Classic work of romance and intrigue (Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier)

Member Name: sheri3004

Product:	Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
Date:	18/10/05 (1799 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Outstanding storytelling and characterisation

Disadvantages: May be seen as a "woman's book"!

I first read this novel some years ago, but was prompted to re-read it recently by the fact that we have tickets for an upcoming theatrical performance of "Rebecca", and I thought this would be a good time to remind myself of the story.

"Rebecca", first published in 1938 and never out of print since then, is narrated by a young woman whose name we never learn, although we are told it is a "lovely and unusual" one. Most frustrating, and the cause of a few difficulties for the reviewer!

The novel opens with probably one of fiction's most famous opening lines, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". After a brief and unrevealing glimpse of her present day life and a few intriguing hints about the past, the story quickly moves on to our nameless narrator's recollections of where it all began. A shy, naïve girl of twenty-one, low in confidence and much given to romantic daydreams, she is staying in a Monte Carlo hotel where she is acting as paid companion to the appalling, social-climbing Mrs Van Hopper. Upon learning that the enigmatic Maxim de Winter, owner of Manderley - a well-known stately home - and recent widower of the eponymous Rebecca, who died in a sailing accident - is staying in the hotel, Mrs Van Hopper immediately sets out to make his acquaintance and hopefully wangle an invitation to Manderley. The narrator, hideously embarrassed by her employer's behaviour but unable to say anything, is reluctant witness to this. Mrs Van Hopper is fortuitously struck down by the flu, and with her confined to bed in her hotel room and hence off the scene, the narrator is surprised to find Maxim seeking out her own company, taking her out for drives in his car and accompanying her to meals in the hotel restaurant.

Naturally the young girl immediately falls madly in love with this attractively mysterious older man with a tragic past, although she never dreams for a second that her feelings might be reciprocated. She is astounded and disbelieving when, learning that Mrs Van Hopper plans an imminent departure for New York with her companion in tow- something which the narrator dreads - Maxim asks her (rather unromantically, it has to be said) to marry him. Once over the shock, she happily agrees, despite the fact that Maxim is twice her age.

However, her romantic fantasies about life at Manderley with Maxim are rapidly disappointed when she first arrives at the house as a bride of seven weeks. Maxim is preoccupied with business, leaving her to find her own way around the geography and daily life of a house which, though beautiful, she finds in many ways unwelcoming and intimidating - as indeed she finds the staff, particularly the terrifying housekeeper, Mrs Danvers. I think it's worth quoting du Maurier's description of Mrs Danvers as she appears to the younger woman on their first meeting: "someone tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, whose prominent cheek-bones and great, hollow eyes gave her a skull's face, parchment white, set on a skeleton's frame". Nice!

Furthermore, it quickly becomes apparent that the narrator's presence at Manderley, as Maxim's wife, appears very much secondary to that of Rebecca - beautiful, vibrant, talented Rebecca, who although dead, continues to exert a powerful influence with which the narrator, shy and awkward, feels she cannot compete. Mrs Danvers in particular has an almost obsessive devotion to her late employer and loses no opportunity to make the narrator feel small, unnecessary and inadequate, continually referring to Rebecca, rather than her, as "Mrs de Winter". The narrator quickly becomes convinced that Maxim does not really love her and is unable to forget his first wife…. she finds evidence for this in the fact that Maxim alone seems to find it impossible to speak of Rebecca, while most other people seem able to talk of little else. Eventually, the truth about Rebecca and Maxim is revealed.

"Rebecca" has been described as the first major gothic romance in the 20th century, which is probably a fair description, although just describing it as a "romance" misses out a great deal. The gothic elements are certainly there: the vast imposing mansion, the menacing presence of the housekeeper, the general sense of threat and of sinister secrets yet to be uncovered. Above all though du Maurier is an excellent storyteller, weaving a plot which keeps you gripped from the outset and providing an unexpected denouement.

Manderley is, apparently, a combination of two houses which Daphne du Maurier knew in her youth. One was a house called Milton, near Peterborough, where she stayed as a child; a very grand house with a vast entrance hall, many rooms and a commanding housekeeper. The other was Menabilly, the home of the Rashleigh family, located just outside Fowey in Cornwall - a large house hidden away at the end of a long driveway with huge grounds surrounded by woodland, and a pathway which led down to a cottage nestled beside the sea, with two beaches sheltered in a little cove. The house was empty and neglected but Daphne paid frequent visits to the grounds and loved it there. Later in life Daphne actually lived at Menabilly and did much of her writing there. Readers of "Rebecca" will see many similarities between these two houses and the fictional Manderley.

Du Maurier's choice not to name the narrator, the second Mrs de Winter, is an interesting one. The author claimed that she simply could not think of a name, and it became a challenge in technique to write the whole story without giving her a name. In practice this proved to be a highly effective way of making the character appear to be a lesser person than Rebecca - she is not even significant enough to be named, while her predecessor is important enough to have the whole book named after her. As Mrs Danvers says at one point, "She's the real Mrs de Winter, not you - It's you who are the shadow and the ghost".

Although it is easy to sympathise with the narrator, I also found her to be a frustrating character at times and wished she would assert herself, even a little bit! For instance, on one occasion she requests a servant to place a vase of flowers in a particular place - he responds by saying that Mrs de Winter always had them in a different location, and she quickly acquiesces to this. It's impossible not to think that there isn't much hope for someone who can't even stand her ground over the placement of a bunch of flowers! Overwhelmed by the pervasive presence of Rebecca's memory, she seems to make little attempt to combat this by stamping her own personality on Manderley, at least until circumstances change…..

The novel left me with some interesting questions, most of which I can't reveal here without giving away too much of the plot! However, readers may well find themselves pondering the nature of justice - is justice done in the end, or not? What is the price of love?

Generally, an excellent read which I highly recommend - I'm looking forward to the theatrical production, and can't wait to see how they will approach it!

Cover price of the paperback edition £7.99 - available from Amazon for £3.99, or used from £1.99. My copy is an old one and I haven't read the Virago edition which is currently available, but one Amazon reviewer suggests avoiding reading the introduction to that edition, as apparently it gives away too much of the plot! If so, it's probably good advice, as the twists and turns of the plot are one of the novel's main pleasures.

Summary: Excellent story and characters, a must-read.