Guide Note

Rebecca is considered to be one of Daphne Du Maurier's best works. The nameless narrator is a new and young bride, married above her station to Maxim de Winter, and coming to terms with settling into her new home. Obstacles in her way are the aptly-named, cold-mannered Mrs. Danvers, her naïveté, and the seemingly ghostly presence of her new husband's wife, who drowned in the very place that the young narrator met her husband-to-be.

Du Maurier's suspenseful piece illustrates divides between femininity and showcases strong characters amidst increasingly shocking developments. The naïveté of the narrator is given a stark contrast by the calculated behavior of Mrs. Danvers, who schemes to humiliate the narrator and destroy her spirit. This is evident in one scene before a costume party in which she advises the young heroine, who is ignorant of social requirements and Maxim’s past, to dress unknowingly in the same costume Rebecca had worn the previous year; this causes embarrassment and mortification for the young heroine.

Indeed, Mrs. Danvers could be said to represent the worst traits of misogyny by constantly deriding, undermining and emotionally manipulating the heroine as she cannot stand a replacement for Rebecca. This puts the heroine in a difficult position, for as she is naive and susceptible to criticism, she is unable to forge even her own identity, let alone fill someone else’s shoes, so for Mrs. Danvers and to see a younger girl who, in her eyes, is undeserving of Rebecca’s legacy, attempt to even be the things Mrs. Danvers loved Rebecca for, is all the more of an insult, and makes the heroine even less deserving of her charity.

This is despite the fact that Mrs. Danvers insists that Rebecca’s household traditions be continued, disregarding the proper servant’s receipt of a new household mistress, and again keeping the socially inexperienced heroine in a no-win situation, because no matter what she does, or does not do, she is at the mercy of Mrs. Danvers’ disinclination. Mrs. Danvers is also an example of cowardly female jealousy; although she was clearly bound to Rebecca and has sadly never come to terms with her death, she doesn’t turn her anger on Maxim, who himself took up with a new wife a year after Rebecca’s disappearance; instead she directs her bitter grief and jealousy towards his new bride, who does not have the capacity or emotional strength to defend herself.

Although the novel was accused of plagiarism and unoriginality, the novel is a more modern twist on the Gothic sensibilities, twists and secrets of prior novels such as Jane Eyre, and provides an interesting character study of three very different women.

Fast Facts

1. Author: Daphne Du Maurier
2. Publication date: 1938
3. Inspired by Jane Eyre
4. Much of the novel was written in Alexandria, Egypt
5. One edition of the novel was used by the Germans in WWII as a code source.
6. Two book sequels have been published, including "Rebecca's Tale" and "Mrs. de Winter".
7. Has been adapted into several plays, tv series, and films, including a Bollywood version called "Anamika"