108 pages • 3 hours read
Daphne du MaurierA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
The novel is narrated by the unnamed second wife of Maxim de Winter, reviewing the events of her 21st year from the perspective of middle-aged wisdom. At 21, the narrator has a youthful face, straight, bobbed hair, and often wears ill-fitting clothes, when she trails behind her employer, Mrs. Van Hopper “like a shy, uneasy colt” (9). The sophisticated, troubled Maxim de Winter falls in love with the narrator’s innocence and her “funny, young, lost look” (299) as she helps him forget his nightmarish first marriage.
However, the self-critical, highly imaginative narrator unfavorably compares herself with Maxim’s seemingly ideal first wife. Her background has not prepared her to become the mistress of the great estate of Manderley. She does not want to be treated like an amusing child by her husband. She wishes to be his spouse sharing everything together. Her insecurity, as well as her husband’s secrets, leaves her susceptible to the psychological manipulation of Mrs. Danvers. Maxim’s confession of the truth about his first wife frees the narrator from being haunted by Rebecca and matures her into a confident partner of her husband.
Plus, gain access to 8,450+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
By Daphne du Maurier
Appearance Versus Reality
View Collection
Beauty
View Collection
British Literature
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Class
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Historical Fiction
View Collection
Horror, Thrillers, & Suspense
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Marriage
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Modernism
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Mystery & Crime
View Collection
National Book Awards Winners & Finalists
View Collection
Popular Book Club Picks
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection
Romance
View Collection
Safety & Danger
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
Trust & Doubt
View Collection
Truth & Lies
View Collection
TV Shows Based on Books
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection