Friday, October 30, 2020

Friday's Forgotten Books: REBECCA, Daphne duMaurier

I am not quite done with listening to the audiobook of REBECCA for my book group but will be in a day or so. I have read it before but not in many years. And I probably read it then with less thought than I am on this go. 

If anyone hasn't read it (or seen the excellent Hitchcock film) it is the story of a young woman who is serving as a companion to an older woman. She meets Max DeWinter at a hotel in Monte Carlo, has a whirlwind romance with him, marries, and goes off with him to live at the fabled Manderley. There she stands in the shadow of the first Mrs. DeWinter: Rebecca, who died a year earlier. Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, does much to keep her in in the shadow. 

Things I have noticed on reading this as an adult: Max and the unnamed young woman, don't really have a whirlwind romance at all. He adopts her as you would a stray puppy. The second Mrs. DeWinter is somewhat annoying in her insistence on being a passive onlooker. She seems to want to stand in the shadows. She constantly belittles herself to the reader. And why does she love Max? Is he the father figure she craves? 

And why doesn't she find something to do with herself? People constantly suggest various past- times like bridge, golf, riding and she tells them she doesn't do these activities. Well, can't she learn? She is only about 20, not too old to learn any of these things. Why doesn't she do something beside sketch, which she claims to be not very good at it. Her main occupation is patting the dog and drinking tea. 

This is not to say I'm not enjoying REBECCA. It is beautifully written and boasts four enigmatic characters. And I don't mind reading about a passive character really. Life is full of passive people.

It is just that I have always thought of this unnamed character as victimized. And she is, but she does little to avoid it. Which makes her interesting, I suppose. Do most victims have a hand in their plight?

I also remembered Mrs. Danvers as hovering over every scene and actually she is around very little. Same with Max. Mostly we have our unnamed young woman trying to make sense of it all.  And the reader trying to make sense of her.

I will let you know how it all turns out.

12 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Well, some passive people are, I suppose, at least partially responsible for their situation, and some of those seek out people who will treat them in familiar ways (at least verging on abusive or certainly controlling), perhaps because they don't trust other treatment, or feel they deserve or need such treatment.

I haven't yet read REBECCA, and should. Du Maurier is probably making some hay with the degree women have usually been supposed/instructed to be submissive if not also passive, particularly when barely adult and pledging troth with men twice their age or otherwise more father figures. Certainly that tension at the heart of most post-REBECCA gothics.

Marty said...

Judith Anderson is probably responsible for that memory of Mrs D "hovering" nearby all the time! She dominates the screen and you could almost believe she has the ability to re-appear anyplace, like a sorceress.

Margot Kinberg said...

This is such a powerful novel, I think, Patti. A really good example of a novel full of eerie atmosphere and suspense, but that doesn't rely on violence for that. Thanks for the reminder.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Yes, I have always thought of The Second Mrs. D as annoyingly passive. You want to smack her like Cher in MOONSTRUCK and yell, "Snap out of it!"

Cullen Gallagher said...

I love the Hitchcock movie but have never read the book. I've actually been more curious to read Du Maurier's other work, like Jamaica Inn and The Birds (also both adapted by Hitchcock).

The way you describe it, I can't think of a book I've read where the main character is that passive.

Jerry House said...

Another gaping hole in my reading history. I'll get around to it someday. I promise.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes, Judith Anderson definitely formed my opinion. Towering presence. I have read My Cousin Rachel, Don't Look Now, The Birds.
Good point, Todd. She may have not thought she deserved more.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I should mention how mesmerizing the reader is. I am not sure because I got it through Hoopla from the library and I don't think it named the reader.

George said...

I read REBECCA decades ago. Love the Hitchcock movie! The new remake has gained mixed reviews.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Patti, don't know if it is the same one, but Audible lists Anna Massey as the narrator.

David Cranmer said...

Like you, I read it many years ago. And I'm betting, like you, I would come to some of the same conclusions on a second pass.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Thanks, Jeff!
Forgive me for not stopping by today. I am having computer issues.