'Voyage in the Dark' by Jean Rhys follows the story of Anna Morgan, a young woman brought from the West Indies to England by her stepmother after her father's death. Anna's journey unfolds as she navigates life in Edwardian England, becoming a chorus girl and later entering a tumultuous relationship with an older man. The novel delves into Anna's struggles with identity, relationships, and societal expectations, painting a bleak yet vivid picture of her experiences. Rhys's writing style is described as dreamlike, with loose, vague, and discursive prose that seamlessly weaves together Anna's present struggles with vivid flashbacks to her childhood in Dominica.

Characters:

Characters in the novel are complex, with Anna being a deeply flawed but relatable figure, surrounded by a variety of influences that highlight her vulnerabilities.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by a loose, stream-of-consciousness approach that vividly conveys the protagonist's internal experiences and contrasts her nostalgic memories with her current reality.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around Anna, a young woman from the Caribbean, who grapples with life in England after losing her father. Her relationships and experiences highlight the struggles and social dynamics she faces.

Setting:

The setting juxtaposes the lush, vivid memory of Caribbean life with the stark, oppressive environment of England.

Pacing:

The pacing is generally slow and reflective, emphasizing the protagonist's emotional journey rather than a fast-moving plot.

Notes:

The protagonist Anna Morgan is a young woman who moves from the Caribbean to Edwardian England after her father's death.

Anna's story begins as she searches for a boarding house in a dreary English seaside town.

She becomes a chorus girl and later starts a relationship with an older, wealthy man, Walter Jeffries.

Despite his affection, Walter never considers Anna as a suitable partner for marriage.

Anna is often portrayed as passive and dependent, struggling to control her own life.

She experiences vivid flashbacks to her childhood in Dominica, which contrasts sharply with her current life in London.

The novel explores themes of sexual hypocrisy and the struggles of women in a male-dominated society.

Anna's background leads her to relate more with the descendants of slaves than with white people, highlighting racial complexities.

Rhys's writing style includes a stream of consciousness and vivid descriptions, making Anna's emotional state clear without direct expression.

The book is often described as depressing, painting a bleak picture of Anna's relationships with men and other women.

Anna eventually faces a crisis when she becomes pregnant and seeks a backstreet abortion, depicting the risks women faced at the time.

The narrative highlights the social rejection that contributes to Anna's mental decline rather than addiction or illness.

Readers often describe Rhys's characters and themes as haunting and memorable, reflecting deep loneliness and despair.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book contains high content warnings for themes of mental health issues, sexual exploitation, abortion, and societal rejection.

Has Romance?

The book includes a medium level of romance, primarily through Anna's relationship with Walter, which illustrates themes of dependence and disillusionment.

From The Publisher:

'A wonderful bitter-sweet book, written with disarming simplicity' Esther Freud

'It was as if a curtain had fallen, hiding everything I had ever known,' says Anna Morgan, eighteen years old and catapulted to England from the West Indies after the death of her beloved father. Working as a chorus girl, Anna drifts into the demi-monde of Edwardian London. But there, dismayed by the unfamiliar cold and greyness, she is absolutely alone and unconsciously floating from innocence to harsh experience. Her childish dreams have been replaced by harsh reality. Voyage in the Dark was first published in 1934, but it could have been written today. It is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown; all written in Jean Rhys's hauntingly simple and beautiful style.

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About the Author:

Jean Rhys was born in Dominica in 1894. After arriving in England aged sixteen, she became a chorus girl and drifted between different jobs before moving to Paris, where she started to write in the late 1920s. She published a story collection and four novels, after which she disappeared from view and lived reclusively for many years. In 1966 she made a sensational comeback with her masterpiece, Wide Sargasso Sea, written in difficult circumstances over a long period. Rhys died in 1979.

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Voyage in the Dark

Jean Rhys