Rebecca is a tale of jealousy. Jealousy oozes from the leaves of this gothic novel. This green eyed monster has barely left anyone out of its touch but some had it worse than others. The second wife is jealous of the first one. The housekeeper is jealous of her new mistress who replaced her beloved Rebecca. The narrator of Rebecca is a nameless woman who lives in the shadow of Rebecca, the legendary anti-heroine of literature. The thoughts I had while reading it were just me wanting to scream at the narrator for letting everyone walk all over her. I wanted to tell her to stop overthinking and imagining things that aren’t happening and only causing her pain and embarrassment. But the more I thought about it, I realized I sometimes exhibit such kind of behaviour too. Not thinking clearly and letting my train of thought wander into a deep dark forest with no way back. And who can even blame her for not feeling secure. She was thrust into a life that was completely alien to her with new people who didn’t like her and to top it all she had an emotionally unavailable husband.
Me calling her spineless seems a bit too harsh and judgemental, doesn’t it? I have never been in her place. Who knows what I would have done in her situation? Maybe not knowing what to do and siding with my murderer husband would have been my only choice too. But here’s the thing, not only the narrator has been extremely naïve but her dark side quickly came out after she was sure that Maxim did not love Rebecca but instead had killed her. After this information was out and Maxim confessed the truth, chiefly the part with Rebecca’s promiscuity, she becomes a rock standing by her husband’s side supporting him no matter what. It is the only time she shows any determination and courage. It seems like all she wanted was a man’s love who never even properly asked to marry her. ‘I am asking you to marry me, you little fool’ isn’t exactly a proposal, is it? Maxim wanted to marry and that’s why they got married. But again, her other choice was to remain a lackey (paid companion) of Mrs. Van Hopper and spend her life with the rich old lady looking down on her due to her working class status. Still, she did warn the narrator about marrying de Winter. It gets interesting when she tells her that Maxim told her he was only marrying the nameless narrator because he doesn’t want to live alone. Again, not a good reason for marriage.
In Manderley, she was haunted by the visions of Rebecca. She saw her in lifeless things and especially in the live ones. She saw her in the expressions of the servants when she failed in properly ordering them. She felt her in Maxim’s mind. She saw her in Mrs. Danvers skull like figure which only came alive at the mention of Rebecca. Manderley belonged to Rebecca and that’s why it had to burn down. As long as there was Manderley, Rebecca would never die. It was hers and it had to perish to make space for Maxim and his new wife.
Mrs. de Winter failed to take charge of Manderley partly because she felt they were looking for Rebecca in her and partly because she was not accustomed to giving orders to anyone, having been orphaned earning her living at a young age. If she had shown even a little bit courage and asked Mrs. Danvers to leave the moment she was sacked, Manderley would not have burned down.
It’s only Rebecca whose name matters not the narrator. The novel has her name. So it’s not difficult to conclude who wins. At the time it was published, the popular opinion was of one woman’s victory in love over another. But du Maurier never saw it as that. She only saw jealousy. Mrs. de Winter definitely cannot be called a feminist. She didn’t give a second thought to the murder of Rebecca and her unborn child as long as it meant that Maxim loved her. She also wished Baker be dead when Rebecca’s medical records were to be examined as her pregnancy would have been revealed. But it all turned out to be in her favour. There was never a child. Rebecca was dying and she thought, ‘Who better to kill me than my own husband?’ The bottom line is, everything happened just like Rebecca wanted except that Maxim got away with it. But that wouldn’t be called a win, would it? Now Maxim has to live almost like in exile, away from everything he ever knew, going from hotels to hotels, never really finding a home.
Mrs. de Winter has pretty strong biases which make her an unreliable narrator. Anyone who seems to disapprove her is portrayed devilishly. Whether it was Mrs. Van Hopper, Jack Favell or Mrs. Danvers, all of them are described in a negative manner. Nothing is ever appealing about them. Of course, we encounter such people on a daily basis but from their point of view, they don’t look so evil as she thinks they are.
The novel is melodramatic. There is endless elaborate descriptions and we, as readers can see every detail in the narrator’s mind. She is not telling a story. She is telling a memory. It leaves us no reason not to believe her. Du Maurier’s style of writing is nowhere near to being common. She has the ability to write surprisingly and yet predictably. In this novel, she writes from personal experiences. She too had a Rebecca in her life. It is believed that she based it on her husband’s first fiancée, Jan Ricardo. Ricardo was feminine and graced the parties she went to while du Maurier was boyish and was too shy for such socialising.
Rebecca is a one of its kind and will remain something I read again and again.
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