Because of the style in which Jane Eyre is written, you can tell that this story was written in the nineteenth century. It uses an old fashioned style of writing and language. There are references to having servants, and also, the use of different words to describe something, for example.
"Under what auspices?" meaning "under what circumstances?" which give us some idea that it is quite historical. The surrounding area is described in an old fashioned way because the door is described as a "Portal" and the windows, "Chamber lattices".
The story is written in first person narrative so that Jane is telling us the story. Because a woman is telling the story, many feelings are expressed. For example, the story includes rhetorical questions, which are answered as the story is told. The narrative technique used is interesting because flashbacks make up the story.
I found that Wide Sargasso Sea was easier to read and understand. This was because it is written in a more modern style. The vocabulary is clearer and it refers to everyday things casually. It is written more naturally which shows the story's simplicity. Its style is different from Jane Eyre because it doesn't use old-fashioned language and it is simple to read because it features just one main character, Bertha, telling the story in a conversation with you. This story is also in first person narrative because Bertha is telling the story. Even though we do not know that Bertha is referring to herself at that time, the story lets the reader figure out what is going on.
Jane Eyre is more challenging because the language is more complex and it needs all of your attention to follow and understand the meaning of the words and phrases. I think that Rhys, the author of Wide Sargasso Sea, chose to re-tell Jane Eyre in the way that she did because it gives us an interesting perspective on a character who is not known at all in Jane Eyre.