Plot Conventions in the novel "Rebecca"
Rebecca is a traditional gothic novel written by Daphne DuMaurier. Daphne DuMaurier was born in London, England in 1907, and later died in 1989. Her novel Rebecca, was published in 1938, and was soon after made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. DuMaurier uses the basic plot conventions in her novel Rebecca. These plot conventions consist of exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. DuMaurier utilizes all of the basic plot conventions listed above in the expansion of both characters and suspense in her novel, Rebecca. The exposition of a novel is the introduction or background information provided by the author. In the exposition; the setting, main characters, and point of view are established. DuMaurier introduces the narrator, who remains nameless, as a traveling companion to a wealthy older woman named Mrs. Van Hopper. The narrator is young, fragile, and others easily intimidate her. In the narrator's travels she meets and falls in love with Maxim de Winter. Mr. De Winter is a wealthy man whose wife, Rebecca, died a year ago. At this point, the conflict of the novel is introduced. The conflict in this story is one of man vs. man. The narrator, the antagonist of the novel, becomes jea
The rhododendrons added to the mystique of the house. The setting of Rebecca is what makes the novel sinister and ghostly. She pushed me toward the open window. I could see the terrace below me grey and indistinct in the white wall of fog. "Look down there," she said. "It's easy, isn't it? Why don't you jump? It wouldn't hurt, not to break your neck. It's a quick, kind way. It's not like drowning. Why don't you try it? Why don't you go? (246). Mrs. Danvers comments on the narrators present room: "It had a mauve paper, and different hangings; Mr. De Winter did not thin it very cheerful. It was never much used except for occasional visitors. But Mr. De Winter gave special orders in his letter that you would have this room." (71). As if to say she was not good enough for the west wing. An enormous part of the rising action is when Mrs. Danvers tries to get the narrator to commit suicide. The narrator begins to take this into consideration, it is almost as if Rebecca is winning: I picked up the book again, and this time opened it at the title-page, and I read the dedication. 'Max-from Rebecca. May 17th,' written in a curious slanting hand. A little blob of ink marred the white page opposite, as though the writer, in impatience, had shaken her pen to make the ink flow freely. And then as it bubbled through the nib, it came a little thick, so that the name Rebecca stood out black and strong, the tall and sloping R dwarfing the other letters. (33). The resolution of a novel is the wrap up of the story. The conflict is finally decided one way or the other. In the novel, Rebecca, the resolution is at the beginning of the book because the book is a flashback. In the end, Rebecca has won the battle. She is gone and so is her Manderley. It was an evil fight, Rebecca was out to ruin Maxim's life from the first days she met him. The narrator and Maxim are now unhappy and leading extremely boring lives. The only thing the narrator wanted was for Maxim to love her and she lost that along with Manderley. Anytime anyone mentions Rebecca, Maxim gets extremely upset. The narrator assumes that he misses her greatly. When reading this book a reader will realize that Rebecca is superior not only for these reasons but also cause the title of the book is her name, when the narrator does not even portray a name. "There were three of them altogether," said the boat builder, "one right for'ard, by her chain locker, on her starboard planking below the water line. The other two close together amidships, underneath her floorboards, in the bottom. The ballast had been shifted too. It was lying loose. And that's not all. The sea-cocks had been turned on." (308). "The woman buried in the crypt is not Rebecca," he said. "It's the body of some unknown woman, unclaimed, belonging no where. There never was an accident. Rebecca was not drowned at all. I killed her. I shot Rebecca in the cottage in the cove. I carried her body to the cabin, and took the boat out that night and sunk it there, where they found it to-day. It's Rebecca who's lying dead there on the cabin floor. Will you look into my eyes and tell me that you love me now?" prime example: "I turned away into the hall again, humming a
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2179
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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