Mrs De Rebecca Film Analysis

Key interactions between characters other than Mrs. Danvers and Mrs. de Winter provide excellent evidence both for the unreliability of Mrs. de Winter’s perspective and a deeper relationship between Rebecca and Mrs. de Danvers. When Beatrice and Mrs. de Winter discuss the relationship between Mrs. Danvers and Rebecca, instead of the usual tension, viewers learn that Mrs. Danvers and Rebecca came to Manderley together and that she “simply adored” Rebecca. This phrasing is particularly important, as earlier Mrs. Van der Hopper says Mr. de Winter “simply adored” Rebecca as well. Within this simple phrase there lies a similarity between the love a man has for his wife and the love Mrs. Danvers has for Rebecca. Another contradiction to the image …show more content…
Danvers and Rebecca is the same obsession that creates the impression of a relationship at all. As filtered through the eyes of the new Mrs. de Winter, Mrs. Danver’s obsession with Rebecca is horrifying, and in no other scene is this horror stronger than in one of the most famous scenes in the film. This scene begins when Mrs. Danvers corners the new Mrs. de Winter in Rebecca’s room and shows her Rebecca’s clothing and lingerie in a strange and erotic sequence. The interaction is framed as a horror scene, and the musical cues and blocking create a claustrophobic and nearly unbearable feeling for the audience. The intimacy that exists between Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers is an essential element in the horror of this scene, and Mrs. de Winter nearly breaks down when Mrs. Danvers shows her Rebecca’s negligee. As Mrs. Danvers puts her hand beneath the fabric to show how sheer it is, Mrs. de Winter looks like she is going to faint, as if the terror of the implication behind the action is too much to bear. Mrs. Danver’s is the villain for Mrs. de Winter, and her obsession with Rebecca is part of what makes her so terrifying. On the surface, seeing only the perspective of Mrs. de Winter, Mrs. Danvers is predatory, and her relationship with Rebecca seems one-sided. However, in lieu of Rebecca’s own words, one can use the objective descriptions of other characters to untangle the real nature of their relationship,