A Review of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier Essay

In the book Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, one learns of the two mistresses of Manderley. Rebecca being the former and Mrs. de Winter as the present. Maxim’s wives are very different from each other in many ways that are not completely discovered until the end of the book. When Rebecca became the mistress of Manderley, she brought along a past that had not yet been revealed to Maxim. This secret past was one full of deceit and horrible stories that Maxim declared as to atrocious to repeat. However, Mrs. de Winter tells Maxim everything about her past life and explains herself to him before they are married. Being truthful and completely faithful to Maxim are two of the qualities that Rebecca did not have. Mrs. de Winter is a very withdrawn character who dislikes letting people pry into her personal life. Meanwhile, Rebecca enjoyed putting on a show so that people would know things about her. She also did this so that everyone would assume she was the perfect wife. Then Maxim would not be able to easily divorce her. In this sense, Rebecca shows she is a woman of power who will always win in the end while Mrs. de Winter shows a more submissive personality. From the beginning, when the house staff and family friends talk about Rebecca, one knows that she was a beautiful woman of high status in their society. But, Mrs. de Winter is described as an ordinary woman who has straight hair and plain features. These qualities do not bother Maxim because he truly loves Mrs. de Winter while his relationship with Rebecca was nothing more than a scam. Out of all of the comparisons between Mrs. de Winter and Rebecca, this one sets them apart the most. In the end, Mrs. de Winter is compared one last time to Rebecca by Mrs. Danvers. Mrs. Danvers speaks about Rebecca and acknowledges that â€Å"Lovemaking was a game with her, only a game.† Mrs. de Winter however takes love very seriously. One knows this because of how hurt she is when it seems that she is in a one sided relationship and is in love someone that will never love her back. This creates another notable difference between Rebecca and Mrs. de Winter. While Mrs. de Winter seems to care too much, Rebecca did not care who she hurt, as long as she got what she wanted out of the situation.