Good Morning, Midnight
Encyclopedia
Good Morning, Midnight is a 1939
modernist
novel by author Jean Rhys
. Often considered a continuation of Rhys' three other early novels, Quartet (1928), After Leaving Mr Mackenzie (1930) and Voyage in the Dark
(1934), it is experimental in design and deals with a woman's feelings of vulnerability, depression, loneliness and desperation during the years between the two World Wars. Although it sold poorly when first published, V. S. Naipaul
wrote in 1973 that it is "the most subtle and complete of [Rhys'] novels, and the most humane."
After the novel was published, Rhys spent a decade living in obscurity. It was not until it was adapted into a theatrical production in 1949, and again into a radio play 1957 by the BBC, that Rhys was once again put into the spotlight.
poet Emily Dickinson
:
after a long absence. Only able to make the trip because of some money lent to her by a friend, she is financially unstable and haunted by her past, which includes an unhappy marriage and her child's death. She has difficulty taking care of herself; drinking heavily, taking sleeping pills and obsessing over her appearance, she is adrift in the city that she feels connected to despite the great pain it has brought her.
.
1939 in literature
The year 1939 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*December 25 - A Christmas Carol is read before a radio audience for the first time....
modernist
Modernist literature
Modernist literature is sub-genre of Modernism, a predominantly European movement beginning in the early 20th century that was characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional aesthetic forms...
novel by author Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys , born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea , written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.-Early life:Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica...
. Often considered a continuation of Rhys' three other early novels, Quartet (1928), After Leaving Mr Mackenzie (1930) and Voyage in the Dark
Voyage in the Dark
Voyage in the Dark is a 1934 novel by Jean Rhys. It tells of the semi-tragic descent of its young protagonist Anna Morgan who is moved from her Caribbean home to England by an 'evil' stepmother...
(1934), it is experimental in design and deals with a woman's feelings of vulnerability, depression, loneliness and desperation during the years between the two World Wars. Although it sold poorly when first published, V. S. Naipaul
V. S. Naipaul
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
wrote in 1973 that it is "the most subtle and complete of [Rhys'] novels, and the most humane."
After the novel was published, Rhys spent a decade living in obscurity. It was not until it was adapted into a theatrical production in 1949, and again into a radio play 1957 by the BBC, that Rhys was once again put into the spotlight.
Background
The novel's title is derived from a poem by AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
:
Good morning, Midnight!
I'm coming home,
Day got tired of me –
How could I of him?
Sunshine was a sweet place,
I liked to stay –
But Morn didn't want me – now –
So good night, Day!
Plot introduction
Sasha Jansen, a middle aged English woman, has returned to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
after a long absence. Only able to make the trip because of some money lent to her by a friend, she is financially unstable and haunted by her past, which includes an unhappy marriage and her child's death. She has difficulty taking care of herself; drinking heavily, taking sleeping pills and obsessing over her appearance, she is adrift in the city that she feels connected to despite the great pain it has brought her.
Reception and resurgence of popularity
Rhys had disappeared from public view and fallen into obscurity shortly after Good Morning, Midnight was published in 1939. In fact, many believed that she was dead as a result of the seeming end of her literary career. When Selma Vaz Dias adapted the novel for theatrical presentation in 1949, her husband had to place advertisements in the New Statesman and the Nation to find Rhys in order to gain her permission, which she gave enthusiastically. Rhys credited Dias for reawakening her literary inclinations, stating in November of that same year that Dias had "lifted the numb hopeless feeling that stopped me writing for so long." In 1957 Dias's adaptation of Good Morning, Midnight was performed on BBC radioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
.