Book Review: Rebecca (3 Star Rating)

I have finally finished Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. The story is told through a series of flashbacks—it is about a young and nameless heroine who marries a 46 year-old and recent widower, Maximillian de Winter (Maxim), while she stays and works in Monte Carlo as a “companion” for a gossip and vulgar American woman, Mrs. Van Hopper.

The setting takes place in Kerrith, England in the 1930s, in which Maxim owns the prominent and grand house called Manderley. As I mentioned before, it is narrated through a series of memories of the heroine’s past life—when she first met and married Maxim. At the beginning of the tale, the reader learns that the heroine and Maxim are living from hotel to hotel, not necessarily as poor vagrants, but nonetheless they are homeless. Even though the heroine’s stay at Manderley was brief, she continues to relive the fond memories of the beautiful house that was supposed to be her forever home. But a dark cloud of the past still hovers and lingers above their heads, as they try to move forward into a bright future and come to grips with reality.

“I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.” 

Within weeks or possibly days of knowing each other at Monte Carlo, Maxim asks the heroine for her hand in marriage, and the couple soon after wed and go on a nice honeymoon. When the newlyweds return and arrive at the majestic Manderley, the heroine is now confronted with a new life so dissimilar from her quiet and quaint life she led before. The heroine is shy, skinny, spineless, timid, and awkward—she soon realizes that she does not carry the same grace and a powerful attitude that a mistress should carry. Maxim on the other hand is the opposite—he is strong, moody, authoritative, and troubled. When he first met the heroine, readers learn that he lost his late wife, Rebecca, almost a year ago; she drowned while she was sailing in sea one night—or as it was led to seem that way.

As the couple adjust to each other and start their lives as a recent married couple, the heroine is not only finding her self as a misfit in this new life of wealth, but she is also dealing with the shadows of the late Rebecca. It appears that the presence of the first Mrs. de Winter, still remains in Manderley. Although dead, Rebecca is remembered as a young, beautiful, vibrant, talented, and impressionable lady who has charmed almost everyone she met; as everyone came to say, it was hard not to fall in love with Rebecca. The heroine worries that her husband is still in love with Rebecca, and she feels that she could never rise above the high reputation that Rebecca still carries, even well after her death. Then there’s the sinister Mrs. Danvers, who is the housekeeper at Manderley. Mrs. Danvers was strongly devoted to Rebecca, and continues to remain devoted to her even after her passing; she also despises the heroine for taking her “mistress’s place.” The housekeeper does her best to frighten as well as intimidate the heroine, thus making the heroine’s life at Manderley unbearable.

“I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.” 

Like with all stories, a tragedy strikes and soon the heroine is now met with a past that she had no part in—the death of Rebecca. Rebecca’s boat is discovered, as well as a decaying body of the late Mrs. de Winter. Now questions arise as to how Rebecca really died, and the heroine’s life with Maxim is now being threatened with horrid secrets of Manderley’s past.

“We can never go back again, that much is certain. The past is still close to us. The things we have tried to forget and put behind us would stir again, and that sense of fear, of furtive unrest, struggling at length to blind unreasoning panic - now mercifully stilled, thank God - might in some manner unforeseen become a living companion as it had before.” 

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I saw the movie years before and it motivated to make me read this novel. It has been 78 years since the novel has been first published and continues to be in print; it was a bestselling novel until the mid-sixties. It is considered to be the author’s true masterpiece and her most prominent literary legacy of the 20th century, in which apparently continues to enthrall many today. Also, the story was inspired by events that took place in the author’s life. Du Maurier discovered letters that belonged to her husband’s first fiancée, Jan Ricardo; Ricardo threw herself under a bus and died years previously to Du Maurier’s marriage. When Du Maurier married her husband, she feared that he was still attracted to Ricardo, thus inspiring her to write a novel based on this suspicion of hers.

“The moment of crisis had come, and I must face it. My old fears, my diffidence, my shyness, my hopeless sense of inferiority, must be conquered now and thrust aside. If I failed now I should fail forever.” 

To move on, there were things that I did not like about this novel. Firstly, the narrator is a pathetic and a weak character, thus making it agonizing to even read at times. She’s docile, meek and allows her husband’s mood swings to affect her emotionally. The heroine never takes a stand to combat the ghosts of Manderley’s past, especially when it came to Rebecca. The story does give readers an overall context of the era and how people behaved back then, which I find to always be fascinating; I love to compare and contrast certain cultural mores back then to the present time. I thought that some of the characters were too posh, uppity, snobby, and judgmental—but it also allowed me feel sorry for the heroine and to also understand why she’s feeling out of place in this new world of hers. There were many instances where I was frustrated, angry, and so upset at the heroine—especially between certain situations with Mrs. Danvers. I really began wishing that I were the heroine in the story so I could slap Mrs. Danvers across the face—but then there would be no point in the story, so I just tolerated it for the most part.

Additionally, the author is unnecessarily descriptive and too wordy throughout the entirety of the story. Du Maurier adds in useless information, which could have been cut out and you still would not lost the tale's coninuity. It made reading the book long and at times boring. I feel that at many times, the narrator/author digressed and talked about things that were not relevant to certain situations or events that were taking place. Not only was I frustrated with some of the characters, but also I was also frustrated with how long it took for the climax to finally happen. It felt like eternity for the story to finally reach its peak.

I love the idea and premise of the story, but as I previously mentioned before—the characters and the certain parts in the story made it painful to finish at times. The story still remains to be a timeless classic, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who does not mind getting mad while reading. Otherwise, it was a decent read altogether.

x, Kayla