Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier Essay

Feminine Foes

Competitiveness. Violence. Cruelty. What might come to mind when thinking of these words? Some might say aggression, abuse, or masculinity. But, what if I said that those words could be used to describe a woman. Studies show that “women are engaged in a competition of their own, aggressively jockeying for position in a battle to secure a suitable mate.” This view can be seen in many examples, but one example in particular is the novel Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. Daphne du maurier creates a story where two women have a rivalry against each other. The trick to this rivalry is that one of the women is dead. Rebecca is a spirit who only lives in the mind of the narrator, Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. De Winter allows Rebecca to influence her life decisions in many ways. Even though Rebecca never walks through the door and makes an appearance, she is one of the main characters who affects every other person in the novel.

The setting of the novel and the house they lived in Manderley played a huge role in how Rebecca lived on. The house was filled with Rebecca’s things and even the

Her life with her husband is finally going to begin and the couple’s truth in one another seems stronger than ever. The narrator snapped back at Mrs. Danvers stating, “I’m afraid it does not concern me very much what Mrs. de Winter used to do,” I said. “I am Mrs. de Winter now, you know” (290). You can see the narrator’s character change throughout the novel, and this was a turning point. You finally see the narrator’s confidence show and she isn’t afraid to boss Mrs. Danvers around. In the beginning of the novel, she was afraid to speak up to the maids, but now she isn’t afraid to show who is in control. She finally replaced Rebecca fully and doesn’t care what the servants think. She is now finally seen to other people and to herself as the new Mrs. de Winter and she isn’t scared of