Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

If Margaret Forster's biography of Daphne du Maurier is anything to go by, du Maurier was an extremely complex individual.  A second go round of Rebecca makes it easy to see how her personality and experiences come through in her writing.  Reading the novel was better the second time around, and I think I can appreciate what she was doing more now than I could the first time I read the book.

Sally Beauman writes an excellent afterword to the novel throwing light on her motivations and meanings, which certainly made it a richer read this time through.  Interestingly Beauman writes that Rebecca can be read on two levels, as a conventional romance (probably, Beauman notes, how the reading public approached it when it was first published and became an instant bestseller), which is no doubt how I read it when I was younger.  The other approach is to see the "imaginative links" to earlier novelists such as Charlotte Bronte.  Du Maurier herself described the novel to her publisher as "a sinister tale about a woman who marries a a widower...psychological rather than macabre."  I saw it less as a romance this time around and felt the darker, brooding overtones much more.

Rebecca was written in 1938 while she was living with her military husband in Alexandria, Egypt, which she came to loathe.  She was extremely unhappy at this time, her beloved father having passed away only a few years earlier.  She was also pregnant with her second child and no doubt the sweltering heat of the desert did nothing to lighten her mood.  She chucked the first version (wouldn't it be interesting to get your hands on that?) and later finished it when she returned to England.  This was her fifth novel, and it would become her most famous, remaining in print since it's first publication.

The story begins in Monte Carlo and is narrated by a young, unnamed woman who is acting as a companion to an unpleasant and annoying American woman.  Mrs. Van Hopper is one of those types of women always hoping to curry favor with the elite crowd, and she does everything she can to insinuate herself into the company of handsome widower, Maxim de Winter, who also happens to be staying at the same hotel.  When she falls ill, Maxim and the young woman take to spending time together.  It's all a bit whirlwind, but they quickly decide to marry and return to England.  To Manderley.

The novel is bookended by two dreams the new Mrs. de Winter has.  Both are vivid and nightmarish in quality.  I shared the opening scenes of the novel here.  Beauman writes that the novel is about a man, two women, and a house.  Manderley certainly does take on almost human qualities becoming a towering character in itself.  The new Mrs. de Winter is not only young, but unstylish and inexperienced as well.  She soon finds she's incapable of managing a household that the first Mrs de Winter, Rebecca, succeeded at so flawlessly.  Physically and socially she compares unfavorably with her as well.  Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, does everything she can to undermine the new Mrs. de Winter and make her feel what a failure she is in every way to Rebecca.

For a character who is dead and buried long before the action of the story begins, it's hard to get away from her.  Manderley exudes Rebecca's presence, and everyone on the estate compares the new Mrs. de Winter to the former, or at least that's what the new Mrs. de Winter thinks.  Perhaps as a coping method, she creates a rich fantasy life, but it simply immures her to a feeling of failure.  Since the reader is inside the new Mrs. de Winter's head we not only sense her pain, but feel her fears (real and imagined) as she loses control over her life (though did she ever have it?).  She believes Maxim looks at her but sees and wants only Rebecca.         

I think the story is brilliant at what it sets out to do and how well it's achieved.  Daphne du Maurier always wanted to be taken more seriously as a writer than she was during her lifetime.  I think critics often wrote her off as someone (a woman) writing popular (and therefore not serious) fiction, which is a pity.  I don't think her work can just be read, consumed and forgotten.  At least it's stayed with me.  Happily Virago Press continues to publish the bulk of her work.  I'm very slowly making my way through her oeuvre, and reread this as a run up to reading Justine Picardie's Daphne.  I still plan on reading more of the Brontes as well, whose lives and works seem so integral to so much of what I've read this year.  And I think now I need to pull out The "Rebecca" Notebook.  I will, of course, be reading more of her work (not sure what to follow Rebecca up with).  If you've not yet read this, I highly recommend it!  

Comments

[Tara]

You've made me think I really need to read this. For some reason, I think my attitude has been, 'well I know the story, I've seen the film so why read the book', but that is obviously not the case.

[Danielle]

Tara--Which movie adaptation did you see? Although you'll already know the twists, her writing is really excellent and I think you'll get a different feeling if you read it, since it is a first person narrative and you are really inside the second Mrs. de Winter's head. I think I'm biased though! :)

[Karen]

I read Rebecca for the second time earlier this year as well and like you Danielle I found it a very different (and better) experience the second time around. I think I could read it again now and it would be a different reading altogether again. I re-read it because I was about to read Daphne by Justine Picardie (which I absolutely loved). I will now have to move on to the Margaret Forster biography I think.

[Courtney]

Oh, I am definitely encouraged to reread this, now. I absolutely loved Rebecca but I read it in high school and I think I could get so much more out of it this go around...thanks for the great review!

[Dorothy W.]

I'll definitely have to read it! I like the idea of a house becoming a major character -- it reminds me of Poe and "The Fall of the House of Usher" -- surely an influence??

[Lisa]

This is one of my top 5 all-time favorite books for many of the reasons you list here. Having just read The Haunting of Hill House, I can see comparisons between the two. Both have a creepy old house that does seem oddly human at times, and both revolve around young, fragile women, and finally, both are psychological ghost stories. These seem to be prerequisites for a good gothic novel. Great review!

[Carl V.]

The first time I read Rebecca, almost 2 decades ago now, is one of the most treasured reading experiences I had. I was instantly drawn in to the subtle menace that pervaded the book and enjoyed the romantic aspects as well. I found it an incredibly well written, haunting and captivating novel and to this day consider it one of the books that stands out as the reason I am so enamored of gothic fiction. I do need to get around to reading some of her other books sometime.

[chartroose]

I've always been creeped-out by this novel. Don't you think Mrs. Danvers is one of the most villanous women ever created in modern literature? Du Maurier was brilliant at creating mood and atmosphere in her novels. It's too bad she was poo-poohed simply because she was female. Thanks, Dani!

[Danielle]

Karen--I really enjoyed the Forster bio and it really shed light on her work. I think it helped when I reread Rebecca. I am now reading The Rebecca Notebooks, which is also enlightening. And Daphne is just around the corner. Rebecca is a book that certainly read differenly (better) the second time around and after a chunk of years!
Courtney--I had forgotten so many details it was almost like reading it for the first time. I've only read a smattering of her books, but this is my favorite. I plan on reading more. You'll have to let me know what you think after you reread it.
Dorothy--I wonder if she did read Poe. He's certainly been an influence on other writers. I should reread The Fall of the House of Usher now, too. Manderley certainly has a presence in the book. If you took it out, the story would not be the same. Menabilly, where she lived was her inspiration for the house.
Lisa--I plan on reading Shirley Jackson, too. You're right there are interesting similarities. Rebecca is more Gothic than romance in my mind. It's just so well done--I think it is going to be one of my Top reads as well.
Carl--Rebecca does seem pretty unique, doesn't it. That menacing feeling creeps up on you as you read. You can just feel the narrator being crushed psychologically by the idea of Rebecca as the story plays out. And this is definitely one of the best examples I can think of of Gothic and I'm drawn to this type of story as well.
Chartroose--It is a pity that she didn't get the recognition she deserved. I'm so glad Virago has saved her works and continues to publish them. And Mrs Danvers Is villainous--in more ways than one really, since she causes so much destruction. She's also a great short story writer and she can really evoke that same sort of atmosphere. I've loved all the stories I've read by her and hope to read more.

[litlove]

Great review! I adore this book and it was one of the defining reading experience of my early teenage years. I'd love to read it again.

[Danielle]

Litlove--This is one that I read when I was younger too, and it stuck with me. I appreciated it in a different way this time around!