Rebecca, written by Daphné Du Maurier

Rebecca, is a novel written in 1938, by Daphné Du Maurier. This work is considered as a classic of the english literature.

It relates the story of the female narrator, whose we don’t know the name. This woman meets Maximilien De Winter, a upper cast man to her. Mr. De Winter is weird but lovely, he seems to have a painful past ( his wife, Rebecca, is dead ). So, she falls in love with him : it’s reciprocal. They get married. The young couple come in Maximilien’s manor, Manderley. Gradually, the young woman « is haunted by the Rebecca’s ghost », Mrs. Danvers, the governess, boosts this. In the wake of a bal, a storm brings out, from the sea,  a boat with Rebecca’s body. Therefore, a police investigation starts. We can notice the main character’s evolution, she becomes a strong woman while she was a « little and shy girl » at the beginning.

I won’t say the story’s wake, it’s up to you, to discover it! I decided to make an article on this novel because it’s, I think, my favorite. The atmosphere is almost indescribable, the ( psychological ) suspense is unsustainable. The novel is dominated by the mystery. There is a kind of darkness in the way the novel is written, in the opposite of the  main character’s innocence. What’s more, it’s a great idea from Du Maurier to not give a name of the female narrator.

Moreover, I want to deepen the subject. So, I’ll talk about the famous film adaptation : Rebecca, directed by Hitchcock. This film is created two years after the book’s release ( 1940 ). This film well retranscribethe general atmosphere of the book. The image alows to give more details showing the Rebecca’s domination, even after her death.

So, now, I let you read the novel or watch the film! Personally, I prefer the novel, because the suspense is more impressive, the darkness is more palpable, the Manderley’s vision is more idealistic.

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