Rebecca Theme analysis
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier Insecurity, or self-doubt, is a powerful force that prevents a person from allowing him or herself to find true happiness. In Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Rebecca, the protagonist is filled with insecurities due to the haunting memories of her husband’s ex-wife, Rebecca. Examples of this are when the protagonist thinks Maxim does not truly love her, when the narrator wears the same dress that Rebecca did for the ball, and when the protagonist has a talk with Frank Crawley. After returning from their honeymoon, Maxim and his new bride finally settle in Manderley, his home. A day or two later, Maxim’s sister, Beatrice, and her husband come to visit and welcome Maxim’s wife to the family. The foursome enjoys tea out in large lawn of Manderley and all share amusing stories. “I listened to them both, leaning against Maxim’s arm, rubbing my chin on his sleeve. He stroked my hand absently, not thinking, talking to Beatrice. ‘That’s what I do to Jasper,’ I thought. ‘I’m being like Jasper now, leaning against him. He pats me now and again, when he remembers, and I’m pleased, I get closer to him for a moment. He likes me in the way I like Jasper’” (p.88 pp.4). The protagonist feels that Maxim only married her for the company, and compares herself to her dog. She feels that he does minor things to keep her happy and nothing more. Her insecurities tell her that he simply did not want to live in an empty house anymore. Later, after unknowingly wearing the same dress Rebecca did to a ball at Manderley, the Narrator is almost positive that Maxim does not love her. She believes, now, that their marriage was doomed from the start. “I was too young for Maxim, too inexperienced, and, more important still, I was not of his world. The fact that I loved him in a sick, hurt, desperate way, like a child or a dog, did not matter. It was not the sort of love he needed. He wanted something else that I could not give him, something he had had before. I thought
Daphne du Maurier Insecurity, or self-doubt, is a powerful force that prevents a person from allowing him or herself to find true happiness. In Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Rebecca, the protagonist is filled with insecurities due to the haunting memories of her husband’s ex-wife, Rebecca. Examples of this are when the protagonist thinks Maxim does not truly love her, when the narrator wears the same dress that Rebecca did for the ball, and when the protagonist has a talk with Frank Crawley. After returning from their honeymoon, Maxim and his new bride finally settle in Manderley, his home. A day or two later, Maxim’s sister, Beatrice, and her husband come to visit and welcome Maxim’s wife to the family. The foursome enjoys tea out in large lawn of Manderley and all share amusing stories. “I listened to them both, leaning against Maxim’s arm, rubbing my chin on his sleeve. He stroked my hand absently, not thinking, talking to Beatrice. ‘That’s what I do to Jasper,’ I thought. ‘I’m being like Jasper now, leaning against him. He pats me now and again, when he remembers, and I’m pleased, I get closer to him for a moment. He likes me in the way I like Jasper’” (p.88 pp.4). The protagonist feels that Maxim only married her for the company, and compares herself to her dog. She feels that he does minor things to keep her happy and nothing more. Her insecurities tell her that he simply did not want to live in an empty house anymore. Later, after unknowingly wearing the same dress Rebecca did to a ball at Manderley, the Narrator is almost positive that Maxim does not love her. She believes, now, that their marriage was doomed from the start. “I was too young for Maxim, too inexperienced, and, more important still, I was not of his world. The fact that I loved him in a sick, hurt, desperate way, like a child or a dog, did not matter. It was not the sort of love he needed. He wanted something else that I could not give him, something he had had before. I thought