Daphne du Maurier

The Gothic Elements of Rebecca and Dracula Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, both possess many of the 9 characteristics that commonly identify a Gothic Novel. These characteristics all play a unique role in the plot and story of any piece of Gothic literature. While both books portray elements and qualities linked to those of a Gothic novel, Dracula displays these traits in a much more prominent way than Rebecca. One of the key characteristic of Gothic literature is the…

many different ways, shapes, and forms. From the tension and worry feeling shown in movies, to foreshadowing about what will happen in literature. Author Daphne du Maurier and filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock both used many ways to create suspense in their takes on the horror story, “The Birds.” However, only one author utilized suspense the best. Between du Maurier’s short story and Hitchcock's film, Hitchcock’s film did a better job of creating and utilizing suspense with the use of the element of…

read along. These are all the appeals that captivate the reader into the world of gothic novels. We hate just to love these elements although they are what makes the reader so enticed we want more. The gothic literature presented in Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier allows the reader to feel a sense of terror and fear because of the clever usage of imageries of the natural world, unexplained elements of the supernatural, and the dream - like stages that occurs throughout this novel; by including…

decides to marry her. As the narrator starts learning more about Maxim’s dead wife, she starts comparing herself with her. As her jealousy grows it gets to a point where she concludes that Maxim is still in love with Rebecca. The novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is heavily influenced on relationship jealousy. In the novel, before the narrator arrives at Manderley, she imagines herself living in that big house doing all the things she’d wish. She even imagined herself talking on the phone, “Why…

The Bluebeard Twist The crisp bite of winter air blew down the dim oil lit streets of a little called Berkenshire. As the night rolled on, frozen ice pellets were bouncing off of every thatched roof. The wind whistled eerily through this sleepy town. There was a mounting heaviness hanging in the air. The last of the freshly baked goods had been prepared for the holiday. This years crops failed and a drought was taking effect. A poor man stood looking cold and hungry. He was traveling door to…

Rebecca was a movie that was based off of a book written by Daphne Du Maurier’s. The novel was written a few years before the 1940’s release of Rebecca. A film about a wealthy man marrying an orphaned women who only knows the wealthy life through her job as a companion. The young women is haunted by her new husband’s late wife. Maxim de Winters (Laurence Olivier) is a very calm and knowingly cool character. He knows how to take control of a situation like he did when Mrs. deWinters (Joan…

In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Brontë’s choice to associate Jane Eyre or Edward Rochester with birds represents their dependency on one another. In the beginning of their relationship, Jane is dependent on Rochester for financial and social reasons. As their relationship develops, she becomes more dependent on his love than his money. In both of these cases, Rochester describes Jane as a bird. But when Jane asserts her independence, she realizes she cannot identify as a bird anymore because…

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte employs birds a symbol in order to highlight important themes in her novel. While birds traditionally symbolize freedom and expression, Bronte uses them to show independence (or a lack of), freedom, and rifts in social class. Bronte also depicts some of her most prominent characters as birds such as Jane, Rochester, Adele, Bertha, and even Rochester’s guests. Through the use of bird symbolism Bronte highlights important topics in her novel, while giving the reader…

The Birds represents more than the threat post by nature Daphne Du Maurier’s 1952 novelette The Birds depicts a small town in England during WWII where all the birds inexplicably started to attack people. While it perfectly captured nature’s cruel mechanism, The Birds actually represents more than just the threat post by nature. In fact, It also represents the notion of a threatening presence, larger than human beings with unrivalled power, an example of this that people are more familiar with…

In many cultures, birds are used as symbols of peace, wisdom, hope, and eternal life. However, the 1952 short story The Birds by Daphne de Maurier and the movie produced by Alfred Hitchcock eleven years later portray these creatures in a much different way. They both depict a society suddenly being attacked by murderous birds. By looking deeper into each conflict, resolution, and interpretation on women’s roles, both similarities and differences can be observed. The conflicts of the novella and…