Book discussion series reimagines classic works of literature.

Thursday, December 15, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm | Hanes House

Join us for "Retelling Stories," a new fall book discussion series led by SECCA executive director William Carpenter. For our next meeting, we'll discuss "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys, inspired by Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre." The event is free and open to the public.

"Retelling Stories" explores classic works of literature from different -- and often under-represented -- viewpoints. These novels give voice to the characters on the fringes of the original narratives, encouraging us to shift our attention to the contexts and subtexts of the original works. In these specific cases, the original works hold very privileged spots in Western culture, and the retellings help us consider how and why such privileging occurs. To read a classic through a new lens is to interrogate the social systems that bestow legitimacy and value.

Support our local book store by purchasing the book from Bookmarks, available here: https://www.bookmarksnc.org/secca-book-discussion

Make sure to mention SECCA's book club when checking out in-store at Bookmarks to get 20% off your book club purchase! For online orders, use discount code "20SECCA".

ABOUT THE BOOK

"Wide Sargasso Sea," a masterpiece of modern fiction, was Jean Rhys's return to the literary center stage. She had a startling early career and was known for her extraordinary prose and haunting women characters. With "Wide Sargasso Sea," her last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction's most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre." This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind.