“ ‘Hush up,’ she said. ‘ If the man don’t love you, I can’t make him love you.’
‘Yes, you can, I know you can. That is what I wish and that is why I came here. You can make people love or hate. Or...or die.’” (Rhys, 102).
This is a small snippet of the conversation between Christophine and Antoinette about Antoinette’s relationship with Rochester. In this scene, she is trying to convince Christophine to give her a love potion so that she can trick Rochester into falling in love with her. At first, Christophine is reluctant to help her since the stuff she uses is not meant for love nor is it used on gentlemen like Rochester, but eventually Antoinette persuades her to make the potion. Antoinette’s desire to make Rochester love her despite the fact that Rochester married her for money and constantly calls her “Bertha” indicates Antoinette’s desperation for company and emotional fragility. Yet, it is this desperation that ultimately causes Rochester to separate himself from Antoinette. Shortly after the potion takes effect, Rochester goes into full desire mode and, like Christophine said, have sex. After the potion wears off, Rochester still doesn’t love Antoinette and, on top of that, Rochester suffers a major reaction from the potion.
“I woke in the dark after dreaming that I was buried alive, and when I was awake the feeling of suffocation persisted. [...] I was cold too, deathly cold and sick and in pain. I got out of bed without looking at her, staggered into my dressing-room and saw myself in the glass. I turned away at once. I could not vomit. I only retched painfully.” (Rhys, 124).
Rochester’s physical rejection of Antoinette’s love potion demonstrates the intensity with which he rejects Antoinette’s love. He purges himself of his desires for Antoinette and actually runs away from her and into the arms of another woman. The irony of this situation cannot go unnoticed. The very thing that Antoinette used to try and win back Rochester was also the thing that pushed him away the most. Furthermore, once Rochester realizes that he has been poisoned, he stares at Antoinette as she sleeps and, “ ...drew the sheet over her gently as if I [Rochester] covered a dead girl.” (Rhys, 125). Not only is his love for Antoinette gone, but actually views her as a corpse. With the addition of the affair, there is pretty much no chance for Antoinette and Rochester reuniting happily. While there are plenty of other factors contributing to this troubled marriage, this scene represents a changing point in Antoinette and Rochester’s future and at this point, it’s not especially bright.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. New York: Norton, 1982. Print.
The fact that Rochester insists on calling her Bertha is an obvious sign that this relationship is not going to work. Rochester is uncomfortable with everything about her and wants her to change even something as fundamental and seemingly harmless as her name. He doesn't like the mysteries of her past and the confusion that her world brings. I can understand why Rochester would feel uncomfortable in his situation: being laughed at, children crying when they see him, strangers sending him letters that his wife is going crazy, and Amelie repeatedly saying she's sorry for him. And it would certainly be awkward for him to go home without a bride. However, I definitely feel like his complete lack of sympathy for her as seen in this scene after the love potion and with Amelie, is a little cruel, especially for us knowing how her story will end in Jane Eyre.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Antoinette's love potion backfired. Christophine warned her that it would but she was so desperate that she did it anyway. Maybe it was partially that obeah doesn't work on beke, but Antoinette can't expect her relationship to be fixed artificially. Christophine told her she needed to talk to Rochester in order to work things out. And when that didn't work, it was pretty clear there was no way this could end happily. In fact, like you said, the love potion ended up pushing him away more.
ReplyDeleteI actually wondered after he reacts the way he does to the potion if Christophine didn't give Antoinette something different than she asked for. Christophine is a strong advocate of her leaving Rochester, so I would understand her trying to sabotage their relationship, but if that were the case her plan backfired on her as well. People often talk about the chase when it comes to dating, and I feel like Antoinette's desperation to make him love her is a definite turn-off to Rochester. Antoinette could never be the woman he truly desired, as she is a Creole girl that he had to settle for because he wasn't the first-born son. The foundation of their marriage was built on his desire for Antoinette's fortune, and he never really got a look at who he was marrying beforehand (because of his illness). I think their relationship was doomed from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI don't really agree with the 'chase' argument. Rochester hooks up with Amelie pretty easily; she doesn't stall or play games. On the other hand, when his spouse is so desperate that she drugged him, I think you could maybe call that just a little overbearing.
DeleteI agree with the notion that you brought up about how Christophene's love potion backfired. You brought up another interesting point during the discussion today about how possibly the love potion was still in effect and that is why he still felt the desire to be with a women, leading to his affair with Emile.
ReplyDeleteI know we just talked about this in class today, but I think the other interpretation of your point is really interesting as well: what if the reason Rochester slept with Amélie is because he was still "under the influence" of the potion? I guess that the vomiting might imply that any natural aphrodisiac was being emptied from his system, but this is obeah; maybe the effects last longer anyway? Like Berit said, Rochester's reaction to the drug may have just been a sign that obeah doesn't work on béké, but it did work at first—who's to say it wasn't still affecting him later?
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think your point is a good one as well. If I had to pick a single turning point in Antoinette and Rochester's relationship, it would be this moment.
I am so torn between the two sides. I feel sorry for Antoinette because all she wanted to do is love Rochester but those feelings are not really reciprocated. This causes Antoinette to go to desperate measures. This is that part that I start to lose my sympathy for her. I think she goes too far with the love potion. Love is a feeling not a choice. She can't make Rochester love her. Sure, Rochester is a jerk for sleeping with Emile, but it Antoinette started the problem in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSo we know the love potion ultimately failed. Rochester and Antoinette are as far apart as ever, despising each other but trapped in the same house. In the quote you included at the beginning of your post, Antoinette is begging Christophine to make her a potion, because she has the capabilities to make people love, hate, or die. We've seen love, we've seen hatred, but what if Christophine had given Antoinette a potion to kill her husband instead of causing raging hormones and sexual desire? Antoinette would certainly be spared any excess psychological abuse from Rochester, and despite feeling guilt for killing her husband, she would probably be able to move on with her life. Rochester certainly did. They both seem far gone enough to resort to anything, and while I don't want Antoinette to kill anyone, it would be an interesting twist to the story.
ReplyDeleteI wish the potion didn't have as much of an effect as it did. I assumed that the potion wouldn't affect Rochester physically or emotionally. But it did affect him. It might even be considered as the trigger that put Rochester into his "master of the house" mode.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Rochester ever really loved her at all, and I think he uses this as an excuse to justify treating her badly. She tries to make some sort of happy ending for them, she has good intentions, but it just doesn't turn out well. This potion scene just pushes them further apart, and it pushes their relationship past disrepair.
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