Friends or Foes: Dynamics of Friendship

While discussing Wide Sargasso Sea in class recently, an important discussion arose: what do we make of the friendship as illustrated by Tia and Antoinette in the very beginning of the novel. This initially comes across as something insignificant, considering that their friendship takes up all of a few pages in the novel. Though not everyone agrees, I actually do think that the argument and conflict that results between the two girls isn't all "typical" kid behavior--it's illustrative of the tension between the different racial groups in the same social situations.

It definitely could be argued that the argument over the coins could be perceived as typical kid behavior. As Mr. Mitchell noted in class, both perceived themselves to be "right" in the situation: Antoinette did her somersault underwater, despite the poor form and the fact that she was left gasping for breath at the end; Tia acknowledged that some sort of turning occurred underwater, but it was a really bad somersault, if it could be called such. The problems begin to arise not only when Tia grabbed the coins despite Antoinette's obvious disagreement, when Antoinette brings her race into play.

Some things are always true: kids don't always know what the heck they're saying, especially when they're making comments based on a racially-charged community. However, Tia seems to have some understanding of what status and class mean based on race, despite not actually caring about this fact. She likens Antoinette and her family to "beggars," in an effort to say, "hey, yeah, I know you just implied that I should be below you, but here are reasons x, y, and z why you're irrelevant." There's a sense of Tia just saying things that she's picked up from people in her surroundings, but she knows that they're applicable in this situation, and Antoinette responds negatively--this leads me to believe that they both have some understanding of how race relates to who they are and their "status."

The ending scene, where Antoinette and Tia last see each other, is basically the culmination of the tensions between the two. Antoinette actually runs towards Tia, but instead of being met with the acceptance and comfort that she desires, she's faced with the harsh reality of what can and cannot be: the two aren't supposed to get along because of their race. Tia understands this, and she's crying--it would be one thing is Antoinette was only met with hostility and anger, but it's clearly a painful experience for both of them.

Antoinette mentions that looking at Tia is like looking in a mirror: they're both feeling the same hurt and pain, but society tells them that really their friendship shouldn't exist. This sort of situation inclines me to believe that they don't just have a "typical" friendship between each other, at least not past the point that there was conflict.