May 19, 2004 12:43 PM
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(Updated May 19, 2004 12:43 PM)
Ever come a novel that is a blend of mystery,romance,deceit and hatred.
Rebecca written by Daphne du Maurier would be a perfect example of 1 such book. Daphne du Maurier sketches the story of a simple,young girl of 21,who when working for a wealthy lady, Mrs Van Hopper chances to meet a widower named Maxim de Winter, who is handsome andwealthy but at the same time almost twice the age of the narrator.Against the wishes of Mrs Van Hopper they both get married.
Later when her husband takes her to his sprawling country estate;Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter envisages herself as a part of a magnificient fairytale. But her dreams of a happy married life come crashing down when she is introduced to the staff of the gigantic ancestral mansion that is to be her future home. She meets the housekeeper Mrs Danvers, a sinister looking woman with hollow eyes. She does not approve of her new mistress and does not bother to hide her distaste. In her days at the mansion the narrator learns about the former mistress of the house, the beautiful Rebecca who had supposedly died in a boating accident.
Mrs Danvers does not let any opportunity go waste in making the new bride's life miserable. She has kept Rebecca's room and possesions as if she still were alive. She continues runing the household as she used to before Rebecca died. All these to convey the message that no one could ever assume the position that her beloved Rebecca had.
She succeeds in making the narrator feel as if she were an intruder in a perfectly happy family..
The narrator feels very out of place amidst the luxury and splendour that she isn't accustomed to ..the very things that Rebecca indulged herself in..Maxim,her husband too remains busy in his estate affairs leaving her very very lonely. The gloomy athmosphere of the mansion and the tactics of Mrs Danvers further dampen her spirits and lead her to think that Maxim stil hasn't gotten over his love for his previous wife.
The plot takes a twist when a dead body turns up in an old boat, the body identified as to be Rebecca's. The book nears completion as Maxim finally gives a much owed explanation about the bizarre happenings to his wife, followed by a completely unexpected climax..
Daphne du Maurier is an expert story-teller, with her fantastic twists and turns in the plot she comes up with a book that will be a lot of things but definitely NOT a disappointment
