Quote:
Originally Posted by Deskisamess
He wouldn't be the same Rochester as he was written by Brontė. The Rochester in JE is the man the author wanted us to know about.
I've a resistance to fan-fiction, which this would fall under. For me anyway. I see it as a way to "ride on the coattails" of a successful novel.
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Wow.
A novel that made both the
Time magazine's and
Modern Library's lists of the best 100 novels is fan fiction?
You've pretty much written off much of the Western canon. No
West Side Story. No
Romeo and Juliet, for that matter. Shakespeare was yet another who "[rode] the coattails." You've also essentially disallowed feminist and racial and all "other" takes on established myths. So much for the marginalized!
By the time Rhys wrote
Wide Sargasso Sea,
Jane Eyre had been in the public domain for a long time. It's rather the point of public domain and it makes for a colossal difference from fan-fiction by definition.
I'd also argue that the Rochester presented in
Jane Eyre contained the elements addressed by Rhys in her book. She wasn't just rewriting because she wanted something different. And if there's more in
Jane Eyre than Brontė intended, I'd say that's true of all great works.
I'm gobsmacked. I don't get your resistance, especially as someone who loves
Jane Eyre. You might find that
Wide Sargasso Sea increased your appreciation of the original or gave you new perspectives. And if you hated it and thought it was off-base, even that would be interesting. But instead you dig in your heels and dismiss it without even looking at it. As I said up top: Wow.