The quest for identity and reversing the colonial discourse in jean Rhys’s wide Sargasso sea

Abstract EN

This research paper aims to explore the relationship between the colonizer and the former colonized as well as its impact on the identity's formation in Jean Rhys' (1890-1979) well-acclaimed novel Wide Sargasso Sea (1966).

The novel constructs a vision of the female character who is able to voice herself against the authoritative patriarchal society of that time.

In addition to empowering the female voice, the paper examines the means through which the novelist reverses the colonial discourse build upon the dichotomy of superiority versus inferiority.

In-depth, the paper examines the colonial discourse and the narrative implications in Wide Sargasso Sea as a novel that gives voice and power to the colonized within the light of post-colonial theory.