REVIEW: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I had watched Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, 1940 a long time ago and planned to read the novel ever since, but never got around to it, until it was chosen as this month's read by our bookclub. I was thrilled by the choice of course, as the film has always been amongst my favourites. Although the film was the most accurate reflection of the story, I wish I had read the novel before watching, because much of the suspense was lost for me.

Alfred Hitchcock with screenwriter Joan Harrison reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier                      

We held our bookclub meeting this month in Cafe Chanteclair in the Opera Galleria. I love the place, because it was spacious and had good service. Most importantly though, it wasn't full to capacity. Actually I think only three or four tables were occupied. Don't know if that's good for the business, but it was great for us hehe. Anyway, we had a very short, but fun discussion and answered a few important questions, which I will touch upon on this review.

Synopsis:
A young and naive lady's companion marries Maximilian de Winter; a wealthy middle-aged widower and owner of a grand estate called Manderley. After their abrupt marriage, she finds that her husband's thoughts are still consumed by his first wife; Rebecca, who also seems to possess a deep-seated influence over everyone at Manderley, even after her death. Mrs de Winter, now overshadowed by Rebecca's non-existence, is determined to win her husband's love and everyone's respect, but first, she has to unravel the secrets that linger in Manderley.

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". The opening line of the story that sets the tone of the book. Dreams, memories and an atomsphere of mystery throughout.

Rebecca is about the struggle of a woman to overcome her incompetence and the ever-growing gap that sits between her and her husband. And the haunting feeling of jealousy that keeps her from accomplishing it.

Location:
Manderley is a fictional estate that was passed down from generation to generation of de Winters and is the main location in which the story takes place.

Milton Abbey by John Preston Neale, 1818     

The interior and size of the estate was inpired by Milton Hall in Cambridgeshire, which du Maurier stayed in at the age of ten during the First World War, as it was turned into an auxiliary hospital.

Much like the character in the book - the second Mrs de Winter - she had dreamt of owning a place like it at a very young age. In the story, the narrator talks about buying a postcard with a picture of Manderley and ends up being the actual owner of the estate, while du Maurier also made her dream come true when she found an equally beautiful estate in Cornwall called Menabilly, that she often visited with her children a few years prior to obtaining the lease in 1943.

Her trespassing on the grounds of Menabilly built up the idea and atmosphere behind Manderley. I am happy though, that she didn't stick with that name as Manderley is much more refined and can easily roll off the tongue. Plus Menabilly sounds like Hillbilly haha

Happy Valley is one of the most beautiful spots within the massive acres of Manderley. This part of the garden is a safe haven and an escape for everyone who retreats to it, much like du Maurier's little field that she walked through every morning before commencing with her writing.

She also had a garden hut that overlooked the field, which she spent the whole morning and afternoons writing in. It sounds similar to Rebecca's cabin, where she spent most of her time and where most of her secrets lay.

Characters:
Eventhough, all the characters in the book were interesting, I will only focus on the characters which I felt played the most important roles in shaping the story. Also because I don't feel like writing forever hehehe


⦁ George Fortescue Maximilian de Winter is the owner of Manderley. Coming from a wealthy and prestigous family background, reputation plays a very important role in his life, almost more important than his own dignity.
He lived a life full of lies with his first wife, Rebecca. To onlookers, they were a dream couple, but to him, they were a tragedy waiting to happen.

After Rebecca's death, his life had gotten a little stressful and he became cold, moody and secretive, but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive without companionship, so he tried to overcome it by marrying a young woman of around twenty, whom he felt is the complete opposite of Rebecca.

Trying to open a new page in his life proved to be even more worrisome and eventually forced him to reveal secrets to his new wife, he wouldn't dare tell anyone.

⦁ Rebecca de Winter is Maxim's first wife, who had died tragically at sea less than a year before his second marriage.

She was beautiful and beguiling and had everyone mesmerised by her charm. Through her deceptive nature, she fooled everyone by creating the illusion of a caring and devoted wife, when in reality, she tormented her husband with her unchaste affairs.

She had the traits of a psychopath; having no conscience and enjoying the manipulation of others, even at a young age.

Her death cast a shadow over Manderley and it's inhabitants. It almost seemed like she was still alive and was able to cause more pain than ever.

⦁ Mrs de Winter (the narrator) is Maxim's second wife, whom he met in Monte Carlo when she worked as a lady's companion to Mrs Van Hopper; an American socialite. She was a shy and timorous middle-class woman of around twenty, who struggled with her low self-esteem. She was treated as a mere object and just as her invisible personality, Du Maurier didn't feel the need to name her.

In the beginning of the story, when she met Maxim, she wasn't introduced by Mrs Van Hopper, as though she didn't exist and after her marriage, she was referred to as Mrs de Winter, almost making her seem like she could only be somebody if attached to someone else.

Her personality didn't visibly change until she felt she was actually Maxim's wife and not a campanion to him as she was to her former employer. The change wasn't of her on will though, but rather that of her circumstances. That is probably why, even by the end, her name wasn't revealed. It's funny how all through the story, she tried to make a name for herself, but ended up being unworthy of a name...

⦁ Mrs Danvers is the cold and chilling housekeeper to Manderley and Rebecca's childhood governess. She is devoted to Rebecca even after her death. Resenting the new lady of the house, she is commited to never let her take her mistress's place.

Who Is Your Favourite Character?
I usually enjoy villains more than the protagonists for some reason hehe. Jack Favell, who was Rebecca's lover and cousin, was manipulative and greedy. Although the subject of which he speaks is a serious one, he expresses it in a sly yet witty way, which makes for a very entertaining read.

I also enjoyed Mrs Van Hopper's obnoxious nature. I wished she had sent a letter to Mrs de Winter, showing off or belittling her haha.

I think if I had to choose someone whose character I liked, I'd have to go with Colonel Julyan, as he had a powerful presence about him that made me feel safe. I felt that although he liked Maxim and wanted him to win, he didn't hesitate to find the truth. Which he actually didn't haha, but at least he found the evidence to prove it.

Character Inspirations:
Du Maurier fashioned Mrs de Winter's personality after herself. She was shy, introverted and preferred to spend her time writing or walking in her garden rather than socialising.

Before she married her husband, he was engaged to another woman whom resembled Rebecca's physical description; she was dark-haired and glamorous. After they married, Du Maurier still felt her husband remained attracted to his former fiance and that made her jealous, much like how the second Mrs de Winter felt.

Sometime after the novel was published, by an unfortunate coincedence, her husband's former fiance commited suicide, which is how Rebecca was believed to have died. Spooky...

Many critics had noticed, after the publication of Rebecca, that many ideas might have stemmed from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which had an almost identical storyline; A governess marries the master of a grand estate and eventually learns about his dark secrets.

Many authors also made allegations that she had plagiarised their stories, which she proved to be false.

I think it's very difficult not to be influenced by other stories, but I don't believe she attempted to copy any of them.

Themes:
There are obviously many themes that du Maurier touched upon, but I will be focusing on those I felt were the most important:

⚬ Jealousy is the main theme that the author wanted to present. It is what consumed Mrs de Winter throughout the story. She let her feelings of insecurity about her husband's love for her take over and created an obsession over a dead woman. Jealousy as it is portrayed here, can drive a person to irrational thinking. Mrs de Winter envied someone she had never met and would never meet, yet allowed herself to be manipulated into thinking that her own death would make life better for her husband.

Perceiving Rebecca as a threat to her marriage was only in her imagination, and by realising it to be so, she regained her husband's affection. This means that jealousy is a necessary emotion in a relationship, as it maintains the social bond between people. But, when taken too far, it can damage a relationship.

Of course in Mrs de Winter's case, after understanding her husband's true feelings towards her - and Rebecca - she accepted the fact that he was a murderer as long as that meant he loved her...

⚬ Loyalty is one of the key themes in this story. Many relationships had shown occasions where loyalty was apparent. Frank Crawley, Maxim's advisor, for instance, showed loyalty towards Maxim whenever Mrs de Winter asked any questions regarding him. Even during the case, he appeared to know about Maxim's involvement in Rebecca's death, yet he kept it to himself.

Mrs de Winter obviously was very loyal to Maxim, even after knowing the truth about him.

Mrs Danvers showed her loyalty obsessively towards Rebecca, even after her death. She did her best to keep Rebecca alive and part of Manderley. But, when she found that Rebecca could no longer be the mistress of Manderley, she destroyed it.

Maxim was loyal to his family reputation. He let Rebecca manipulate and torture him with her infidelities, rather than divorcing her, because he felt that would bring shame and dishonour to his family.

Murder:
After all the mystery behind Rebecca, we find out that she was murdered by Maxim, after she tormented him with the possiblity of her being pregnant with another man's baby. Of course it turns out to be a lie that Rebecca felt she had to make in order to drive Maxim to kill her, for she was terminally ill and hadn't much time to live anyway.

Were You Satisfied With Maxim Murdering Rebecca?
It was very unfortunate for Maxim to have married an adulteress like Rebecca, but it was his fault for allowing her to florish under his name. I had wished he wasn't behind her murder, because he had no excuse to, since her affairs were not new to him. He wasn't man enough to let go of her at the start of their marriage, so why didn't he just divorce her then.

I know divorce wasn't a normal thing as it is these days, and I don't think it should be taken lightly, but for the situation he was in, it should've been more acceptable to him than his staying with her.

I think I was sympathetic towards Maxim, until I understood that he could have come out of the relationship before it had even started. But still, I think him killing her, was out of character for him.

Rebecca being murdered didn't change my feelings - of disgust - towards her though, as she was in everyway...trash, whether she died murdered or by accident.

I was happy Rebecca died, but wasn't happy that Maxim murdered her.

Ending:
Maxim is never discovered for his murder and wins the case, as Rebecca is said to have commited suicide, while Mrs de Winter finds that her husband loves her after all and believes they can now have a fresh start.

In the beginning of the story, the narrator gives the impression that her and Maxim's lives have turned out rather dismal. She's still dreaming of Manderley and what is no longer theirs, which shows that they aren't happy anymore.

Maxim and Mrs de Winter went back to Manderley thinking they can now live happily ever after, when they find it burned down. This was a sort of punishment for both; Maxim for murdering and Mrs de Winter for accepting it.

Favell had threatened Maxim to never give up on proving him guilty of murdering Rebecca, while Mrs Danvers avenged Rebecca by burning Manderley and letting her win one last time. This proves a stressful future for Maxim. Always wary about when Rebecca would strike again and never certain that she's gone. He and his wife now live in great distress.

Are You Satisfied With The Ending?
I'm quite satisfied with the outcome. Rebecca's reputation was destroyed, when her death was declared a suicide. Favell didn't succeed in blackmailing Maxim and now has Colonel Julyan on his tail. Mrs Danvers lost her power in Manderley, but most importantly lost Rebecca's influence in it. Mandereley is no longer. It was made alive through Rebecca so it had to die with her.

Conclusion:
Daphne du Maurier wrote in beautiful prose and I found that made the narrative style of the book much more appealing and with that, it was easier to understand the psychology of the heroine.
Her very descriptive imagery made me feel enough of the surroundings to be able to touch and smell. This was my first du Maurier book and I rate her writing style - along with Wilkie Collins - among my very favourites.

How Would You Rate The Book?
I enjoyed reading Rebecca, because I love mystery and had I not known what would happen, I think I would've enjoyed it even more. Naturally, there were a few changes made in the film here and there, but I think it rather turned out for the better...

For once I think I prefer the film over the novel, because Maxim's character there deserved more sympathy.

I did enjoy the narrator's imagination though. It showed her wanting feeling. She really aspired to be confident and to react differently to the situations that come to her, so she kept imagining how she would go about them, but in reality, her timid personality never could. These parts were very telling about her personality.

“I had build up false pictures in my mind and sat before them. I had never had the courage to demand the truth.”

I disliked the author a little after finding that she made some racist statements:

"As long as you don't black your face and pretend to be a monkey I don't mind what you do" said Maxim (Chapter 16, page 219)

"It's not all bad," said Beatrice warmly. "He stains his face of course..." (Chapter 16, page 233)

I don't know if she meant it to be part of the de Winters' "charming" personalities or it was just something that came naturally to her. Anyway, it made me like the story a little less, so my rating is:

★★★☆☆