Female space in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea: a search for sanctuary within incarcerating spaces

Abstract

Space is a persisting concept in literature since “all literature is in space, regardless of its thematic developments”. Introductorily, this dissertation looks at our perception of space, and it also explores the idea of the female domestic space. At the same time, the concept of space requires a critical outlook to understand the intricate power dynamics at play within it- and this has also been briefly overviewed. The female space or the female perception and experiences of space has been explored critically in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea - the primary texts of this dissertation. While critics have already read these texts as contrapuntal novels, they have yet to see it from a spatial point of view. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to critically look at these novels through the lens of space and spatiality and explore how power relations are constituted within domestic spaces, which is often labelled as the female space, exposing the restrictions put upon the female body, and resulting in her active search for a refuge.