|
Roving
Eye
Book Review
Rebecca
Author:
Daphne du Maurier
Reviewed by Luavut Zahid
One of
Daphne du Maurier's most celebrated works, 'Rebecca',
explores basic human nature
and instincts. The author termed it as 'simply a study in
jealousy'. Set in the late 1930s, it tells a tale of a
woman from a humble background. Her life is turned into a
fairytale when a wealthy Englishman falls in love with
her. She becomes his wife and the lady of a beautiful
Cornish estate, Manderley.
The
fairytale is soon broken when the protagonist realizes
that following her every step as the new Mrs. Maximilian
de Winter looms the shadow of her husband's dead wife.
The
female lead is an average female, at times impulsive, naïve,
emotionally unstable and sensitive to a fault. On the
other hand, her husband is
quite her opposite: calm, quiet and at times
blocked from the world. It is because Maximilian is so
guarded against her, topped with the resentment of
servants at Manderley, that the protagonist begins to feel
that she should not be there at all. As much as she tries
to fit in at Manderley, she finds only Rebecca wherever
she turns.
The air
of mystery that surrounds Rebecca's death adds to the
magnetic charm that the book holds for its reader. As the
story unfolds the readers find out how the altar, on which
Rebecca had been placed, breaks and she falls from her
position as a saint. At that point it becomes clear that
Rebecca, like most cunning people, was not a saint but
only efficient with her PR.
Simply
put, Rebecca is the journey of a girl who was unsure of
everything in life,
went up against an enigma; an ominous ghost like presence;
to eventually finding some fragment of peace in life,
which may have been unsatisfactory for many but was just
enough for her contentment.
|
Anatomy) himself. I like Dr. McDreamy and I love
romantic comedies. But this role of a successful
businessman who does not believe in going out with the
same woman two nights in a row is actually completely
opposite to his previous endeavours.