"They're not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so softly wounded, one falls to the first barbed word."
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is one of the most famous - and iconic - opening sentences in the literary world. I've heard it so many times, mentioned in other novels or movies, though I had never read the actual novel from whence it came before. I've always known that 'Rebecca' was one of the most celebrated works of fiction, and due to my complicated relationship with the classics - I blame Russian literature for turning me against any novels classified thus - I have been butting off reading it. But it's autumn, and it's always recommended as a perfect autumn read, so I gave in. Du Maurier keeps readers in suspense, chilling them with her masterful word weaving. Rebecca is dead. But she has more power than the living.
The unnamed protagonist of the book - who is after her marriage known only as Mrs de Winter, is somewhere in Egypt with her husband and wakes from a nightmare. Thus she begins recounting the past, what led her to Manderley and what led her away from it. At the tender age of twenty-one, she was in Monte Carlo, working as a companion to a Mrs Van Hopper, an overbearing, and frankly embarrassing, social climber. There she is introduced to Max de Winter, a newly widowed Englishman who decided to get away from home for a fresh start.
The forty-two year old is aloof, though polite, but the young woman is instantly charmed. They sneak away, they go on rides, they lunch together - and she makes the most of Mrs Van Hopper's being indisposed due to the flu. Everything seems fun, she is finally having an adventure, not just reading about them, when Mrs Van Hopper suddenly gets better and wants to go back to America to see her daughter. Seeing the distress on her young companion's face, she tells her she's heard of her going around everywhere with de Winter and that she really shouldn't think that he loves her because he'd never get over Rebecca. Wanting to say goodbye, she goes up to Max's room but he won't let her leave and proposes marriage instead. Mrs Van Hopper warns her that she'd getting in over her head, that he won' be easy to manage, and Manderly even less so, but the words go unheeded.
"Rebecca was still mistress of Manderley. Rebecca was still Mrs de Winter."
The first time she sees Manderley - Maxim's (for that's how he tells het to call him) estate - she is intimidated. She finds it beautiful but also wishes they were regular people who didn't have roles and expectations thrust upon them. The whole staff greets them (I'm reminded of Downton Abbey) and this is when she sets her eyes on Mrs Danvers for the first time - "a black figure stood waiting for me at the head of the stairs, the hollow eyes watching me intently from the white skull's face". Mrs Danvers immediately dislikes the young Mrs de Winter, who is out of her depth, unused to such large houses and unsure of her new role on the estate.
This is where we get atmospheric and moody and gloomy. The English weather really lends itself to a novel like this, with the rains and winds and constant presence of clouds overhead. The sea close to Manderley plays an important role as well, and Mrs de Winter is soon disturbed by its sounds, though she'd been excited to know she'll be near it at first. Maxim goes back to his role back at home and his young bride is left to figure things out on her own. She's instructed to trust Mrs Danvers and ask for help but she feels the animosity and is frankly scared of the stoic woman.
"I could fight the living but I could not fight the dead."
The couple have visits from family and friends and it soon becomes apparent that Rebecca is everywhere at Manderley. Everyone mentions her, telling the young woman how different she is from Max's previous wife. They tell of how beautiful she was, how graceful everyone loved her, wanted to be in her company. She threw the best parties, she decorated Manderley, she set up the menu they still eat from. When she asks the staff about anything, they say it's done that way since Rebecca was there. In the morning room, there's her desk with her things and Mrs de Winter feels like she's an intruder in someone's life. Mrs Danvers even voices her fears: "She's still mistress here, even if she is dead. She's the real Mrs de Winter, not you. It's you that's the shadow and the ghost. It's you that's forgotten and not wanted and pushed aside." Couple that with the fact that she's unsure of Max's feelings - actually she's pretty sure he's not over Rebecca - the young woman is having rather a bad time, though she'd imagined a fairytale.
And then, Rebecca's presence becomes even more palpable, as her body is found in a boat at the bottom of their little harbor. This complicated things tremendously because Max had already identified her body almost a year ago. How could she be in the sea, them? There's a trial and secrets are confessed. Mrs de Winter stands by her husband but what will be revealed in the investigation? What do Mrs Danvers and Jack Favell have to do with the whole thing? And why are the de Winters not at Manderley in the present? Read and find out.
This book.. damn, this book. I truly understand why it's so many people's favorite and why it's recommended so much. The writing is beautiful and made me feel as if I was at Manderley as well, walking the Happy Valley, or touring the house while Frith explains the history of each object. I watched the Netflix movie too and loved it as well. It may not have been a perfect adaptation but I prefer it to the Hitchcock one. I know, blasphemy, but black and white movies with wooden acting just don't do it for me. I believe this will be a book I will re-read in the future, truly deserving of its status as a masterpiece.
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