Jean Rhys: Life and Work is over 700 pages long; it includes a literary study of her novels and short stories. I suppose that people who want information about Jean Rhys and her life will find this book a goldmine and people who like her writings will enjoy reading it, but I found it very depressing.
Jean Rhys got a brief mention in one of the articles about Diana Wynne Jones’s Aunt Maria; the time has now come to say something more about her. Anyone who wants very detailed information about her life and works is best off reading the biography; here I just want to highlight a few elements of particular interest, especially ones that she has in common with other featured writers.
I found some very familiar features in Carole Angier’s biography; I had already encountered much similar material while investigating other writers. Jean Rhys is in many ways a classic, text-book case. Although she has features in common with several other writers, in my opinion it is Antonia White whom Jean Rhys on the whole most resembles.
Some of the similarities
Both Jean Rhys and Antonia White were very interested in expensive clothes and beauty treatments - to the detriment of their finances!
They both spent some time at convent schools.
They both attended the Academy of Dramatic Art in London’s Gower Street and later went on the stage in minor roles for a short time. It was not very successful; they found the touring tiring and the life disillusioning. Acting was a false start for both of them.
They were both self-obsessed. They could never bear to be alone. Both made screaming scenes. Both suffered from poor impulse control. Both led tortured lives.
They both attended the Academy of Dramatic Art in London’s Gower Street and later went on the stage in minor roles for a short time. It was not very successful; they found the touring tiring and the life disillusioning. Acting was a false start for both of them.
They were both self-obsessed. They could never bear to be alone. Both made screaming scenes. Both suffered from poor impulse control. Both led tortured lives.
Both Jean Rhys and Antonia White moved around a lot - not a good sign in my opinion.
Antonia White married three times and so did Jean Rhys. These were not good relationships.
Both had two children, although one of Jean Rhys’s died as a baby. They both made terrible parents; they were very neglectful.
Antonia White was a major and prolific translator of French texts; Jean Rhys tried her hand at this.
They both used pseudonyms for their writing.
Their fiction is very autobiographical.
They both left unfinished autobiographies.
Feeling different and not belonging
Jean Rhys and Antonia White had very different backgrounds, yet they often felt much the same on the inside.
Jean Rhys said this:
“...I would never belong anywhere, and I knew it, and all my life would be the same, trying to belong and failing. Always something would go wrong. I am a stranger and I always will be...”
From Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography
This is uncannily similar to a comment made by Antonia White, quoted in full in a previous article:
“If you only knew how desperately I want to be like other people...I’d go on beautifully for months, thinking I had really brought it off this time. And then I’d go and say or do or something that spoilt it all.“
Something always going wrong...this is what happens to people who are surrounded by negative energy. Trouble follows them around wherever they go. Sooner or later everything they attempt gets sabotaged, as do their relationships. August Strindberg's life is a very good example of this.
There is more to come about Jean Rhys, but she is best dealt with in small doses with time out for recovery from the effects of reading about her Groundhog Day life and her helpless victim mentality. The time has come for a bit of book balancing!
Jean Rhys (24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) as a young woman:
Antonia White (31 March 1899 – 10 April 1980) as a girl:
Antonia White married three times and so did Jean Rhys. These were not good relationships.
Both had two children, although one of Jean Rhys’s died as a baby. They both made terrible parents; they were very neglectful.
Antonia White was a major and prolific translator of French texts; Jean Rhys tried her hand at this.
They both used pseudonyms for their writing.
Their fiction is very autobiographical.
Feeling different and not belonging
Jean Rhys and Antonia White had very different backgrounds, yet they often felt much the same on the inside.
Jean Rhys said this:
“...I would never belong anywhere, and I knew it, and all my life would be the same, trying to belong and failing. Always something would go wrong. I am a stranger and I always will be...”
From Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography
This is uncannily similar to a comment made by Antonia White, quoted in full in a previous article:
“If you only knew how desperately I want to be like other people...I’d go on beautifully for months, thinking I had really brought it off this time. And then I’d go and say or do or something that spoilt it all.“
Something always going wrong...this is what happens to people who are surrounded by negative energy. Trouble follows them around wherever they go. Sooner or later everything they attempt gets sabotaged, as do their relationships. August Strindberg's life is a very good example of this.
There is more to come about Jean Rhys, but she is best dealt with in small doses with time out for recovery from the effects of reading about her Groundhog Day life and her helpless victim mentality. The time has come for a bit of book balancing!
Jean Rhys (24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) as a young woman:
