Introduction: Book Review – Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier was published in 1938. Though it’s an excellent book, it bugged me a lot because the heroine, who is the narrator does not have a name. All we know is that she has a lovely and unusual name – in the story until she gets married, and you do not know her age, you are told that she is young and essentially naïve.
However, the book is excellent because it’s a story about a woman coming of age.
You see a nameless woman, who is quite timid getting married and ultimately evolving into an assertive person when she faces a major challenge in her life.
“”Rebecca” was published 80 years ago this month, and readers flooded into bookstores to buy it. The novel was to be du Maurier’s masterpiece and a classic of 20th-century fiction that continues to enthrall readers today. In England it was recently voted as the most loved book of the last 225 years, while it is one of the top 100 of the current PBS Great American Reads.”
Source: The Laconia Daily Sun, “Classic gothic mystery ‘Rebecca' to be discussed Sept. 28”
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The First Page with Thomas C. Foster: REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier
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Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) 1/13
Cannot view this video? Click here. (Uploaded by BronyteP on Oct 26, 2007)
What is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier About?
The story takes the form of a flashback – starts out in the present very briefly, goes into the past where much of the story unfolds. When the flashback begins, you get a sense that a transformation has taken place, which involved much loss for the main characters. A fire destroyed their home and now they are living in small hotels because they do not want anyone to recognize them if they stay in the larger ones. You get a sense that they are contented, but I’m not sure how much joy they have in their lives. The good news is that the reader knows that the main characters will be okay.
When the narrator has her flashback, she is in Monte Carlo, where she is training to become a paid companion to Mrs. Van Hopper, a wealthy American, who is an extremely nosy and “forward” woman. The narrator thinks she has no future prospects, and the reader will feel sorry for her. Her life changes when she meets and becomes acquainted with a wealthy Englishman, Maximilian de Winter, a widowed forty-something.
The narrator’s employer contracts influenza and ordered to bed-rest. Mrs. Van Hopper is not unhappy about getting ill because she knows that others will sympathize with her and will garner the attention that she craves.
The narrator has a lot of time on her hands now that her employer is ill, and during that time she spends it with Maxim de Winter. The relationship between them is very unequal because he learns a lot about her, but doesn’t share much information about himself. Mrs. Van Hopper decides to return to the United States early, the heroine is distraught because she may never see de Winter again and goes to tell him goodbye. He gives her the option of going to New York as a paid companion or becoming his wife.
After they get married, Maxim takes her to his ancestral estate, Manderley. However, there is a dark cloud hanging over their marriage, and he’s a changed man and could be described as brooding. On her first day at the estate, the narrator meets Beatrice, Maxim’s sister and her husband Giles, as well as his estate manager, Frank Crawley.
Beatrice is a blunt and plain speaking woman who remarks that the narrator isn’t what she was expecting, but she embraces her sister-in-law nevertheless. She also tells her that Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper, adored Rebecca, Maxim’s first wife who had drowned the previous year.
The narrator lacks poise and self-confidence, and doesn’t understand her role as wife and what’s expected of her. Instead of stepping into her role as Mrs. Maxim de Winter and embracing it, she constantly defers to others. Life for her is difficult because there are many reminders in the house of Rebecca, and she is constantly told how beautiful and talented Rebecca was. The narrator is under the impression that Rebecca was the perfect wife and that Maxim is still in love with his dead wife. How can one compete against the other woman, who so happens to be dead?
Mrs. Danvers resents the new Mrs de Winter and does everything in her power to undermine her. In one instance, when they were having a ball, under the guise of being helpful, the housekeeper encourages the narrator to copy the costume from a painting of Caroline de Winter, one of Maxim’s ancestors. On the day of the ball, when the narrator goes downstairs, wearing the gown, there is a look of consternation on some of the faces, and Maxim goes ballistic screaming at her to get changed.
She goes upstairs to hide in her room, refusing to attend the ball. But she overhears some of the guests speaking unkindly about her. And she finds the courage she never knew she had to return and act the part of hostess. She is scared of losing her husband because he has been behaving distant to her since he returned to Manderley.
The following day, Mrs Danvers almost convinces the narrator to kill herself, but gets out of the trance when a rocket goes off. It is an SOS signalling hat a ship is in distress and has ran aground. While the divers swim to check the damage to the chip’s hull, they discover Rebecca’s sailing boat and her body. Maxim had identified Rebecca’s body the previous year, and the authorities think that it was due to the stress of his wife’s death that he was experiencing which made him misidentify her.
The discovery of Rebecca’s body strengthens the narrator’s marriage, because Maxim decides to confide in her. Rebecca was actually a very malevolent and very evil person, who had affairs and lived a double life. The narrator discovers that Maxim killed Rebecca when she pushed him over the edge. She assumes her role as wife and sticks with her husband and they brainstorm about what to do – united they stand.
I think the story takes off from here, and you see a few twists and turns. Daphne du Maurier takes you through Rebecca’s inquest. Her cousin and lover, Jack Favell challenges the finding that Rebecca committed suicide by producing a note that Rebecca left for him only hours before her death.
Favell tries to blackmail Maxim who refuses to pay. And instead calls Colonel Julyan. Using Mrs. Danvers’ name, Rebecca had visited a Dr Baker the day of her death. Through the process of elimination they find the doctor who is now retired and living in London.
Maxim, the narrator, Colonel Julyan and Jack Favell decide to travel to London the next day to see Dr Baker. They discover from the doctor that Rebecca was terminally ill – she had an inoperable cancerous growth. They are astonished by the news, but Maxim and the narrator are relieved because they are now rid of Rebecca. He learns that Mrs Danvers has moved away without notifying anyone. Maxim has a sense of foreboding and wants to return home that night. On their way back to Manderley, when they are quite close, at 2:30 am, they discover that Manderley is on fire.
The story ends there.
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Final Thoughts: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
I recommend Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier because it’s a well-written book, even if the heroine is nameless.
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Rebecca,
Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca
(Film)
Further Viewing of Rebecca
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