Dreaming of Manderlay: A Review of Rebecca

So as I finished Rebecca, those haunting words at the beginning of the novel haunted me once again. "Last Night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again." Daphne du Maurier focuses primarily on Gothic Storytelling in a more suspenseful and psychological mentality on focusing on the main aspect of jealousy, living in another's shadow, and

Plot: (Basic Plot because spoilers will ruin the whole book and the suspence and surprise) In Monte Carlo, our unnamed narrator meets with the mysterious Maximilliam (Maxim) de Winter. After a few short days of courtship, though unknown to our protagonist, he proposes matrimony and they are off to Maxim's home, Manderlay. But our new Mrs. de Winter is focused on how she is being overpowered by the pressence of the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, and her housekeeper and confidant, Mrs. Danvers. But Rebecca's pressence and secrets overpower, and yet motivate her to find the secretive darkness of Manderlay.

Pacing and Setting: (Mild spoilers)  The pacing is slowly built up primarily through a first-person steam of concsiousness with most of the setting taking place in Manderlay and around the surrounding areas like the Gardens, Beach, and Cliffs nearby. du Maurier focuses more on the aspects of the psychological and emotional aspects of Mrs. de Winter so the focus is primarily on her memories as well as her slow recollections of the events of her life in Manderlay. But there are some minor places, (like Monte Carlo earlier, and London periodically) that also add to both plot and experience in the story.

Characters: (Minor spoilers)

The Second Mrs. de Winter: A nameless protagonist where we are shown her story throug her eyes. She is constantly found in the shadow of Rebecca de Winter, her husbands late wife.

Maxim de Winter: The widower of Rebecca and newly made husband to the second Mrs. de Winter. A man of dual calm and rage. A man who seems distraught over his late wife and his love for Mrs. de Winter.

Rebecca: The Late Mrs. de Winter. A woman of an independant nature. All that's known of her is through the people in her life and their opinions and experiences with her.

Mrs. Danvers: The housekeeper and main servant of Manderlay household. She is a loyal lady to the late Rebecca de Winter. However, seeing a new threat to her household with the second Mrs. de Winter motivates Danvers to psychologically manipulate and abuse her.

Mrs. van Hopper: To Mrs. de Winter she was ... well it's hard to describe their relationship other than possibly she (Mrs. de Winter) was originally paid consort to van Hopper. Mrs. van Hopper is the foil to Mrs. de Winter. Mrs. van Hopper is vain, socialble and snooty compared to Mrs. de Winter's shy, meek, and calm demeanor.

Beatrice (de Winter) and Giles  Lacey: Beatrice is Maxims sister and Giles is brother in law. The two are an odd couple but they do seem romantic and caring for one another. Beatrice is  blunt and direct with other people though has a dual caring and sympathetic side. Giles is often portayed as a tired old dog but is a bit of a foil to Maxim.

Jack Favrell: The Cousin to Rebecca. Our protagonist doesn't trust him much due to his personality being brash, careless, and playboylike.

Frank Crawley: The assistant to Mr. de Winter. A loyal man and friend to Maxim and the Missus.

Pluses: The story has some great characters and characterizations leading up to the ending and I'm quite surprised to say I did not see plot twists coming until after reading and learning what happened and a story that can do that for me is a winner in my book. (No pun intended.)

Minues: The slow pacing of this story is a bit of a sleeper for those prefering action and more dynamic approaches to the story.

Overview: The Gothic tale of Rebecca is chilling and spledid in the weaving of the tale and makes me want to read other novels and stories that Daphne du Maurier has written. She writes with excellent point to details, characterization, and drama as she slowly unravels the story to the conclusion.
4/5

Also, I want to make a note for any other people who follow my blog that the article for Shin Megami Tensei Part 3 is still postponed due to referencing and more written analysis is needed to further explain the design techniques and important emphasis on the artwork of Kazuma Kaneko. Also, I'll be writing an article on one of my favorite programs to watch and the emphasis of uplifting media entertainment.