Throughout the gothic novel “Rebecca”, the techniques such as characterization, narrative style and figurative language are used to portray the story of a young girl slowly maturing by embracing her sufferings. The author Daphne Du Maurier investigates the rules and regulations upheld by women in society in terms of marriage, class and appearances.
In “Rebecca”, the youthful and timid narrator is continuously over-shadowed by the spectral presence of Rebecca and the forbidding housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, but as the first Mrs. De Winter’s duplicitous personality slips from secrecy, the heroine’s loyalty is strengthened and proves to bring forth a new authority and confidence. With interesting techniques like flashbacks, a nameless protagonist and first person narration, the audience feels as if they were living every moment with the narrator.
The novelette allows us to feel what the narrator feels, see what she sees and hear what she hears. The audience knows the heroine, and is the heroine. This effect is caused by the first-person narration and that the narrator has no identity, no name. By being nameless, Du Maurier creates an intimate bond between the reader and the heroine so that they can relate and react to the emotions depicted. Also, this technique allows us to identify with the protagonist, and thus with the issues relating to women.
Using a flashback technique to tell the story, it expresses the heroine’s emotions well as she was reflecting on how it felt at the time. It also gives us insight as to how she has changed from a youthful and naive girl to a mature lady “…wrapped in the complacent armour of approaching middle age…” who is able to converse with confidence. It also tells us how much she loves Maxim to stay with him until the end.
Women such as the heroine were limited to their occupation and so, in order to move into a higher class the only option was to marry someone of good wealth and status. This was, however, very rare as in...
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