Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the novel "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier and focuses on how the role of women in a patriarchal society is given particular attention in the context of the novel. The paper refers to the novel "Jane Eyre" by Emile Bronte that also reflects some of the same themes about women in an earlier era. The paper examines the gothic elements present in this work and shows how Du Maurier paints a picture of society as it was.

From the Paper:

"The central character is a woman who becomes involved in a romantic relationship. She is a woman ultimately bound to the past, a past which interferes with the present and which makes a meaningful relationship nearly impossible until the holdovers from that past are resolved. In Rebecca, the past is represented in a dead woman who effectively--though not literally--"haunts" the house where the husband brings his new wife. Maxim de Winter was once married to Rebecca, and her presence is still felt throughout the house where they lived together, a presence reinforced by her clothes, her room, and her portrait. The new wife--a woman set apart from everyone else by the fact that neither the novel nor the film gives her a name, though the whole story is seen through her eyes--feels this presence most acutely. She also believes that Max loved Rebecca so much that he cannot escape from her memory, making the role of new wife especially difficult. This turns out not to be the case, but the new wife believes it and reacts accordingly."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1906.
• Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Bantam, 1981.
• Du Maurier, Daphne. Rebecca. New York: Avon Books, 1938.
• Light, Alison. "'Returning to Manderley' Romance Fiction, Female Sexuality, and Class." In Feminism and Cultural Studies, Morag Shiach (ed.), 371-394. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Pyrhonen, Heta. "Bluebeard's Accomplice: Rebecca as a Masochistic Fantasy." Mosaic Volume 38, Issue 3 (2005). May 15, 2007. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5012184042.

Visitors who viewed this Book Review also liked these:

• Analytical Essay # 133674 : "Women and Social Class in "Rebecca"
• Book Review # 106832 : "Literature: Women inside the Patriarchal Society"
• Essay # 137545 : "Rebecca Popenoe's "Feeding Desire"."

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: