Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

oldchem 20.06.2009
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Rebecca is one of those "classics" you see on reading lists for School Examinations in English Literature. I actually wrote my "RPR" (not actually sure what it stands for, but basically, a book review) on Rebecca when I was 17. At the time, I basically skimmed through the book, read a lot of notes on the story, and churned out an essay with lots of long words, which obviously impressed the examiners, as I "made the grade" and got an A grade. However, ...
...important character is, of course, Rebecca herself. Much of the book is about how others remember Rebecca, as well as how the new Mrs. DeWinter imagines her to be. Although this is not a ghost story in the normal way, the spirit of Rebecca is at the forefront of the novel throughout, and she certainly haunts all the characters in different ways. She also haunts the reader, who soon begins to wonder about the *real* Rebecca. Who is right in their ...

avitallly 08.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

...expressed in her writings. Although Rebecca is considered her masterpiece and has become a famous film, she wrote many other books such as Jamaica's Inn, My COusin Rachel and Frenchman's Creek which are less well-known. Rebecca: Rebecca was written in 1938, while Rebecca was unhappy at Egypt, where her husband was osted at the time. It is a story of a woman's first love, a story of mystery and a story of crime. As these different genres of the book ...
...to Maxim's first wife, Rebecca. Rebecca was a beatiful, sophisticated woman, with a high position in society, and was considered a social butterfly. In contrast to her, the new Mrs de Winter feels clumsy, ashamed and embarassed, and without her husband's suport, she is left to dream of Rebecca, and almost becomes obsessed with her. Rebecca had died at sea, and she feels that perhaps she is just a poor replacement of Rebecca, and under the constant ...

Kulsum 19.06.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

...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 ...
...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 ...

sheri3004 17.10.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

...her prince charming. Similarly, Rebecca raises the idea of woman seeking the validation of a man's love, Mrs de Winter is shown to be impressionable through her unrealistic approach to her marriage to Maxim, which is very much about Mrs de Winter’s infatuation rather than love for her new husband. There are also references throughout the novel that the love is not requited. If we are to accept that du maurier was writing ahead of her time and was ...
...husband. The social elite, Rebecca is used to deconstruct any social barriers between the elite and the working class. Portraying a message about social equality and freedom. These messages are the reason why this book is so fascinating. These messages are not obvious and need to be searched for, so for the reader who doesn't like to look so deeply into hidden messages you will be missing out. this novel is perfect for your own investigation into ...

femmefatale 01.04.2005 (02.04.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Though REBECCA is often marketed as a Romance, it is worth noting that the author herself thought it was rather a dark tale of jealousy and envy, with an unconventional ending. I was struck by the strong elements of the nineteenth century sensation novel, intertwined with gothic pieces, which continues until we learn of Maxim's true relationship to the dead Rebecca, at which point the tale takes a strong turn into detective fiction, though the twists ...
...long-winded way of saying that REBECCA is not a traditional romance and has anything but the traditional happy ending, so don't read it expecting a touching love story, regardless of the blurb on the jacket. The next important thing to note is that though Rebecca, the first wife of Maxim de Winter, is dead before the novel is gone, she haunts the text to a degree that means she is much easier to remember than the nameless narrator, the second wife. ...

brokenangelkisses 18.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier