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Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca
Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca
ISBN: 1844080382
Long tenacious fingers curl around the rusted spokes of a large iron gate. Opening, the gate leads onto a twisting and turning labyrinthine gravel path, which is surrounded by dark woods on either side. Choked by thick fog and stung by hot tears, dead branches impede each step. Suddenly a clearing appears. Welcome to Manderley!
The young, nameless and timorous narrator of Du Maurier's story is brought to her new husband's patriarchal lair of Manderley, whose past is gloriously enshrouded in secrets and mystery. Overshadowed by the chimerical presence of the commanding Rebecca and formidable Mrs Danvers, the narrator's initial deadening experience as a new wife is triumphed over by reverie. Always being seduced by highly transgressive, dreamlike states of otherness, there is a steady acknowledgement of this 'other' world. However, every step the narrator takes, tantalisingly leads us further from reality through her continual misinterpretation of Manderley and Maxim's behaviour. When the terrible truth is finally revealed, it is also accompanied by an avowal of love in a redemptive moment of unadulterated connection between Maxim and Mrs de Winter. Similar to Maya Angelou's marvellous poem 'Touched By An Angel', our wonder and awe is awakened at the recognition that 'it is only love / which sets us free', and not always dreams. Just as the narrator is powerfully and unapologetically lured to dream of Manderley again, so too will any reader of Rebecca become irresistibly enchanted by the secrets it holds.
Reviewed By: Kim Edwards
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