Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is a gothic novel set in England in the mid twentieth century. The gothic elements in the novel include a sinister atmosphere created by the supernatural presence of the ghost of Rebecca, and the sense of mystery surrounding her sudden death. Rebecca was the former mistress of Manderley, a beautiful mansion owned by Maxim de Winter who was married to her. Rebecca is portrayed by the author as an evil, cruel, vicious, manipulative, duplicitous and promiscuous woman who led a double life. Maxim tells the heroine about Rebecca: “She was vicious and evil and rotten through and through.” A character in the novel named Ben sums up Rebecca by saying, “she gave you the feeling of a snake.”
In contrast to Rebecca, the novel features a nameless heroine who is portrayed by Du Maurier as a naïve, timid, shy, self conscious and kind young woman who marries the much older man Maxim de Winter. The novel takes the form of a memory narrative and is told by the heroine in flashback. In the opening chapter of Rebecca the heroine recounts a dream: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me that I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, but there was a padlock and chain upon the gate. I peered through the rusted spokes and saw that the lodge was uninhabited. Then like all dreamers, I suddenly attained supernatural powers and passed through the gate like a spirit. As I advanced along the twisting and turning drive I could see that a change had come about…”
The novel tells a compelling story of supernatural events, and explores the way in which the vicious ghost of Rebecca is exorcised by the burning down of Manderley.
Reviewed by Ryhanna Salie