle 'sketches and studies of present-day Bohemian Paris'. The collection was critically well-received and was a promising start to Rhys' burgeoning literary career.

Rhys' career ended too with the publication of short story collections. Tigers are Better-Looking, published in 1968, and Sleep it Off, published in 1976, were Rhys' last publications before her death. Though they received critical acclaim, Rhys did not care much for these collections, calling them 'no good magazine stories'.

Jean Rhys: novels

In 1928, Rhys' first novel, Quartet, was published, which found its inspiration in her real life. At this time, Rhys was living with Ford and his mistress, Stella Bowen, which proved difficult and at times abusive, as noted in Rhys' own accounts. The novel follows stranded Marya Zelli as she finds herself struggling after her husband is jailed in Paris. Quartet was also well-received and in 1981 was adapted into a film.

During the next ten years, Rhys published three more novels, After Leaving Mr Mackenzie (1931), Voyage in the Dark (1934) and Good Morning, Midnight (1939), which all follow similarly alienated female protagonists. The novels all explore themes of isolation, dependence and domination.

After Leaving Mr Mackenzie, published in 1931, can be considered a spiritual sequel to Quartet, with its protagonist Julia Martin acting as a more frenzied version of Quartet's Marya Zelli. Julia's relationship unravels, and she spends her time aimlessly wandering the streets of Paris and periodically inhabiting cheap hotel rooms and cafés.

Rhys' next novel, Voyage in the Dark (1934), shows these similar feelings of alienation. Rhys draws further parallels with her own life in the narrator's journey from the West Indies to England. The narrator, Anna Morgan, becomes a chorus girl and later begins an affair with a wealthy older man. Similarly to Rhys herself, Anna feels rootless and lost in England.

Three years later, in 1939, Rhys' fourth novel Good Morning, Midnight was published. This novel is often thought of as a continuation of her first two novels, portraying another woman, Sasha Jensen, traversing the streets of Paris in an aimless haze after the end of a relationship. In Good Morning, Midnight, Rhys mostly uses stream-of-consciousness narration to depict the protagonist's mental state as she excessively drinks, takes sleeping pills and frequents different cafés, hotel rooms and bars in Paris.

After the publication of Good Morning, Midnight, Rhys disappeared from public life, retreating to rural England where she spent the wartime years. Writing proved difficult for Rhys as it was marked by depression, paranoia and overwhelming feelings of loss: readers alike found her work too depressing during the grim years of World War II (WWII). She did not publish another novel until 1966 but continued to write in private.

In 1950, after the war, Rhys was contacted for permission to broadcast an adaptation of Good Morning, Midnight for BBC Radio. Though it was not until 1957 that the adaptation eventually made it to air, this proved vital to the reinvigoration of Rhys' literary career. She caught the attention of various literary agents who purchased the rights to her next novel.

Rhys' final novel, perhaps her most well-known, Wide Sargasso Sea, was published in 1966. It serves as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), lending a perspective to Antoinette Cosway, Mr Rochester's mad wife, whom he locks in the attic. Like many of Rhys' other protagonists, Antoinette shares characteristics with Rhys herself. She, too, is a Creole woman transplanted to England who struggles with feelings of loss and powerlessness. The novel returns to themes of dependence, alienation and psychological deterioration. Wide Sargasso Sea was a critical success, winning the W.H. Smith Literary Award in 1976 when Rhys was 86 years old.

Jean Rhys: significance

Jean Rhys was one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Her exploration of feelings of loss, alienation and psychological detriment sets her apart from other authors of the time and even among modern writers.

Rhys' writing provides an insight into the female psyche in a time when the literary field was dominated by men, exposing thoughts and feelings that remain uniquely female. In portraying these struggles, Rhys' work removes the stigma around what was seen as 'female hysteria'. Instead, she gives perspective to women who have had harrowing experiences that involve loss, domination and transplantation, often at the hands of men in a patriarchal society.

Jean Rhys: quotes

Jean Rhys' works contain important moments of language that encapsulate her significance and writing talents. Let's consider some of these quotations:

Spoken by Rochester, this quote illuminates his hostility not just toward his wife's homeland, but also toward her. He hates the 'beauty' and the unknown that it represents. The simplicity of his description of what is surely a brilliantly coloured scene underscores his distaste for the unpredictability of 'magic and loveliness' and a subsequent need for domination.

This quote from Good Morning, Midnight shows the protagonist, Sasha, before she eventually descends into psychological ruin. She simply states the routine of her life that seems 'monotonous' before it unravels out of control on those very 'streets' and in that 'complicated affair of cafés'. Sasha is particularly obsessed with her appearance and how she is viewed by others.

Rhys' narrator in Voyage in the Dark, Anna Morgan, contemplates her 'fear' that threatens to take over her mental state. This intense and frightening image creates a feeling of foreboding that the character carries with her because of the fear that has built up 'all [her] life'.