Rebecca Critical Interpretations
FEMINIST:
- Du Maurier- Describes character as a “weak woman under the influence of a strong
man”. Heterosexual marriage is itself a sexist institution: she takes on her husband's
name (and is otherwise anonymous), and is forced to structure her life around
Maxim.
- Watson- Rebecca is a gothic heroine and the husband, Maxim, a Bluebeard figure
who not only murdered his first wife, but also oppresses and alienates the second
Mrs de Winter.
- Wood- Rebecca is a feminist heroine, "a woman whose worst crime… was simply
that she resisted male definition”
GENERAL: Conventional interpretations
- Du Maurier- “rather sinister tale about a woman who marries a widower…
psychological and rather macabre”
- 1940’s adaption- Scene where Maxim stands over the edge of a cliff at the start-
narrator telling Maxim not to jump (it is not clear whether he intended to)- R makes
him suicidal?
- 1940’s adaption- Narrator well dressed, pretty, naive and wearing white- innocence
connotations contrasted with Mrs Van Hopper
SEXUALITY
General:
- Lily Tomlin- gay characters often “cold-blooded villains”
- Abigail Cockles- femme fatale- “utilised as their main ‘weapon’ to manipulate and
control those around them”
- Christopher fayling- R is 'symptomatic of a cultural anxiety concerning adult female
sexuality'
- Terry Castle- R as “lesbian spectre”- lesbian desire in literature manifests as ghostly
- Laure Doan- R constructed as sexually ambiguous through her domination over Mrs
D and household, and detachment from traditional femininity.
Mrs D:
- 2020 Wheatley Adaption- Mrs D commits suicide and says she was in love with
Rebecca
- Kendra, 2011- Mrs. Danvers is portrayed as a sexual predator who is out to make
Mrs. De Winter her next victim.
2020 Wheatley Adaption
- Maxim and narrator more intimate + Maxim jealous of Favel and accuses narrator of
cheating on him- more insecure.
- Caroline de Winter’s dress is red- like R’s red dress and dark hair- becomes her
doppelganger.
- Ball-narrator has visions of people are dancing around her in a ritualistic fashion
chanting R’s name in a dark light.
FEMINIST:
- Du Maurier- Describes character as a “weak woman under the influence of a strong
man”. Heterosexual marriage is itself a sexist institution: she takes on her husband's
name (and is otherwise anonymous), and is forced to structure her life around
Maxim.
- Watson- Rebecca is a gothic heroine and the husband, Maxim, a Bluebeard figure
who not only murdered his first wife, but also oppresses and alienates the second
Mrs de Winter.
- Wood- Rebecca is a feminist heroine, "a woman whose worst crime… was simply
that she resisted male definition”
GENERAL: Conventional interpretations
- Du Maurier- “rather sinister tale about a woman who marries a widower…
psychological and rather macabre”
- 1940’s adaption- Scene where Maxim stands over the edge of a cliff at the start-
narrator telling Maxim not to jump (it is not clear whether he intended to)- R makes
him suicidal?
- 1940’s adaption- Narrator well dressed, pretty, naive and wearing white- innocence
connotations contrasted with Mrs Van Hopper
SEXUALITY
General:
- Lily Tomlin- gay characters often “cold-blooded villains”
- Abigail Cockles- femme fatale- “utilised as their main ‘weapon’ to manipulate and
control those around them”
- Christopher fayling- R is 'symptomatic of a cultural anxiety concerning adult female
sexuality'
- Terry Castle- R as “lesbian spectre”- lesbian desire in literature manifests as ghostly
- Laure Doan- R constructed as sexually ambiguous through her domination over Mrs
D and household, and detachment from traditional femininity.
Mrs D:
- 2020 Wheatley Adaption- Mrs D commits suicide and says she was in love with
Rebecca
- Kendra, 2011- Mrs. Danvers is portrayed as a sexual predator who is out to make
Mrs. De Winter her next victim.
2020 Wheatley Adaption
- Maxim and narrator more intimate + Maxim jealous of Favel and accuses narrator of
cheating on him- more insecure.
- Caroline de Winter’s dress is red- like R’s red dress and dark hair- becomes her
doppelganger.
- Ball-narrator has visions of people are dancing around her in a ritualistic fashion
chanting R’s name in a dark light.
