The eternal haunting of Rebecca

“Last night I dreamt, I went to Manderley again..”

I read “Rebecca” some 18 years ago, when I was in school. It had been recommended by my literature teacher, who used to be incredibly appalled at how we just chose to read Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew kind of “stuff” (as she put it), and never read such eternal classics. So, I issued this book from my school library promptly to read what the fuss was all about.

The title of the book & the cover art (then books used to be invariably bound in hard covers) drew me instantly to it; such was the charm of “Rebecca”. I sat down with the book at night, post finishing my day’s studies, and the story just pulled me in…transported me back into another era…

 

REBECCA, penned by Dame Daphne Du Maurier in 1938, remains her best loved book of all times. It is mysterious, dark, haunting and truly a story that transcends time eternally & ethereally. When I think of the word Rebecca, I think of Manderley invariably. A palatial ghost of a mansion, enveloped in fog perpetually…a fog that symbolises the ethos of its earlier mistress Rebecca, who while dead is still not gone from the grounds of Manderley.

Going back to the story of the book, Rebecca is the story of an unnamed narrator, a young American girl, vacationing in Monte Carlo. This girl falls in love with a 40 something dashing & wealthy widower Maxmilian De Winter. There is a period of brief courtship, after which the new lovers get married. Our lady moves to Max De Winter’s home in Manderley Estate, of which he is the owner. From the minute she sets foot in Manderley, a presence continues to haunt her. She then meets the caretaker of the house, an old lady named Mrs. Danvers. Mrs. Danvers has kept Manderley as a holy shrine for her beloved deceased mistress, Rebecca. Everything is preserved in the mansion for Rebecca, & as she wanted it. This eerie feeling gets into the second Mrs.de Winter (the young lady who married Max De Winter) constantly. Mrs. Danvers wants the home to retain the presence of Rebecca forever, and rebuffs any move of the new mistress to give the home a new look. So, despite having gone, Rebecca stays there in the house with the new Mrs.de Winter….until it comes to a point, where…..

Well, rest is for you to read.

Having been published first in 1938, the book till date has never gone out of print. This is the mark of how the book has touched its readers over time with its plot, theme & pathos. The character of Mrs. Danvers has been brought under a microscope by literature critics world over. Her love for Rebecca, bordering to delusional behaviour, has been deduced as possible lesbianism between the two women as well; while many critics believed that Mrs. Danvers was just plain insane.

But the character that stands out the most in the novel is undoubtedly Rebecca. Without one single scene, without one single dialogue, just through references & inferences, the character can be so enveloping in feel…that you want to see Rebecca, want to talk to her, and want to understand her. But her not being there & still being the enveloping presence throughout the novel, is the best part about Rebecca.

Du Maurier faced plagiarism charges for her book as well, as this theme was explored in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre in 1848, almost a century back. Also, a Brazilian author, Carolina Nabuko’s book, The Successor had a similar plot. Despite these charges, the book was adapted into a motion picture by the undisputed guru of thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock!! Closer home (in India), the book was adapted into a Waheeda Rehman starrer Kohra. Both movies, especially Hitchcock’s captured the spirit (pun intended) of Rebecca beautifully.

More years can go by, but Rebecca will continue to haunt me & its other readers too. We might not be haunted to the extent of Mrs. Danvers, but we love to sit back & just be enveloped in the ethereal spirit of Rebecca.

TIP: Read it when vacationing on a hillside mansion. The whole atmosphere will make the book come alive!!