Scan barcode
A review by mariahistryingtoread
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
4.0
Rebecca is a fascinating look at the complexity of abuse. Both of the main characters are victims though only one recognizes this on any level. The other, our unnamed protagonist who narrates the tale, is not so lucky. Instead, she works herself to the bone trying to please an emotionally unavailable jerk old enough to be her father.
I’m pretty sure Rebecca is solely meant to be a mystery with some psychological themes given the time period, but that did not stop me from projecting our current standards for relationships onto the characters anyways. I try not to read critical analysis until after the review so I can get my thoughts out in the purest form - even if I look ignorant retroactively - so it’s entirely possible I’m wrong and Daphne du Maurier was fully aware. If anybody cares that much, I’m sure they’ll let me know.
The book is told from the point of view of a young woman probably 18 or 19 years old, 20 at the oldest by my estimation. Maxim de Winter, the wealthy brooding widower she impulsively marries, is said to be 42 leaving a small range for the protagonist age wise.
Most of the book is the current Mrs. de Winter sinking further and further into despair as the crushing weight of the memory of her husband’s late wife envelops her. She is painfully self-conscious, anxious to the point of exhaustion, and ridiculously jealous. She was annoyingly relatable to plain annoying by turns.
There were many a time I just wanted to shake her and tell her to speak up or stop thinking about it because it reached a point where her misery was becoming completely self-inflicted. I don’t like reading about anxious characters because I, myself, have pretty terrible though fairly well managed (if I do say so myself) anxiety. It makes me a hypocrite, but their inability to stand up for themselves is too frustrating to handle. I’m already frustrated with my own struggles, I don’t need to be in the head of someone else who has them too.
Not everyone is equipped to be the partner to a widower. It doesn’t make you a bad person if you aren’t. It takes a level of emotional intelligence and communication that is difficult for even the most empathetic of people to navigate. A person who has never had love in her life, who has barely started to live, who fears the future due to their lack of life experience to push through is undoubtedly one of the worst contenders for a second wife there is. Such is the case of our poor Mrs. de Winter: while the circumstances Maxim de Winter has brought her into are abominable certainly - I put most of the blame on him because he’s a grown man - but she has absolutely no business being in this relationship either way.
If Maxim de Winter was only 2 years older than her, the book would have played out pretty much the same way. The age difference does add to the atmosphere and character dynamics because the power imbalance contributes to her feelings of inadequacy all the more. However, my point is that Mrs. de Winter is so insecure she would largely feel a similar degree of disquiet regardless. That being said, it’s not like she had much of a choice seeing how she does not have enough life experience to fully realize what she has committed to.
It’s not to say she’s a child. Clearly she’s an adult capable of making her own decisions. It’s that without being somewhat cognizant of the potential impact of her choice to enter into this union she is ill-equipped to properly consent. A woman closer to Maxim’s age would be less likely to let him get away with all of what Mrs. de Winter does. It’s the entire reason that age gaps that are particularly big at important life junctures are so problematic in the first place.
The really interesting part is that Maxim is not your average, everyday creep. He’s a victim too.
In a time when masculinity was defined solely by keeping a strong upper lip even in the face of unbelievable pain and suffering, Maxim de Winter, was shackled to a manipulative, narcissistic abuser who delighted in the deception of their marriage at the expense of his well being. I knew what the twist was going in and I still was chilled to the bone when the truth came out.
The description of her in that moment when Maxim finally crumbled was captivating. I felt like the narrator, taking my first breath of fresh air free of Rebecca’s pervasive influence. I was not aware of how immersed I had become in the narrator’s emotional upheaval until that point.
The depth of this woman’s twisted soul was incredibly upsetting. While men are the biggest perpetrators of abuse that does not mean that women cannot be abusers or that men cannot be abused. As a society, it is unfortunate that in 2021 this is still something that needs to be stated. Still, it is undeniable we have progressed leaps and bounds past what used to be. What made Rebecca’s actions so awful to me was how much she took advantage of how restricted Maxim was. There was almost nothing this man could do. I don’t condone violence yet in these parameters what could he really do? How culpable is Maxim when looking at the situation from all angles?
With that in mind it’s easy to see why he specifically was attracted to the narrator.
He finds her youth refreshing compared to Rebecca most likely because he came to attribute Rebecca’s older age with her duplicity; she worsened with age after all. The narrator’s youth makes her less sure-footed meaning he is able to read her intentions better. The narrator’s youth leaves her less opportunity to take advantage of him as she is the one who will perpetually be on the backfoot. I don’t believe Maxim set any of this up intentionally either. It’s an unconscious desire to avoid the ill treatment Rebecca inflicted onto him.
After the twist is revealed it’s telling that he actively mourns her loss of innocence. A normal partner in a healthy age gap relationship would not prize innocence in the first place.
Plus he’s allowed to guard his heart in this manner because with a young partner not able to articulate her misgivings or suss out his behavior as odd he can casually dismiss them. He maintains that she can simply ask him anything yet he knows he cannot truly open up to her because of the nature of what he’s done. He has effectively boxed himself in where he will be forever punished by the unforgivable act he believes he has committed and it simultaneously not be his fault he can’t open up because she won’t ask. As if she should have to ask to have a simple conversation with her husband.
That all is to say, I don’t excuse Maxim de Winter, but I understand him. The multidimensional characters are what engrossed me most. Everyone had a backstory that added to the intrigue.
Keep in mind, however, over half the book is the narrator attempting to ingratiate herself in the beloved Manderley estate. This means many stories about seeing Mr. such and such and having tea and walking the grounds and endless ruminations on her own inadequacy. It is not an event heavy book by any means. If you are expecting clues or puzzles or an investigation of any kind you will be sorely disappointed. I have not read many gothic or old mystery novels so I can’t say if this is par for the course. If you have then you most likely already know what I’m talking about to adjust your expectations accordingly.
I highly recommend Rebecca. It’s a wild ride when it truly gets underway - a classic that deserves the designation.
I’m pretty sure Rebecca is solely meant to be a mystery with some psychological themes given the time period, but that did not stop me from projecting our current standards for relationships onto the characters anyways. I try not to read critical analysis until after the review so I can get my thoughts out in the purest form - even if I look ignorant retroactively - so it’s entirely possible I’m wrong and Daphne du Maurier was fully aware. If anybody cares that much, I’m sure they’ll let me know.
The book is told from the point of view of a young woman probably 18 or 19 years old, 20 at the oldest by my estimation. Maxim de Winter, the wealthy brooding widower she impulsively marries, is said to be 42 leaving a small range for the protagonist age wise.
Most of the book is the current Mrs. de Winter sinking further and further into despair as the crushing weight of the memory of her husband’s late wife envelops her. She is painfully self-conscious, anxious to the point of exhaustion, and ridiculously jealous. She was annoyingly relatable to plain annoying by turns.
There were many a time I just wanted to shake her and tell her to speak up or stop thinking about it because it reached a point where her misery was becoming completely self-inflicted. I don’t like reading about anxious characters because I, myself, have pretty terrible though fairly well managed (if I do say so myself) anxiety. It makes me a hypocrite, but their inability to stand up for themselves is too frustrating to handle. I’m already frustrated with my own struggles, I don’t need to be in the head of someone else who has them too.
Not everyone is equipped to be the partner to a widower. It doesn’t make you a bad person if you aren’t. It takes a level of emotional intelligence and communication that is difficult for even the most empathetic of people to navigate. A person who has never had love in her life, who has barely started to live, who fears the future due to their lack of life experience to push through is undoubtedly one of the worst contenders for a second wife there is. Such is the case of our poor Mrs. de Winter: while the circumstances Maxim de Winter has brought her into are abominable certainly - I put most of the blame on him because he’s a grown man - but she has absolutely no business being in this relationship either way.
If Maxim de Winter was only 2 years older than her, the book would have played out pretty much the same way. The age difference does add to the atmosphere and character dynamics because the power imbalance contributes to her feelings of inadequacy all the more. However, my point is that Mrs. de Winter is so insecure she would largely feel a similar degree of disquiet regardless. That being said, it’s not like she had much of a choice seeing how she does not have enough life experience to fully realize what she has committed to.
It’s not to say she’s a child. Clearly she’s an adult capable of making her own decisions. It’s that without being somewhat cognizant of the potential impact of her choice to enter into this union she is ill-equipped to properly consent. A woman closer to Maxim’s age would be less likely to let him get away with all of what Mrs. de Winter does. It’s the entire reason that age gaps that are particularly big at important life junctures are so problematic in the first place.
The really interesting part is that Maxim is not your average, everyday creep. He’s a victim too.
In a time when masculinity was defined solely by keeping a strong upper lip even in the face of unbelievable pain and suffering, Maxim de Winter, was shackled to a manipulative, narcissistic abuser who delighted in the deception of their marriage at the expense of his well being. I knew what the twist was going in and I still was chilled to the bone when the truth came out.
The description of her in that moment when Maxim finally crumbled was captivating. I felt like the narrator, taking my first breath of fresh air free of Rebecca’s pervasive influence. I was not aware of how immersed I had become in the narrator’s emotional upheaval until that point.
The depth of this woman’s twisted soul was incredibly upsetting. While men are the biggest perpetrators of abuse that does not mean that women cannot be abusers or that men cannot be abused. As a society, it is unfortunate that in 2021 this is still something that needs to be stated. Still, it is undeniable we have progressed leaps and bounds past what used to be. What made Rebecca’s actions so awful to me was how much she took advantage of how restricted Maxim was. There was almost nothing this man could do. I don’t condone violence yet in these parameters what could he really do? How culpable is Maxim when looking at the situation from all angles?
With that in mind it’s easy to see why he specifically was attracted to the narrator.
He finds her youth refreshing compared to Rebecca most likely because he came to attribute Rebecca’s older age with her duplicity; she worsened with age after all. The narrator’s youth makes her less sure-footed meaning he is able to read her intentions better. The narrator’s youth leaves her less opportunity to take advantage of him as she is the one who will perpetually be on the backfoot. I don’t believe Maxim set any of this up intentionally either. It’s an unconscious desire to avoid the ill treatment Rebecca inflicted onto him.
After the twist is revealed it’s telling that he actively mourns her loss of innocence. A normal partner in a healthy age gap relationship would not prize innocence in the first place.
Plus he’s allowed to guard his heart in this manner because with a young partner not able to articulate her misgivings or suss out his behavior as odd he can casually dismiss them. He maintains that she can simply ask him anything yet he knows he cannot truly open up to her because of the nature of what he’s done. He has effectively boxed himself in where he will be forever punished by the unforgivable act he believes he has committed and it simultaneously not be his fault he can’t open up because she won’t ask. As if she should have to ask to have a simple conversation with her husband.
That all is to say, I don’t excuse Maxim de Winter, but I understand him. The multidimensional characters are what engrossed me most. Everyone had a backstory that added to the intrigue.
Keep in mind, however, over half the book is the narrator attempting to ingratiate herself in the beloved Manderley estate. This means many stories about seeing Mr. such and such and having tea and walking the grounds and endless ruminations on her own inadequacy. It is not an event heavy book by any means. If you are expecting clues or puzzles or an investigation of any kind you will be sorely disappointed. I have not read many gothic or old mystery novels so I can’t say if this is par for the course. If you have then you most likely already know what I’m talking about to adjust your expectations accordingly.
I highly recommend Rebecca. It’s a wild ride when it truly gets underway - a classic that deserves the designation.