Rebecca Study Guide

Rebecca

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca is the story of a nameless young woman who marries the wealthy and urbane Mr. de Winter in the wake of the death of his first wife, the titular Rebecca. The new Mrs. de Winter is tormented at her husband's mansion, Manderley, by the cruel and manipulative housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. The novel deals with emotional abuse, the nature of relationships, the fears faced by young wives, and with the obsessive cult of personality the late Rebecca constructed for herself.

Rebecca Characters

Table of Contents
  • The narrator/the second Mrs. de Winter : A timid, naïve, middle-class woman in her early twenties, who enjoys sketching. Neither the narrator's first nor maiden name is revealed. She is referred to as "my wife", Mrs. de Winter, "my dear", etc. The one time she is introduced with a name is during a fancy dress ball, in which she dresses as a de Winter ancestor and is introduced as "Caroline de Winter," although this is clearly not her own name. She signs her name as "Mrs. M. de Winter", using Maxim's initial. Early in the novel she receives a letter and remarks that her name was correctly spelled, which is "an unusual thing," suggesting her name is uncommon, foreign or complex. While courting her, Maxim compliments her on her "lovely and unusual name". Despite her timidity, she gradually matures throughout the novel, refusing to be a victim of Rebecca's any longer and becoming a strong, assertive woman in her own right.
  • Maximilian "Maxim" de Winter : The reserved, unemotional owner of Manderley. He marries his new wife after a brief courtship, yet displays little affection toward her after the marriage. Emotionally scarred by his traumatic marriage to Rebecca, his distance toward his new wife causes her to fear he regrets his marriage to her, and is still broken-hearted over Rebecca's death. Maxim murdered Rebecca in a blind rage after she pushed him over the edge with her lie that she was carrying the child of one of her lovers and would force him to raise it as his own. He does eventually reveal to his new wife that he does love her, but not until several months of marriage have passed.
  • Mrs. Danvers : The cold-hearted, overbearing housekeeper of Manderley. Danvers was Rebecca's family maid when she was a child, and has lived with her for years. She is unhealthily obsessed with Rebecca and with preserving her memory, and resents the new Mrs de Winter, convinced she is trying to "take Rebecca's place." She tries to destroy the marriage, but her efforts fail and only serve to bring Maxim and his new wife closer together. After her scheme is ruined, Mrs. Danvers burns Manderley to the ground, preferring to destroy it than allow Maxim to share his home with another wife.
  • Rebecca de Winter : The unseen title character, who has been dead for less than a year. A famous beauty, and on the surface a devoted wife and perfect hostess, Rebecca was actually a compulsive liar and an openly promiscuous woman who tormented her husband Maxim with lurid tales of her non-stop affairs. Her lingering presence overwhelms Manderley, dominating the visitors, the staff and the new Mrs. de Winter. Through dialogue, it is slowly revealed that Rebecca possessed all the signs of a psychopath: habitual lying, superficial charm, expert manipulation, no conscience and no remorse. She was also revealed to be somewhat sadistic - Danvers tells a story of Rebecca, during her teenage years, cruelly whipping a horse until it bled.

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