Faces, Facets and Femininity

In her novel, Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier presents readers with several strong female characters, each representing a different aspect of femininity. Some characters, like Rebecca and Beatrice, embody very different ideas of what femininity is supposed to be. Throughout the book, the definition of "woman" and "womanly behavior" changes with the introduction of each character. This constant morphing suggests that Du Maurier drew inspiration from Joan Riviere's essay, "Womanliness as a Masquerade," written some years prior. The concept of "woman" is very much a performance in Rebecca, and it is seen most prominently in Mrs. De Winter's malleability upon marrying Maxim and moving into Manderly.
The fact that the narrator remains virtually nameless throughout the book is both disturbing and fascinating. Not giving a name suggests that she has no sense of self, no independent identity. She is merely a lump of clay to be molded into whatever the world wants her to be. When she gets married, she takes the general form of "wife," and identifies herself only as Mrs. De Winter. The character intrigues readers further when it is realized that while her identity is firmly rooted in her husband, she is not influenced by him, but rather his deceased first wife, Rebecca.
The head servant, Mrs. Danvers, is the first to mention Rebecca to the narrator, and whenever they are together, she always takes the opportunity to wave Rebecca about as the model for how the wife of Maxim de Winter is supposed to look and behave. The narrator, of course, falls for it every time, believing that since Rebecca was the first wife, she has set a standard for all wives to come after. Frith, the butler, also frequently comments on how things were done when Rebecca was alive, but it seems that he does not do it out of malice, but is merely trying to make helpful suggestions. Though it is not explicitly stated, Frith seems to understand the narrator's unease with being Mistress of Manderly.
The first morning in Manderly, there is an uncomfortable scene between the narrator and Frith when he suggests that she used the morning-room rather than the library because the fire was already lit in that room. The narrator panics and says that she "would not dream of [using the library]" (Du Maurier 81). It is clear that Mrs. De Winter has tried on the mask of Rebecca and has found it ill-fitting, but is stubbornly trying to force herself into the role, shifting her identity from "wife" to "rival."
The narrator sees Rebecca as "the other woman" and further entrenches her identity in her husband. She begins to exhibit behaviors that Joan Riviere describes as being "conscious of rivalry of almost any woman who had either good looks or intellectual pretentions" (Riviere 75). Everyone that the narrator meets describes Rebecca as being beautiful and graceful, intensifying this rivalry. The narrator quickly becomes obsessed with being an almost exact copy of Rebecca, or at least the Rebecca she had built up in her mind, in order to please her husband.
This obsession is curbed somewhat when the narrator attends the costume ball. When the whole party is organized, the narrator is stripped of her responsibility of sending out invitations. She says that she is "glad, of course...but it rather added to [her] sense of humility to feel that [she] was not even capable of licking stamps" (Du Maurier 195). Mrs. De Winter knows that she must stop trying to force herself into the mold of Rebecca, but seems powerless to stop herself. She is caught in a cycle of self-depreciation and debasement. The narrator constantly cuts herself down because she feels that she cannot live up to the legacy of Rebecca, and, ultimately, unable to be a fit wife for Maxim.
This masochistic habit does not stem from a lack of options of female role models. Beatrice would have been an acceptable choice for the narrator to look up to. Though Beatrice is rather masculine in her choice of leisure activities, speech, mannerisms and appearance, the narrator would have had more freedom in her own mind to discover a true sense of self. The brusque manner that Beatrice conducts herself with would have allowed the narrator to develop a backbone of sorts and the courage to stand up to Mrs. Danvers and take control of Manderly.
At their first meeting, Beatrice even gives the narrator the advice to "[not] have more to do with [Mrs. Danvers] than [she] can help" (Du Maurier 100), meaning that the narrator should not let what Mrs. Danvers says or does get to her. But, of course, the narrator takes it to mean that she should stay out of Mrs. Danvers' way completely. Perhaps if Beatrice and Mrs. De Winter had met before Mrs. Danvers had been introduced, the narrator would have heeded the advice correctly. But since that was not the case, Mrs. Danvers had time to gain a foothold in the narrator's psyche.
Beatrice's particular brand of femininity would have been an easier fit for the narrator. While she adopts a decidedly masculine air, in doing so, she has gained considerable personal freedom and the respect of her husband and brother. In this regard, Giles and Maxim are characters that Riviere describes as men "who themselves fear the ultra womanly woman
It is clear that the narrator desperately wants the respect and affections of her husband, and it is also clear that she is not willing to do the work to earn it. Mrs. De Winter would much rather assume the guise of Rebecca because all of the work of developing an identity is done for her. Because Rebecca was Maxim's first wife, the narrator believes that he expects her to be exactly like Rebecca.
It never occurs to her that Maxim was attracted to and married her on the basis that she is the exact opposite of his first wife. The narrator never directly asks her husband why he chose her, nor does she bother to find out exactly how he felt about Rebecca before she died and how he feels about her now that he is remarried. Mrs. Danvers senses her fear and insecurity and exploits it. The narrator's perception of her husband's feelings towards her and Rebecca are filtered through Mrs. Danvers, who twists and morphs them into an emotional poison with which to torture the narrator.
Rebecca's reign over the narrator is only broken when it is revealed that Maxim murdered her and never really cared for her in the first place. The narrator gains the courage from this information to confront Mrs. Danvers and challenger her for the control of Manderly. During the confrontation, Mrs. Danvers admits that she disliked the narrator because she "tried to take Mrs. De Winter's place" (Du Maurier 241). It seems that Mrs. Danvers has forgotten, or is feigning forgetfulness, that the narrator tried to take Rebecca's place because she made the narrator think she had to. Had she just allowed the narrator to carve her own niche at Manderly, rather than try to force her into a role that was rather unbecoming of her, much of the tension, suffering and conflict would have been avoided. But that would have made for a very dull book indeed.
In taking her rightful place as Mistress of Manderly, the narrator and her husband have a role reversal. She becomes his emotional anchor while he is reduced to an emotional and mental wreck. She still identifies herself solely as Mrs. De winter, but has developed a very strong sense of identity. She now know that she is the undeniable master at Manderly, since her husband is all but incapacitated.
Having to care almost completely for her husband made her draw upon her experience with Beatrice and adopt a rather masculine attitude as the couple set out to travel after the semi-truth about Rebecca got around. The narrator is finally happy at the end of the book, but it is a rather bittersweet emotion. The discovery of Rebecca's body has all but destroyed Maxim. The narrator has lost her husband as she knew him. She finally has control of her life and a clear sense of self, but at a terrible cost.

Works Cited
Du Maurier, Daphne. Rebecca. Avon Books. New York. 1938. Print.
Riviere, Joan. "Womanliness as a Masquerade." 70-78. Psychoanalysis and Woman. Ed. Shelley Saguaro. New York University Press. Washington Square, New York. 2000. Print.