'Rebecca' essay

literature essay

Q: Does 'Rebecca' promote the idea that independent thinking women is a negative quality ?'

'Rebecca' introduces the idea that independent thinking women is a negative quality based on where Rebecca ends up and what the characters think of independently strong minded women in general.

Rebecca's death promotes the idea by using the example of a women with independent thoughts as a murder victim. She is shot by her husband because he couldn't control her actions and the possibility of ruining Manderley's image. Rebecca is in a loveless marriage with Maxim and she decides to commit infidelity. She finds her own hobby to 'amuse herself' and to be happy. In her own way, she chooses to spend nights with males instead of being a faithful wife in her unromantic married life. Rather than being a submissive female, Rebecca chose to not follow the stereotype of standard wives by doing what she wants. Her death shows the outcome of one of the most independent thinking woman's' life - being brutally killed by her own husband. Rebecca is shown to be uncontrollable in Maxim's eyes to the extent of being able to jeopardize others' impression of Manderley. Her actions stem from her independent thinking of doing anything as she pleases. The quality is seen as negative as Rebecca is killed when her husband has enough of her independent thoughts and actions.

Maxim disapproves the narrator doing independent thinking, underlying it as a quality he dislikes. When the narrator daydreams about Rebecca dining with Maxim, he claims what she's thinking is 'not the right sort of knowledge' even though he doesn't know that's what she's thinking about. It hints that Maxim doesn't like the narrator thinking independently about what her predecessor was like. 'What goes on in the torturous minds of women would baffle anyone' shows his discouragement of the narrator having thoughts and getting ideas on Rebecca. He links the independent thinking quality to Rebecca scheming, presenting it as a negative trait to the narrator as something that isn't worth spending time on, when he mentions Rebecca going against his will and inviting her friends to Manderley, or when she 'starts on' his agent.

In the narrator's eyes, Rebecca's independent thinking is part of her vengeance personality when Mrs Danvers exposed the first Mrs de Winter's true self. During the conflict between the narrator and Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper describes Rebecca saying 'I'll see them in hell first.' Rebecca's independent thinking is connected to her thirst for vengeance to the people who've wronged her. The narrator already sees her predecessor as an evil entity staying at Manderley, Rebecca being 'born into this world to take what she could out of it' fits her villainous image of a plotting women who thinks independently.

The narrator further thinks independent thinking is a negative quality following Rebecca's fearlessness. Mrs Danvers claims Rebecca 'was afraid of nothing and no one'. The second Mrs de Winter sees Rebecca's mindset of having nothing to lose. Rebecca is portrayed as a dangerous woman capable of doing anything due to her being unafraid, along with her successful plan of baiting her husband. Aside from being described as a haunting presence in Manderley by the narrator, Rebecca's independent thinking is presented to have fuelled her success to leave a stain on Maxim's life.

Independent thinking isn't included in the list of good qualities by the characters, which shows it's not the first things that's looked for in females. The narrator thinks she lacks the 'qualities that mean most in a women', which are confidence, grace, beauty, intelligence, and wit. Independent thinking is not what she wants to possess nor encourages herself to have, despite actually being a good quality. Maxim's grandmother claims beauty, brains and breeding are most important in a wife. She also doesn't include independent thinking in her requirement list. Rebecca meets all her criteria, but the first Mrs de Winter is more than just a gorgeous lady with class from a good background. It shows the grandmother not seeing independent thinking as a vital quality. While it's not depicted negatively, it's not labelled the best female quality. In Frank's opinion, 'kindness, and sincerity ... modesty are worth far more' than the narrator's list of qualities she thinks she lacks. He views the three qualities Rebecca lacks as extremely important, and excludes what the first Mrs de Winter has. It is implied that he links Rebecca's schemes and manipulation to independent thinking as he avoids that specific quality when talking to the narrator.

Independent thinking in females are presented as a possible factor of ruining marriages by Beatrice. 'Brides of today are up to everything' refers to her mention that married females have wide range of hobbies.

26/33 marks