Critical Essay On Rebecca By Daphne Du Maurier

In the beginning of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, we are told that Maxim’s first wife Rebecca de Winter died from drowning. Moreover, everyone including the second Mrs. de Winter was not only convinced that Rebecca was a kind and warm woman but also that Maxim and Rebecca were very much in love. However, as the story continues it is revealed not only how kind Rebecca really was, but how she died, and how happy Maxim and Rebecca really were.
To elaborate, for the majority of the novel everyone believed that Rebecca de Winter drowned due to a boating accident. However, towards the end of the novel it is unveiled that Rebecca’s death was not caused by a boating accident; she was actually shot dead by her husband Maxim. When this was revealed, it was rather confusing at first because throughout the entire book there was an emphasis on how much Rebecca and Maxim were in love and obviously one does not kill somebody they love. Mr. Maxim de Winter clears up this confusion during his confession to the second Mrs. De Winter by explaining the true circumstances of his marriage to Rebecca and what brought him to kill her.
Now knowing that Maxim murdered his wife, it is safe to say that he and Rebecca were not a happy couple.
As Maxim explained to the second Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca and him were not in love as many believed them to be. In fact, they despised each other from the very beginning. Maxim explained that Rebecca was not the kind and warm woman she made herself out to be. She was actually very cruel and manipulative, and would use this manipulation to make everyone believe her and Maxim were happy and in love. However, away from the public eye she would save her true colors for Maxim by constantly tormenting him and having affairs. However, as Maxim clarified something much worse pushed him to kill
Rebecca.
On the night of her death, Rebecca revealed to Maxim that she was pregnant with another man’s child. Furthermore, Rebecca declared that she will be raising her child under the notion the Maxim was the father. She went even further by threatening Maxim that if he wanted a divorce he would loose everything because no one would take his side since everyone believed that Rebecca was kind. Maxim, who could no longer handle the manipulation, shot Rebecca in the heart and then disposed of her body by making the boat sink thus giving everyone else the illusion that Rebecca died from drowning. Many agree that Rebecca deserved to be killed. However, although Rebecca’s actions were wrong, it still does not justify Maxim killing her.
To elaborate, I do not believe that Maxim de Winter was in an untenable situation. Maxim never attempted to get a divorce despite knowing how horrible Rebecca was. This is because, as Rebecca mentioned, Maxim would loose everything because of her good reputation. While this may be true, if Maxim would also be given freedom and the opportunity to start over without Rebecca. He made the decision to continue with his fake marriage. Yes, Rebecca was manipulative and cruel, but that does not mean he should have killed her. It is not Maxim de Winter’s job to take the law into his own hands. Maxim was not acting on self-defense when he killed Rebecca, and his life was not in immediate danger. Maxim just had a horrible and manipulative wife, who he decided to stay with because of Manderley and all his other assets were worth more. Maxim chose money over happiness.
In all, although many can agree that Rebecca was indeed evil, I do not agree that she deserved to be murdered. Maxim stayed in the marriage despite knowing how bad she was, giving her more power to take control and she took advantage of the opportunity. No matter how bad she was, Maxim had no right to kill Rebecca because although he did not like her choices, he also chose stay with her.