Essay Questions

How does Rhys depict women's dependency on men in this text?

Anna is dependent on Walter for financial support. There is a suggestion that he expects something in return, when he takes her to a sordid apartment which seems to be a secret brothel. Anna believes that Walter is in love with her, but it becomes clear that he doesn't. Anna leaves him, but without him she struggles financially, and is forced to sell her clothes to make ends meet.

Anna also encounters prostitution in the novel, first with Laurie, and then with Ethel. Ethel owns an undercover brothel disguised as a nail salon and asks Anna to work there. In this text prostitution is depicted as another form of women's dependency on men. Rhys criticizes a society where poor, unmarried women must sell their bodies in order to make money. Due to gender inequality in 1930s England, this was often the only resort for some women.

How are male characters depicted in this text?

Male characters overall are depicted as unsympathetic, ignorant and apathetic. At the beginning of the text we meet Walter, who supports Anna financially. Although Anna sees Walter as a kind of savior, he is hoping for sexual favors in return for his financial help. When Anna refuses to have sex with him, Walter soon loses interest, and moves onto someone else. Although Anna loves him, he doesn't seem to care about her wellbeing.

Anna and Laurie socialize with American men Carl and Joe. Soon Anna realizes that Laurie is a prostitute. Later, Carl and Anna have an affair, before she realizes that both Carl and Joe have wives back at home. Here, Rhys depicts these male characters as unfaithful. Overall, the men in this text are presented as manipulative, and emotionally absent. Rhys suggests that at this time, men could commit terrible actions and walk away unscathed, while women suffered with shame and trauma from these experiences.