Ananya Aparajita answers “I would really like to know from the...”

Debashmita asked this question about Rebecca:

I would really like to know from the readers of this book (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier), what do you think of the narrator of the book? Where do you think she went wrong or should have acted otherwise?

Ananya Aparajita I read a comment that says it was the only way women behaved at that time, or at least the 'good' women did. I understand how the women were different…moreI read a comment that says it was the only way women behaved at that time, or at least the 'good' women did. I understand how the women were different then. That would explain some of her behaviour especially how she tolerated Maxim. But never forget Rebecca and Danver were women of that time and even though Rebecca was unique this girl could not even stand up to Danver and other maids and relatives. That's not real for any time period even if the girl is from humble background. Not dismissing the companion of your husband's late wife was not something women were scared to do at any point in history. The husband, no matter how patriarchal, wouldn't stand the staff humiliating his wife as it is a direct offense to him and his family status. We can learn how not to be an idiot, how not to judge a book by its cover, how not to feel defeated when the whole world is against you, how not to assume how everyone hates you when in fact they don't and how not to be a cowardly loser towards your own wife. But none of the characters in the book deserve praise for their conduct. The novel is called Rebecca. She is the central character. She had the world fooled. We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by narcissists. That's the lesson, that is if we accept that version of the story. The modern interpretation would be, the guy was a murderer. Rebecca was a free woman who was forced to remain in a marriage because of her family background and the narrator is a man panderer. (less)

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