The gothic romance and mystery of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca show the style in which a deep, dark secret is held at the beautiful Manderley, and a young love is influenced by the haunting of Manderley’s former mistress. Using the harrowing style of suspense, Daphne tells a tale of a young woman trying to live a life in the home of someone who has not quite left yet. With extraordinary scenery, strong symbolism, and plenty of hidden irony, Daphne du Maurier has made an everlasting psychological thriller. In London, on May 13, 1907, Daphne du Maurier was born to Gerald du Maurier and Muriel Beaumont. As a young girl, Daphne grew up around creative thinking. Her grandfather, George du Maurier, was a cartoonist and author. Daphne's own parents, sister and half sister were actors. Although she did not also become an actress, Daphne also contributed to the arts of the family. She was educated privately in England and France, and then began writing short poems at the age of 19. At 22, Daphne's first book was published, The Loving Spirit. Her two most famous novels happened to be Jamaica Inn and Rebecca. Taking after her grandfather, Daphne clearly enjoyed the occupation of authorship. However, she did take some time off of writing to become a war worker in World War II. Growing up in Kent, Daphne had an extreme change of setting when she married her husband, Major Frederick A.M. Browning. The couple moved to Alexandria, Egypt after their marriage, where Daphne wrote Rebecca. Soon after, Daphne began to be known as Lady Browning when her husband was knighted. With Mr. Browning, Daphne had three children, Tess, Flavia, and Christian. Although happily married, Daphne du Maurier had a few lady lovers throughout her life. With blonde hair... ... middle of paper ... ...s for ages, and will continue to do so with the society of this world. Works Cited Bakerman, Jane S. “Daphne du Maurier.” Novels for Students, Vol. 12. 2001. 12-29. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. “Du Maurier, Daphne.” Current Biography. 1940. n.pag. Biography Reference Bank. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. Kelly, David. “Critical Essay on Rebecca.” Novels for Students. Vol. 12. 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. Mitgang, Herbert. The New York Times. nytimes.com 20 April 1989. Web. 25 February 2010. Newman, Judie. “Rebecca: Overview.” Reference Guide to English Leterature, 2nd ed. 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. “Overview: Rebecca Novel, 1938.” Novels for Students, Vol. 12. 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. Templeton, Wayne. “Daphne du Maurier.” British Novelists Between the Wars. Vol. 191. 1998.
‘Rebecca’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ convey the gothic theme of isolation by employing the embodiment of dominant male characters. The femme fatal persona in ‘Rebecca’ creates a stigma about how Mrs de Winter should act. The Fairy-tale form causes development of female power and causes a sense of resilience throughout the collection of short stories. The use of controversial issues of feminine empowerment exercises the idea that women should have more power within heterosexual relationships. There are several Gothic conventions within both texts, for example setting is vital because the authors use immense, reclusive places like Manderly and the Castles causing physical entrapment for the feminine roles. Violent characteristics from Maxim and
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...Seat; cited in LITR 19052 The Modern Novel Study Guide; Division of Teaching and Learning Services; Rockhampton; 2001
Daphne Du’Maurier was born on May 13th, 1907 in London, England. The middle of three daughters, Du’Maurier was born into a prominent artistic and literary household. She was the granddaughter of famed caricaturist George du Maurier, and the daughter of actor-manager George du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont. With her early introduction to literary and artistic accomplishments it is no surprise that Du’Maurier was fascinated by imaginary worlds and wrote her first short story to be published in a magazine, which led to a literary contract, when she was only in her teens. Daphne Du’Maurier’s father, Gerald Du’Maurier, was an English actor and manager, who married Muriel Beaumont in 1902 and proceeded to have three daughters. Daphne’s sisters Angela and Jeanne Du’Maurier were both writers, but not nearly so well known or accomplished as their sister.
In a culture where even white women were generally looked down upon within the male dominated society in which they lived, the unique story of one “mulatto” women’s journey through slavery and religious faith in America in the eighteenth century stands out, and provides a look into the origins of the black church itself. Rebecca’s Revival: Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World by Jon F. Sensbach aims to tell the story of Rebecca Protten, a freed slave turned evangelist, whom being neither illiterate nor invisible as many free slaves were thought to have been, traveled around sharing the love of Jesus and converting slaves from all over St. Thomas, ultimately assisting in the establishment of the
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
In the book, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, there exist a big emphasis on social class and position during the time of this story. When we are introduced to the main character of the story, the narrator, we are right away exposed to a society in which different privileges are bestowed upon various groups. Social place, along with the ever present factor of power and money are evident throughout the story to show how lower to middle class groups were treated and mislead by people on a higher level in society. When we are introduced to the narrator, we are told that she is traveling with an old American woman; vulgar, gossipy, and wealthy, Mrs. Van Hopper travels across Europe, but her travels are lonely and require an employee that gives her warm company. This simple companion (the narrator) is shy and self-conscious, and comes from a lower-middle class background which sets up perfect for a rich man to sweep her off her feet. The narrator faced difficulties adapting to first, the Monte Carlo aristocratic environment, and second, to her new found position as Mrs. De Winter, the new found mistress of Manderley.
A. “Reading Little Women.” Temple University Press (1984): 151-65. Rpt in Novels for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason.
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Mansfield, Katherine. "Miss Brill." The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. 1999. 258-61.