An Ecogothic Reading of Wide Sargasso Sea

Abstract

As an emerging critical paradigm, the ecogothic integrates ecological concerns with the Gothic tradition’s dual critical consciousness, and finds a profound articulation in Wide Sargasso Sea. Through oppressive imagery of the tropical rainforest, the alienating force of climate, and nature’s intrusion into the human psyche, the novel reveals the entangled predicament of colonial ecology and gender oppression. Taking ecogothic theory as its central framework, this paper conducts a cross-analysis of Rochester’s ecological fear of the Caribbean environment and Antoinette’s gradual “monstrification.” It argues that Rochester’s fear of nature is essentially a projection of colonial anxiety over power, while his construction of Antoinette as a “mad monster” results from the collusion of colonialism and patriarchy in the process of othering nature, women, and racial others.

Through this narrative, Wide Sargasso Sea not only exposes the psychological roots of environmental destruction embedded in anthropocentrism, but also offers a literary lens for understanding the power structures underlying contemporary ecological crises and for rethinking a symbiotic ethic between humans and nature.