Exploring Jean Rhys's Novel, The Wide Sargasso Sea

The complexities of society's ability to define and redefine a cultural, ethnic, individual or group identity, is a socially constructed phenomenon that is ever present in post colonial literature. Forming a positive identity in a culture that continues to be influenced by a dominant, imperial power has proven to be a difficult, complicated, and often problematic process. The steps to authentic self-construction are so complex that the fundamental and essential questions of identity such as who am I, where do I belong, and where is my country, must take into account, in addition to race, gender, class and nationality, the customs, cultures and histories of the colonized and colonizing country. In essence, it must find a resolution between past and present. Rejecting the imperial influences apparent in the everydayness of post colonial societies, seems to result in an inauthentic existence and distorted sense of self. The key is to interact with, participate in and engage with both worlds. In this way, one can transcend and transform the boundaries of becoming and being in a post colonial state.