Rebecca

A person's first name defines who they are, setting them apart from everyone else. While people grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally their first name is the one characteristic that never changes as they search for their true inner self. In Rebecca by Daphine Du Maurier, neither the first name nor the family name of the heroine is ever revealed. The only name that is ever associated with the heroine is her post marriage name of Mrs. de Winters. This absence of a name symbolizes the heroine's uncertain identity.

The heroine is constantly questioning herself and does not know who she truly is. The reason that the heroine cannot allow herself to feel comfortable in her new name is because she is not the first Mrs. de Winters. The heroine's husband Maxim, was married to Rebecca de Winters who recently died, but still has a huge presence over Manderley. The heroine has no enjoyment in her inner self because she is eclipsed by the memory of her predecessor and constantly competing with her. At the beginning of the novel the heroine answers a phone call and when the person asked for Mrs. de Winters she replies, "I am afraid you have made a mistake... Mrs. de Winter has been dead for over a year." In her own mind, she cannot accept that she, and not Rebecca, is mistress of Manderley. This uncertainty is amplified by the fact that Maxim does not allow himself to get emotionally close to the heroine, the heroine's lower class background, and the pressure that Mrs. Danvers places on her.

Although Maxim and the heroine get married there is nothing romantic about their marriage. Maxim keeps a distance from the heroine never allowing the two to get emotionally or physically close. He show's little respect for her by calling her a child and patting her on the head. What is keeping the two apart is the memory of Rebecca.

In the first half of the book the heroine is a prisoner of her assumption that Maxim adored Rebecca saying, "And I realize, everyday that things I lack, confidence, grace, beauty, intelligence, wit oh all the qualities that mean most in a woman- she [Rebecca] possessed," (131). She is haunted by the reputation of Rebecca and whether or not she lives up to her standards. She is constantly worried about making mistakes, especially since life at Manderley is not a life style she is accustomed to living. "It's only that- that sometimes I feel myself at such a disadvantage. It's all very strange to me, living here at Manderley. Not the sort of life I've been brought up to," (131). She did not come from an upper class family and because of this often felt out of place.

This perception that the Heroine has of Rebecca comes primarily from the influence of Mrs. Danvers. The heroine's inability to assert her authority over Manderley roots from her fear of Mrs. Danvers and the other servants. Mrs. Danvers keeps the west wing, where Rebecca lived, closed off and untouched. While referring to Rebecca Mrs. Danvers says, "It's not only in this room. It's in many rooms in the house. In the morning-room, in the hall, even in the little flower-room. I feel her everywhere. You do too, don't you?" (172). This is a sign of Rebecca's continual existence and the heroine does not do anything to prevent it. The Heroine's incapability of making Manderley entirely her own is one way she yields her new title back to Rebecca.

Mrs. Danvers ability to sway the heroine's mind comes to a peak during Manderley's annual costume ball. The ball was the heroine's