Ellie Hill answers “Do you think Mrs. Danvers was in love with...”

Leanna asked this question about Rebecca:

Do you think Mrs. Danvers was in love with Rebecca?

Ellie Hill I have often considered this. I'm unsure, as this leaves a dark and sinister backdrop, considering Mrs. Danvers knew Rebecca since she was a child. As…moreI have often considered this. I'm unsure, as this leaves a dark and sinister backdrop, considering Mrs. Danvers knew Rebecca since she was a child. As I think one of the other commenters mentioned, it implies possible childhood sexual abuse. I don't think this level of brutality was Du Maurier's intention. Then again, could Danvers have fallen in love with Rebecca later in life? Odd and highly inappropriate, and almost certainly unrequited from what we know of Rebecca's character, but not impossible - particularly as Du Maurier's main theme of the novel was jealousy. Was Danvers driven to her increasingly unhinged actions by years of anguish and rejection? Maybe. But Mrs. Danvers seems more cold, calculating and heartless than she seems desperate and passionate. Was someone like her capable of something as pure as love? I think on the whole, she saw Rebecca more as a child she never had, but again not in a pure sense. Yes, Rebecca was a purpose in her life that was otherwise empty of family or children (as far as we know). But she was also someone she could live vicariously through; Rebecca did whatever she wanted and got away with it through sheer charm. Rebecca was also the ideal - the archetypal perfect woman. Mrs. Danvers obviously had a general contempt for men and felt powerless as a woman, again Rebecca and her potential was almost liberating to her, in that sense. I think these are all more plausible reasons for her unhealthy obsession personally... but who knows.(less)

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