Rebecca

The book I am going to review is one of my favourite books, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The moment I took the book in my hand I knew it that I am going to like it because of its cover, giving a dreamy plus mysterious look. But as it is said, never judge a book by its cover, I put the fondness of the cover back and entered into the dreamy realm of Rebecca.

This novel has been written in first person narrative mode and is a perfect example of Gothic Romance. The narrator (first name not mentioned throughout the book, known as Mrs. de Winter) takes the reader into her past where a reader gets to know how she met her husband Maxim (who is a widower) and who is Rebecca. The book starts with "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…here was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been…” makes the reader alert, as Manderley is going to play a significant role in the plot. It would not be exaggerating if it is said that the pivot of the whole story is Manderley. Rebecca’s Manderley!

Our underprivileged narrator meets a very wealthy man, Maximilian de Winter (Maxim) in Monte Carlo and marries him. Not believing her fortune, expecting a good and prosperous life she accompanies Maxim to his native mansion, Manderley. Her confidence shatters when she gets introduced with Mrs. Danvers, a very faithful servant of Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter, who died in a boating accident. And there starts a series of events which perplexes our very innocent and naïve narrator.

The evil Mrs. Danvers again and again reminds our narrator of Rebecca. She always tries to describe Rebecca as an ideal and undermines the narrator’s abilities. She also tries to create a gulf between the newly wedded couple by telling that Rebecca and Maxim were a perfect couple and our narrator can never replace Maxim’s first love.

Knowing the fact that she is a second girl in Maxim’s life, she loses self esteem and gets influenced by the idea that Maxim cannot forget Rebecca and still loves her perfect wife.

At the climax, Mrs. Danvers proudly confesses her profound love for Rebecca and hatred for the narrator. The following pages reveal Maxim telling Mrs. de Winter about Rebecca’s nature and his dark past.

What is Maxim’s past? How was Rebecca? What is the end?

I don’t want to kill your curiosity and ruin the taste of a mystery. Read the book and enjoy yourself. It is a must read.

The best thing about the book is a unique style of du Maurier. She ironically did not use the narrator’s or heroine’s first name ever in the whole story and titled her book as Rebecca who was dead.  

At times it cast a chill over my spine at others my pulse raced. At some pages I was wide eyed and at some I was jaw dropped. But after reading it I felt contended that I read one of the fine pieces of literature.