Wide Sargasso Sea

1. frangipani (noun):

a small tropical tree that produces fragrant, often white and yellow flowers; also known as plumeria

“Then one day, very early, I saw her horse lying down under the frangipani tree.” (Part 1, Page 18)

2. patois (noun):

in Jamaica, an English-based creole language; more broadly, a regional dialect (especially one that is nonstandard and associated with the lower classes)

“I couldn’t always understand her patois songs—she also came from Martinique—but she taught me the one that meant ‘The little ones grow old, the children leave us, will they come back?’ and the one about the cedar tree flowers which only last for a day.” (Part 1, Page 20)

3. quavered (past tense verb):

trembled, often with emotion

“The music was gay but the words were sad and her voice often quavered and broke on the high note.” (Part 1, Page 20)

4. calabash (noun):

a gourd, especially one that’s been hollowed out for use as a vessel

“We boiled green bananas in an old iron pot and ate them with our fingers out of a calabash and after we had eaten she slept at once.” (Part 1, Page 23)

5. lowering (adjective):

frowning; gloomy or threatening in appearance

“As for those two children—the boy an idiot kept out of sight and mind and the girl going the same way in my opinion—a lowering expression.” (Part 1, Page 29)

6. frivolous (adjective):

foolish, not serious

“That’s her story. I don’t believe it. A frivolous woman. In your mother’s place I’d resent her behaviour.” (Part 1, Page 30)

7. enmity (noun):

ill will, antagonism, or mutual hatred

“You imagine enmity which doesn’t exist.” (Part 1, Page 32)

8. cutlass (noun):

a short, curved sword

“The man with the cutlass said, ‘You cry for her—when she ever cry for you? Tell me that.’” (Part 1, Page 44)

9. daubed (past tense verb):

applied or coated in an often quick or uneven manner

“Her hair had been plaited and I could smell the sickening oil she had daubed on it, from where I stood on the steps of Aunt Cora’s dark, clean, friendly house, staring at them.” (Part 1, Page 49)

10. perfunctory (adjective):

done quickly and with the minimum amount of effort or thought required

“This remark is made in a casual and perfunctory voice and she slides on to order and chastity, that flawless crystal that, once broken, can never be mended.” (Part 1, Page 54)

11. imperturbable (adjective):

unable to be disturbed or upset

“They sit so poised and imperturbable while she points out the excellence of Miss Hélène’s coiffure, achieved without a looking-glass.” (Part 1, Page 54)

12. deportment (noun):

behavior or manners; the way one conducts or carries oneself

“Sometimes it was Miss Hélène’s hair and sometimes Miss Germaine’s impeccable deportment, and sometimes it was the care Miss Louise took of her beautiful teeth.” (Part 1, Page 55)

13. refectory (noun):

the communal dining hall in a convent or other religious institution

“Great splashes of sunlight as we ran up the wooden steps of the refectory.” (Part 1, Page 56)

14. gabble (verb):

talk quickly and unintelligibly, jabber, or babble

“Soon we were back in the shifting shadows outside, more beautiful than any perpetual light could be, and soon I learnt to gabble without thinking as the others did.” (Part 1, Page 57)

15. interminable (adjective):

unending, often with the implication of tediousness

“Not the end of the world, only the last stage of our interminable journey from Jamaica, the start of our sweet honeymoon.” (Part 2, Page 66)

16. gesticulating (adjective):

using many and dramatic gestures while speaking

“The two women stood in the doorway off the hut gesticulating, talking not English but the debased French patois they use in this island.” (Part 2, Page 67)

17. furtive (adjective):

done in a quick or secretive way to avoid attracting attention

“No begging letters, no mean requests. None of the furtive shabby manoeuvres of a younger son.” (Part 2, page 70)

18. benevolent (adjective):

well-meaning, kind, showing good will towards others

“Marble memorial tablets on the walls commemorating the virtues of the last generation of planters. All benevolent. All slave-owners.” (Part 2, Page 77)

19. fervently (adverb):

with great feeling or purpose

“I kissed her fervently, promising her peace, happiness, safety, but when I said, ‘Can I tell poor Richard that it was a mistake? He is sad too,’ she did not answer me.” (Part 2, Page 79)

20. dilapidated (adjective):

in disrepair or falling apart due to age or neglect

“The overseer drank, the house was dilapidated, all the furniture had been stolen, then Baptiste was discovered.” (Part 2, Page 89)

21. capricious:

prone to change moods or pursue whims; changeable, flighty

“It was often raining when I woke during the night, a light capricious shower, dancing playful rain, or hushed muted, growing louder, more persistent, more powerful, an inexorable sound.” (Part 2, Page 90)

22. blandishments (plural noun):

flattering words meant to persuade or cajole

“Had she given way to that man Richard’s arguments, threats probably, I wouldn’t trust him far, or to my half-serious blandishments and promises?” (Part 2, Page 91)

23. obstinate (adjective):

stubborn

“If she was a child she was not a stupid child but an obstinate one.” (Part 2, Page 94)

24. propitiated (past tense verb):

appeased, (re)gained the good will of a powerful being

“A zombi can also be the spirit of a place, usually malignant but sometimes to be propitiated with sacrifices or offerings of flowers and fruit.” (Part 2, Page 107)

25. insolent (adjective):

showing disrespect, especially towards a superior

“ [...] You frightened?’ she said, imitating a negro’s voice, singing and insolent.” (Part 2, Page 129)

26. strapping (adjective):

large, broad, or strong (typically in reference to a person’s build)

“I got up, looked out of the window and saw her stride out of the kitchen, a strapping woman.” (Part 2, Page 141)

27. mincing (adjective):

elegant or dainty in an affected way

“‘She won’t stay here very much longer,’ she mimicked me, ‘and nor will you, nor will you. I thought you liked the black people so much,’ she said, still in that mincing voice” (Part 2, Page 146)

28. brazen (adjective):

bold or shameless

“Here’s a cloudy day to help you. No brazen sun.” (Part 2, Page 166)