Rebecca, a gothic and mysterious love story written by Daphne De Maurier,
was published in 1938. Despite the majority of the critic’s reviews stating it was
never going to become a classic, Rebecca was an amazing success. It is such a unique
and universal book that it has stood the test of time among the literary classics. The
book engulfs the reader into a story about love, jealousy, and escaping the past. The
very first lines of the novel begin the reader’s intrigue, “Last night I dreamt I went to
Maderley again. It seems to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a
while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me” (1). This opening statement
grabs the reader’s attention and produces questions in the reader’s mind that urges
them on to continue the book. The novel is about the unnamed character that
marries a man named Max De Winter, who was recently widowed, and how no
matter what the new Mrs. De Winter does the late Mrs. De Winter, Rebecca, will
always over power her. Rebecca almost seems, as she is alive lurking in Maxim’s
beautiful palace of Manderley. As the novel continues the readers see how
insignificant the new Mrs. De Winter is becoming and how dominate Rebecca is over
her. Rebecca fills Mrs. De Winter’s thoughts and even dreams. In the end, Rebecca is
not who she was proclaimed to be which leads to a twist in the plot that catches the
reader off guard. De Maurier was inspired to write this novel through her own life.
She received her inspiration for the character of Rebecca from her husband’s ex-
fiancé. Although she was with he husband, De Maurier could never shake the feeling of insignificance compared to her. Rebecca is a classic that embodies mystery,...
... middle of paper ...
... occur make the book the classic
it is today.
This poem by Jessica represents the power Rebecca had over Mrs. De Winter.
She consumes her every thought, dream, and waking moment. Although she tries to
escape Mrs. De Winter knows her attempts are frivolous. Soon she learns just to
accept the domination Rebecca has over her. She no longer considers herself the
lady of Manderley, but just a puppet mimicking the routines of Rebecca.
Works Cited
"Daphne Du Maurier Book Reviews." Daphne Du Maurier Book Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Escape." Best Teen Poems. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Gothic Romance." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
Maurier, Daphne Du. Rebecca. New York: Avon, 1997. Print.
Yardley, Johnathan. "Du Maurier's 'Rebecca,' A Worthy 'Eyre' Apparent." WashintonPost.com. N.p., 16 Mar. 2004. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
There, up high on her throne, manipulating them as game pieces on a chessboard, their fate will be decided by her; their lives are used to advantage her purposes. Before the victim is trapped, they are charmed by the seemingly heartless fiend. Then, at that point without knowing, deluded into being her follower. In the novel Rebecca, the late Mrs. de Winter, or Rebecca, had shown some qualities that could classify her as a sociopath. Throughout the novel, there are small clues that whisper the truth; they are revealed to have been hints for Rebecca’s true nature. Rebecca shows essential characteristics that expose her sociopathic disposition, such as, being manipulative and lacking the ability to feel remorse.
Burns, Olive Ann. “Boy howdy, ma'am you have sent us a fine book.” The English Journal. Dec. 1989: 16-20 Web. 14 NCTE Jan. 2014
...seems to have endured the most in his life. Not only did he spend his youth caring for his sick mother and then wife, but he now must live in the painful memory of how his life could have been if the accident never happened. The end of the book leaves the readers saddened and frustrated. Though the novella began with a plotline seemingly leading to an ending as cheery as that of Snow White, in the end, this beautiful maiden turned sour. In this storybook tragedy, “the lovers do not live happily ever after. The witch wins” (Ammons 1).
Abrams, M. H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York; W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.
This creates sinister predators within her short stories through the use of empowering and dangerous women. in ‘The Snow Child’, the use of subversion turns the traditional fable of Snow White’s existence from maternal desire into a child who is the product of paternal desire and sexual fantasy. The original tale of Snow White explores a queen who is driven by her desire for beauty and youth, this is similar within ‘The Snow Child’ as the Countess becomes jealous of the child as the Count begins to favour her. The countess and the child are portrayed as binary opposites throughout the story; as one is clothed, the other is naked. This could reflect the importance of appearance within society, and explain the Countess’ antagonistic response to the child and acts of neglect due to her jealousy of the child’s beauty. Carter’s description of the Countess’ clothing leaves the reader with an idea of her dangerous nature; she wears “pelts of black foxes”, an association suggesting a predatory and cunning nature. She also wears “scarlet heels, and spurs” and it may be that the colour of the heels comes from the actions of the spurs, which adds to this idea of violence. We see this nature when she is threatened by the child regarding the Count’s affections, “wife” becoming “the Countess” in a shift emphasised by finally having her own thoughts and feelings in the
Abrams, M. H. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1993.
novel, but we can see that she deserves more credit than she receives. What Maisie Knew. Ricks, Christopher (ed. and introd.). New York, NY: Penguin; 2010.
This characterization of the woman shows how she overpowers her husband, as opposed to the first wife (Snow White’s mother) who is characterized as being obedient and “sitting and sewing by a window with a black ebony frame” (Grimm 249). This characterization contrasts starkly with the dominant woman who plays the archetype of the evil stepmother. The original mother’s wishes came true as she wished for “a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame” (Grimm 249). In this imagery, we are given a color palette that represents a beautiful woman (pale white skin, red rosy cheeks and black ebony hair). Anne Sexton never offers a description of Snow White’s real mother, perhaps showing the reader how it is less important whether the mother is evil or good, but rather how the stepmother and daughter relationship became muddled by the fear the stepmother had to have beauty surpass her own. As Snow White finds herself in the home of the seven dwarfs, she falls asleep and wakes up surrounded by the dwarfs who are interrogating her about her life. Snow White is very obedient, speaking only when spoken to and agreeing to do household chores in return for their protection of her. The dwarfs specifically tell her not to let anyone in the house while they are
"Best Sellers in Classic Literature & Fiction." Amazon. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. .
...her room she will no longer be bound to her husband but rather free to do what she wants whenever she chooses to. Mrs. Mallard is at last apart from a person who was once somebody she loved but then started to dislike him because of his selfishness towards her. Then at last she comes to a point when she sees him and dies because she knows she will be jailed up again with his possession with her.
Now that Mrs. Mallard has tasted what life might have been like without her husband, the
Few people can grow up within today's society without knowing the tale of Snow White. From the Grimm Brothers to Disney, it has been told and retold to children throughout the ages. However, what is often overlooked are the true meanings within the story. Fairytales typically have underlying messages that can be found written between the lines, generally in terms of the key themes. Snow White discusses the themes of envy and beauty, and shows how humans' obsessions can lead to their own downfall as well as the harm of others. When focusing on the relationship between Snow White and her step-mother the Queen, it is evident that the combination of these two themes results in a power struggle in which beauty is seen as a commodity and is the basis for the step-mother?s envy towards Snow White.
In the novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier tells the uncommon, suspenseful love story using a small range of characters with many different personality traits. The reader begins to feel as though they truly know these characters only to discover the unseen truth as their masks fall off. As these personalities develop throughout the novel one can discover that the narrator, Mrs. de Winter, strives to please people and feels very insecure in her identity. She tries to stick up for herself, but her words have no effect on her cruel, manipulative, controlling husband, Mr. de Winter. Mr. de Winter appears as a gentleman in the very early chapters of the book; however, the reader soon discovers that Mr. de Winter seems not to care about other people’s feelings, and that he contains controlling characteristics. Besides being controlling, he also verbally abuses his wife. In simple and plain terms, Mr. de Winter is a jerk. Later in the book, another malevolent and controlling character becomes introduced, Mrs. Danvers. Mr. de Winter’s controlling, abusive ways and Mrs. Danvers malevolent tendencies collide together as the new Mrs. de Winter strives to please them.
In the original Little-Snow White by the Grimms brothers and the readapted Disney version, the stepmother
Over the winter rumours start to spread and people think that Rhoda has bewitched Gertrude. Because of these rumours both her and her son run away. About 6 years later Gertrude finds out about the affair between Rhoda and her husband. Gertrude returns to visit Conjuror Trendle once more as she thinks Farmer Lodge does not love her any more.