Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea Depiction and...

Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea: Depiction and Effect Due to Colonization Both Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea deal with Englishmen, Charles Marlow and Mr. Rochester, who are placed in unfamiliar and different environments than accustomed to. These two characters not only deal with their own personal struggles, but are connected to the struggles of people close to them (namely Kurtz and Antoinette).Joseph Conrad and Jean Rhys attribute these hardships to the effects of colonialism. Conrad mainly uses Kurtz as his symbol for colonialism, while Rhys uses Mr. Rochester. The ways in which these two characters interact with their new settings move the narratives. Throughout Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad points to the†¦show more content†¦This initial event involving Mr. Rochester demonstrates how the source of a large amount of English income was a result of colonization in island colonies such as Jamaica. Throughout the marriage, Mr. Rochester shows signs of his control of Antoinette. The first signs begin as sexual control, as Antoinette has no other real connection with Mr. Rochester, she settles with sexually pleasing him. However, when Mr. Rochester learns of her past, via Daniel Cosway, he begins to via her as the Creole woman she really is. This level of control is furthered when she seeks Christophines help in making Mr. Rochester fall in love with her. Mr. Rochester also tries to control her relationship with Christophine. Mr. Rochester sees the power Christophine has with not only Antoinette, but on the whole island. Not wanting to lose his power, he threatens Christophine with police action if he interferes with their relationship. Once married, Mr. Rochester also gained financial dominance over Antoinette. This creates a dependence on her husband for survival, thus even if she wants to leave, she has no means of support. As their relationship worsens, Mr. Rochester renames Antoinette as ‘Bertha’. In essence, Mr. Rochester is disassembling Antoinette’s identify, and building her into his own new colonial property. All of these levels of dependence show that Mr.