The Narrator: The Girl Without a Name The narrator is never named. She is called “Mrs. de Winter,” but that is Rebecca’s title. She is called “the second Mrs. de Winter,” but that defines her in relation to the first. She has no identity. She is young, naive, and insecure. She imagines that everyone prefers Rebecca. She imagines that Maxim still loves Rebecca. She imagines that she is a failure. The reader sees that she is kind, loyal, and brave. She does not see it. Her insecurity is the novel’s engine. It drives her to imagine horrors. It almost destroys her.
Rebecca: The Dead Woman Who Lives Rebecca is dead before the novel begins. She never appears. She is more present than any living character. Everyone speaks of her. She was beautiful, charming, and accomplished. She could sail. She could ride. She could host a party. She was the perfect wife. Or was she? Gradually, the reader learns the truth. Rebecca was cruel. She was promiscuous. She mocked Maxim. She told him she was pregnant with another man’s child. He killed her. Or did he? The novel withholds the truth until the final third. The suspense is unbearable. Du Maurier uses Rebecca’s absence to create presence. The reader feels her everywhere.
Manderley: The House as Character Manderley is a character. It is described in lush detail: the drive, the gardens, the library, the morning room, the west wing. It is beautiful. It is also oppressive. The narrator cannot escape Rebecca’s shadow because the house is filled with her things. The stationery still says “Rebecca.” The bedroom is still decorated as she left it. The boathouse is where she kept her boat. Manderley is a mausoleum. At the end of the novel, it burns. Mrs. Danvers sets the fire. The narrator and Maxim escape. Manderley dies. The reader mourns. Even a haunted house is a home.
Mrs. Danvers: The Villain Mrs. Danvers is the housekeeper. She is described as tall, gaunt, and skull-like. She speaks in a whisper. She worships Rebecca. She hates the new Mrs. de Winter. She shows the narrator Rebecca’s bedroom. She describes Rebecca’s beauty. She suggests that the narrator kill herself. She opens the window. She says, “Why don’t you jump?” It is the most chilling scene in the novel. Mrs. Danvers is not a person. She is a force. She is Rebecca’s ghost made flesh. She burns Manderley. She dies in the fire. She is finally reunited with Rebecca.
The Twist: Maxim Killed Rebecca For two-thirds of the novel, the reader believes that Maxim loved Rebecca. The narrator believes it. Then Maxim confesses. He hated Rebecca. She was evil. She taunted him. She said she was pregnant. He hit her. She fell. She died. He put her in a boat and sank it. He lied to the police. He is a murderer. The reader is shocked. The reader also sympathizes. Rebecca deserved to die. Du Maurier has manipulated the reader. The reader has been hoping that Maxim is innocent. The reader is relieved when he is guilty. That is the novel’s moral complexity.
The Trial: The Truth Emerges Rebecca’s boat is found. Her body is examined. The evidence shows that she was dying of cancer. She had a terminal illness. She provoked Maxim to kill her. She wanted to die. Maxim is exonerated. He did not know she was sick. He is not charged. The narrator is relieved. The reader is relieved. The ending is not happy. Maxim is still a killer. The narrator is still insecure. Manderley is still haunted. But they are free.
The Final Dream: Manderley in Ruins The novel ends with a famous dream sequence. The narrator imagines returning to Manderley. She sees it in ruins. The drive is overgrown. The windows are broken. The birds are nesting in the walls. The dream is a confession. The narrator knows that she cannot go back. Manderley is gone. The past is gone. She must live in the present. The novel’s famous first line is: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” The reader has been inside the dream. The dream is the novel.
Conclusion: “Rebecca” is a Gothic romance, but it is also a novel about identity. The narrator has no name because she has no self. She defines herself against Rebecca. She learns that Rebecca was evil. She learns that she is good. She learns to live. The novel is not a ghost story. It is a story about living with ghosts. Everyone has a Rebecca. Everyone must learn to let her go.
