It was great!
The narrator is a young woman who gets married to Maxim de Winter who is the owner of the an estate called Manderley and is much older than her and who supposedly could not forget his late wife Rebecca. The novel tells how this new girl who didn't have the right background to be the mistress of an estate, falls victim to insecurities and inferiority complex. She is haunted by the memory of Rebecca, which is kept alive by the house maid Mrs. Danvers. She constantly feels that she doesn't fit in the new position of being a successor to Rebecca who was adored by everyone who knew her and was great as a wife and mistress of Manderley. She constantly compares herself with Rebecca and repeatedly declares herself incompetent. It is a great depiction of how dead are kept alive by their memories.
But the mysterious personality of late Rebecca is not actually that adorable. Although how she managed to be liked so widely and sincerely is amazing.
I think the novel as much about Manderley as it is about the characters. Hats off to du Maurier's imagination. The account of Manderley makes it sound like another central character of the novel.
Most importantly the novel is about human nature. How it can become insecure enough to be affected by the dead even more than they are affected by the living. The young Mrs. de Winter, in spite of being the mistress, let herself be dominated by the servants which is so strange but understandable. As she thinks that her husband still loves Rebecca along with everybody among the servants and their social circle, instead of making an effort to make herself distinguished, she immediately gives in and becomes defensive. She is supposedly from a weak financial background and worked in a minor situation before getting married, so due to her low self-esteem and lack of self confidence and the communication gap she had with her husband when it came to talk about his first wife, she accepts that she cannot replace Rebecca and let others make decisions while she just kills the time at the house without participating in anything at the household because she was frightened to be compared with Rebecca. So she let the customs set by Rebecca live even she herself was dead.
The girl's insecurity might be annoying and her being dominated by servants is really idiotic but her innocence and simplicity is endearing.
I am going to read more of du Maurier's and I hope she has created more magical places like Manderley.
Rebecca was simply great from beginning to end!!
The narrator is a young woman who gets married to Maxim de Winter who is the owner of the an estate called Manderley and is much older than her and who supposedly could not forget his late wife Rebecca. The novel tells how this new girl who didn't have the right background to be the mistress of an estate, falls victim to insecurities and inferiority complex. She is haunted by the memory of Rebecca, which is kept alive by the house maid Mrs. Danvers. She constantly feels that she doesn't fit in the new position of being a successor to Rebecca who was adored by everyone who knew her and was great as a wife and mistress of Manderley. She constantly compares herself with Rebecca and repeatedly declares herself incompetent. It is a great depiction of how dead are kept alive by their memories.
But the mysterious personality of late Rebecca is not actually that adorable. Although how she managed to be liked so widely and sincerely is amazing.
I think the novel as much about Manderley as it is about the characters. Hats off to du Maurier's imagination. The account of Manderley makes it sound like another central character of the novel.
Most importantly the novel is about human nature. How it can become insecure enough to be affected by the dead even more than they are affected by the living. The young Mrs. de Winter, in spite of being the mistress, let herself be dominated by the servants which is so strange but understandable. As she thinks that her husband still loves Rebecca along with everybody among the servants and their social circle, instead of making an effort to make herself distinguished, she immediately gives in and becomes defensive. She is supposedly from a weak financial background and worked in a minor situation before getting married, so due to her low self-esteem and lack of self confidence and the communication gap she had with her husband when it came to talk about his first wife, she accepts that she cannot replace Rebecca and let others make decisions while she just kills the time at the house without participating in anything at the household because she was frightened to be compared with Rebecca. So she let the customs set by Rebecca live even she herself was dead.
The girl's insecurity might be annoying and her being dominated by servants is really idiotic but her innocence and simplicity is endearing.
I am going to read more of du Maurier's and I hope she has created more magical places like Manderley.
Rebecca was simply great from beginning to end!!
Awesome novel, agreed! I found both the Mrs. Winters very fascinating. Daphne Du Maurier is an excellent writer and you should read 'The House on the Strand' and 'The Scapegoat'.
ReplyDeleteReminds me, I should read some of her other works, too.
Someone recommended "Jamaica Inn" to me as well.
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