In Daphne Du Maurier's novel, Rebecca, the story of a unidentified narrator is told through her perspective. After the narrator jumps into marriage with Maxim, the owner of a grand mansion in England called Manderley, she meets the life of her predecessor Rebecca de Winter who has died and left quite a mark on the mansion. Du Maurier does not begin to incorporate major Gothic elements until the action of the plot moves to Manderley, this serves as a sign that Manderley is at the center of the mystery surrounding Rebecca’s death. Once the narrator is at Manderley The narrator learns the Rebecca isn't all gone and that she continues to live physically through Mrs. Danvers, the head housekeeper to Rebecca, and spiritually through everyone else. Rebecca supernatural presence in the book is one of the gothic themes of the book along with the cold but
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The damp and cold staircases and passageways make the setting feel older and gothic. The story takes place at Manderley which is a mansion located next to the shore in the countryside of England. "I could see the sea from the terrace, and the lawns. It looked grey and uninviting, great rollers sweeping into the bay past the beacon on the headland," (Maurier, 119). The sea is uninviting because this is where Rebecca drowned less then a year before the narrator came to Manderley. Fog also plays a significant role as both a literal and figurative way. "The mist entered my nostrils and lay upon my lips rank and sour. It was stifling, like a blanket, like an anesthetic. I was beginning to forget about being unhappy, and about loving Maxim. I was beginning to forget Rebecca," (Maurier, 247). The fog not only clouded her vision from the terrace but it also clouded her common sense, making her forget her past but also not be able to see her future. This lingering presence of Rebecca within the house haunts not only the new Mrs. De Winter but Maxim De Winter as
The damp and cold staircases and passageways make the setting feel older and gothic. The story takes place at Manderley which is a mansion located next to the shore in the countryside of England. "I could see the sea from the terrace, and the lawns. It looked grey and uninviting, great rollers sweeping into the bay past the beacon on the headland," (Maurier, 119). The sea is uninviting because this is where Rebecca drowned less then a year before the narrator came to Manderley. Fog also plays a significant role as both a literal and figurative way. "The mist entered my nostrils and lay upon my lips rank and sour. It was stifling, like a blanket, like an anesthetic. I was beginning to forget about being unhappy, and about loving Maxim. I was beginning to forget Rebecca," (Maurier, 247). The fog not only clouded her vision from the terrace but it also clouded her common sense, making her forget her past but also not be able to see her future. This lingering presence of Rebecca within the house haunts not only the new Mrs. De Winter but Maxim De Winter as