Rebecca Du Maurier Quotes

Daphne Du Maurier’s gothic novel, Rebecca, provides insight into the extreme influence power dynamics can have on the identity and mental state of a young, naive girl. The narrator, a 21 year old nameless girl, begins her story as a paid companion to an older woman named Mrs. Van Hopper. From the beginning, it is evident that she lacks a strong sense of self as well as any real confidence. This, in part, with her young age allows those who are older than her to abuse their sense of power and manipulate the narrator into someone she does not truly want to be. Mrs. Van Hopper, an older woman who gives the narrator a position to work, is the reader’s first real view into the abuse the narrator faces. The woman’s constant desire to find a social …show more content…
When the narrator arrives at Manderley, she is immediately met with the incessant reminders of Maxim’s deceased ex-wife, Rebecca. Through various scenes within rooms of the estate, Du Maurier captures the presence of Rebecca in things like letters and furniture, but the key thing serving as a reminder is the main housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. First seeming to be out of memory and courtesy, Mrs. Danvers makes comments to the narrator about things like specific sauces that she might request because Rebecca once did and certain ways that she liked the house to be. However, these small comments and questions soon turn into more harsh and specific comments of Mrs. Danvers telling the narrator about how different she is from the late Rebecca. Her comments and behavior begin to work themselves into the identity of the narrator, feeling as if she isn’t able to live up to who Rebecca was. Mrs. Danvers comments, however, come from a place of her own trauma, as she had become extremely close with Rebecca throughout her …show more content…
It is clear from the very beginning of the gothic story that the young narrator would lack authority over her own actions. This is emphasized throughout the whole story by the narrators lack of a first name. Every other character surrounding her is given a proper name to acknowledge their presence, while the young girl is only given the name of Mrs. de Winter after she weds Maxim. In a conversation with Maxim, he tells her that she has a unique first name which was given to her by her father, but it is never shared with the reader. This further proves the idea that her true identity is not able to be shared with those around her, for she is confined to the former title of Rebecca: Mrs. de Winter. The opening line of the novel, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” (Du Maurier 1), immediately conveys to the reader that even after she feels she has escaped the haunting of Rebecca’s presence and the words of Mrs. Danvers, she is left with constant reminders of being stuck within a life that is not truly

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Rebecca Du Maurier Quotes

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Essay about Rebecca: Daphne Du Maurier and Mrs. de Winters

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