Rewriting "Jane Eyre": "Rebecca" and "Wide Sargasso Sea"

The first publication of Charlotte Brontë¿s "Jane Eyre" in 1847 was ¿an event which caused a literary sensation, the effects of which continue to the present day¿. It is a great novel that has been rewritten through time. This dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first part will focus on the authors¿ potential intentions of ¿rewriting¿ a literary work. The second one, which is more extensive, will offer a comparative analysis to explain why Du Maurier¿s "Rebecca" and Rhys¿s "Wide Sargasso Sea" are considered rewritings of "Jane Eyre". A rewriting is the means through which writers can offer their responses to the original work, often giving new perspectives on it. This second part also further reflects upon the impact that these two rewritings of the 20th-century can have on the reader.