03.12H: Bringing It All Together Assignment

Answer the question in no fewer than four paragraphs. Be sure your thesis is a direct answer to the essay question and that you support you answer fully and completely by using quotations from the text. A complete response will also include an explanation of your answer from your observations, experiences, or other readings.

-Compare and contrast the three fully developed female characters (Mrs. de Winter, Mrs. Danvers, and Rebecca). What about society works for or against them? What can be learned about the roles expected of women in the time period it was published—1938?


I answered with...

In Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, we see numerous different characters and unexpected turns that contribute to the plot of the story. The three main female characters in Rebecca were all very diverse. Yet the biggest difference we notice was Mrs. de Winter and Rebecca, as they were total opposites and were seen as rivals. In the society they lived in, women were seen to do all the elegant, and house work, as the men would do the heavy, “manly” work. The time period in which this book was published, Women were starting to be noticed and given the respect they deserved, especially in the working field, which was starting to be shown through the book. We can understand this book better if we break it down into the characters, gender roles, and the society.

In the story we are shown three main female characters. Mrs. de Winter is married to Maxim, who is a wealthy Englishman that lost his wife a year ago, and throughout the book we were never told her true name. His previous wife, Rebecca, was a very liked person and was described throughout the book as best at everything, “extremely gifted”, and “most beautiful creature I've ever met”. Then there was Mrs. Danvers who took care of Mandalay beside Rebecca and against Mrs. de Winter. Mrs. Danvers was described as old, sinister and a motherly figure to Rebecca, and after Rebecca passed away she held a grudge against Mrs. de Winter for taking Maxim from Rebecca. After Maxim returned with his new wife everyone kept comparing her to Rebecca. This made Mrs. de Winter feel that she could not live up to the reputation set by Rebecca, and also felt that Maxim would never love her as much as he loved Rebecca. In reality Rebecca was a toxic, evil, cunning, and manipulative person. She slept with many other guys and mocked people behind their backs. Meanwhile, Mrs. de Winter is described as lacking beauty, wits and was childish and young. Yet, she had good qualities such as kindness, honesty, and faithfulness compared to Rebecca and making her a better person than Rebecca.

The story never mentions a time period in which it takes place, but is assumed to have taken place more than 90 years ago. As seen through the story Mrs. Danvers is a head of staff in the Mandalay mansion, and helps run and organize just about everything. While Rebecca and Mrs. de Winter Play the role of Maxim's wives. Rebecca organized Galas and fancy parties at Mandalay and played on as Maxim’s wife blackmailing him. As opposed, Mrs. de Winter is a young, shy, and kind person who didn't really have a role other than being Maxim’s wife, and was afraid to upset anyone if she took on a role in the house. As we can see the females had a common role for women back in the day and we see that they were expected to run the estates.

Rebecca was a very outgoing and manipulative person that could fool anyone. She was good at buttering people up and making them feel the way she wanted to make them feel, which made society work in her favor. Meanwhile, as discussed before, Mrs. de Winter was shy and distant with other people which made it hard to be friendly and outgoing. Due to this many people didn't like her and made it feel like everyone was against her. Lastly, Mrs. Danvers was not talked about much especially before she worked at Mandalay, but we hear through the dialogue that many visitors liked her and the start of her is very organized and productive, “That amazing Mrs Danvers is still with you' said Lady Crowan.” (Rebecca 191).