Simply Not Rebecca

     
Topic C

        The main character is now at Manderley, and she is fighting with herself to accept that she is now Mrs. de Winter, and that Rebecca is gone. She has trouble with the staff, especially with Mrs. Danvers, the house coordinator. The west wing of Manderley, where Rebecca’s exquisite bedroom was, is closed off, symbolizing her lingering presence. When the main character goes after breakfast, uncomfortable and ashamed of being at the table for so long, she goes into the morning-room to do the usual business Rebecca did. When the telephone rings, the main character responds to Mrs. Danvers asking “Mrs. de Winter?” by saying “I am afraid you have made a mistake, Mrs. de Winter has been dead for over a year” because she is failing to accept her new position (du Maurier 86). It is clear the main character is still very insecure and unsure of herself.

       There is a glimmer of hope when Beatrice, Maxim’s sister, comes to visit. After the both talk for awhile, it is shown that Beatrice likes the main character, and she tells the main character that she is “so very different from Rebecca”, which could possibly mean that Beatrice did not like Rebecca (du Maurier 107). Since the main character is innocent, shy, and respectful, it is possible Rebecca was a rude and cold woman, resulting in Beatrice and her husband rarely visiting Manderley. The main characters attempts to be like Rebecca are ultimately failing simply because she is not Rebecca. Her attempts in anything are failing because she is not acting like an adult, like when she hides the broken glass, and later breaks down because she cannot handle running Manderley and being Maxim’s wife since she feels so out of place.