DU MAURIER’S REBECCA:

AN OVERVIEW ON DECONSTRUCTIVE
ANALYSIS
 About the Author
 Daphne du Maurier was born May 13, 1907, in London, England.
Her grandfather, George du Maurier, wrote the popular novel
Trilby (1894). Her parents, Gerald and Muriel du Maurier, were
British actors.
 Du Maurier combined both her grandfather’s writing skill and
her parents’ flair for drama in her own highly dramatic fiction.
The author of sixteen novels and many short stories, as well as
plays, nonfiction, and poetry, du Maurier’s popular acclaim
began with her first novel, The Loving Spirit, published in 1931.
Sir Frederick Browning liked The Loving Spirit so much that he
sought out the young author, and they married shortly after
meeting.
 Du Maurier lived in Menabilly, which she discovered while
walking in Cornwall and which became the prototype for
Manderley, the setting for Rebecca. Reprinted more than forty
times, Rebecca is du Maurier’s most famous novel. Du Maurier
died April 19, 1989, in Par, Cornwall, England.
 ABSTRACT
Rebecca is one of modern classic of English Literature
inspired by Victorian tradition. Its heroine, symbolically
nameless, comes to Manderley and finds herself on conflict
when competing with the ghost of her husband’s charming
dead wife, Rebecca.
This study reveals an analysis on character’s struggle
through her conflict. It shows us on the heroine’s attempt
to escape from the dead wife’s shadow which influences
the Manderley’s environment. It uses structural and
deconstruction approaches to analyze the characters and
the conflict.
The result of this analysis shows us that her husband,
Max de Winter, never loved Rebecca who was in fact a
creature of utter evil, despite her beauty and wonderful
reputation.
The struggle to fight off the oppressive presence of the first
wife gives the story a deconstructive dimension. In
marrying Maxim’s true love, the heroine escapes from the
perfect and maternal figure of Rebecca. She finds herself
forced to kill the presence of Rebecca in Manderley’s life, a
metaphorical act that can only take place once Maxim
reveals the truth about Rebecca’s evil nature.

Key words: Characters, Conflict, deconstruction,

novel Rebecca.
Introduction
Basically, literature is work of art activity, which is
related to expression and creation. Literature is closely
related to social life’s description based on reality or
experience. Many literary works tend to tell about the
analysis of man’s character. It often describes about
either the complex or the variety of man in his world
itself. Man in his activity, behaviour, personality, and
conflict are something interesting to put forward as the
central attention of a story on a literary work.
The writer will conduct an analysis of characters on
novel Rebecca, a novel written in 1938 by Daphne du
Maurier. The genre of this modern gothic novel is
romance and crime novel, which are characterized by
the sense of mystery and terror, a hint of violence and
supernatural.
It tells about the rich widower, Maxim de Winter,
who marries a younger plain girl whose name
never be mentioned on the story. But the new
bride meets many conflicts since she realizes how
difficult it will be to lay the rest memory of her
husband’s first wife, Rebecca. Using simple but
complicated plot, du Maurier created an
unforgettable atmosphere of decaying beauty,
frightening spirit, and horror mixed with death
and true love.
This study deals with the analysis on characters.
For this, efforts will be made to reveal the
elements of story, especially characters and
conflict. Then it endeavors to reverse the
hierarchy of story using deconstructive theory.
A Brief of Related Theory
Character
Generally in a story there are central or main
characters and peripheral characters. Viewing from
the role of story, character has a strong position as
the cause of story flows. However, a character is
not always directly appears. Potter (1969:1) states
that appearing of a character is not always real, but
its existence on a story can be felt by readers
through dialogues. Furthermore, in a good story
the author does not simply tell us what character is
like and what are supposed to think of the person.
We have a chance to observe the characters for
ourselves, we judge them by what they say and do.
Conflict
Conflict is important part of a story which makes
the story to be more interesting. The author
creates conflict on his work to attract the readers
to feel curious about what is going on, and
happening next when they read a literary work.
Madden (2004:61) defines conflict as internal (is a
struggle of opposing forces within a character)
and external conflict as physical (character against
others character and nature) and social (character
against society). A good story contains elements of
both types of conflict, but the emphasis is usually
on internal conflict. It has much to do with the
make up of the characters in the story.
Deconstruction Theory
Barnet (2003:108) states that deconstructive or
post structuralist criticism can almost be
characterised as the opposite of everything for
which formalist criticism stands. In other word,
deconstruction can be defined as reducing on the
formed of intensity. Thus, the privileged element
does not always dominate other elements. On the
contrary, the elements that are usually
degradated, marginalized, can obtain adequate
attention in an equitable proportion.
 Discussion
CHARACTERS ON REBECCA
a. Rebecca
It is the name of Maxim de Winter’s first wife. She has
never been seen in the flesh but whose spell has woven
through every page of the text. Maurier presents her as
a clever, beautiful, and lovely woman who always be
adored by other figure on the story. As Frank said, “Yes, I
suppose she was the most beautiful woman that I ever
saw in my life.”(p.48)
b. Maxim
He is a rich, handsome man that is known as the owner
of the great house of Manderley. Actually he is an
attractive man but his wife’s death regarded as the
cause of his introvert personality. Others find him
difficult to be understood and known about.
c. The narrator (I)
She is the second wife of Max. Her name has never been
mentioned on the story, so that the readers can imagine
what they want her name to be. The author presents her
as a shy plain orphan girl which make other figures
compare her with the late Rebecca.
CONFLICTS ON REBECCA
First, the internal conflict on the narrator’s mind begun when
she had known her desire to get Max’s attention since she
worked with Mrs. Van Hooper. The narrator really wants to
show him the love but she has learned how hard to make it
real because of their differences.
“You can’t marry me. I’m different from you. I don’t belong to
your kind of world. I don’t belong to a place like Manderley.”
(p.17)
This line implied her doubtful and conflict on herself.
Moreover, after getting married with Max, she still faces the
conflict whether Max really love her or the late Rebecca. It can
be found on the line, “My marriage was a failure. It had failed
after only 3 months. I was too young for Max, I knew too little
about the world. The fact that I loved him mad no difference.”
(p.7)
 She knows that Rebecca has affected Manderley’s
atmosphere. The narrator finds difficult to hide from the
influence of Rebecca’s shadow who always threat to
trounce the narrator and ruin her marriage.
“It was not the sort of love he needed. Maxim was not in
love with me. He did not belong to me, he belonged to
Rebecca. Rebecca was the real Mrs. De Winter. Whenever
I walked, I sat, I saw Rebecca..Rebecca...always Rebecca.
I would never escape from Rebecca. She was too strong
for me.” (p.7)

DECONSTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS ON REBECCA

Binary Opposition
The first step is laid out by deconstructive road invites us
to locate an opposition in the novel. Within the
framework of a conflict between happiness and agony,
we may sense some opposing parties in Rebecca.
 These oppositions appear on the difference
performance, characters, and social levels among
Rebecca, Maxim, and I.
From the line ”I never saw his wife. But people say
she was very lovely. She was clever too and always
beautifully dressed.”(p.14) and “Maxim said in his
letter that you were very young and pretty. We
expected a very modern sort of girl. But you are not
what we expected, you are so different from
Rebecca.”(p.37); can be implied those differences.
Beauty, witted modernism, wealthy, charmed are
belong to Rebecca, whereas I is just a younger,
shy, plain, and simple orphan girl.
Furthermore, Maxim is the old widower who closes
to prosperity, wealth, and success man; contrasted
with the narrator’s life which is far from being ‘the
have’.
The Privileged or Dominant Figure
Denoting to the contradictions among Rebecca,
Maxim, versus I take us to the 2nd step of the
deconstructive road map that is to determine
which member of the oppositions is privileged or
dominant within the whole story.
As we know Rebecca is all about the perfect
woman who has everything others women dream
of. She is not only beautiful, charming, elegant,
but also has married to a rich handsome man,
Maxim. Rebecca becomes the queen of the great
Manderley house. Her beauty also affects
Manderley to be a beautiful residence for people
who live in, even surrounding it.
 Some people, like Frank, Jack, or Mrs. Danvers,
obtain an easy way to be Rebecca’s admirers.
Although she has died, they could not forget her
somehow. Thus, Rebecca is the dominant figure in
the oppositions toward other figures.

Reverse hierarchy
As an ideal norm in our society, we may sense that
a rich and succesful man will admires, falls in love,
and then marries a lovely woman like Rebecca. She
has all the man wants to marry with. Equality on
some aspects, such as wealthy, performance,
social status; often affect people’s choice on
deciding their comrade. We could no imagine that
the lower person will reach the Rebecca’s position
as the wife of Manderley’s owner.
We are right away exposed to society in which
different privileges are bestowed upon other
groups’ social, place along with the ever present
factor of power and money are evidences
throughout the story to show how lower classes
were treated and mislead by people on higher
classes.
In going to through the dominance, we may focus
on what appears to be marginal and thereby
exposing hidden contradictions. Rebecca and I
might be seen as the mighty opposites in the
novel, I is under the shadow of Rebecca. As the 2nd
wife, I is often compared to Rebecca in every side.
She is inescapable to get rid off the first wife’s
influences.
By ignoring the structure and turning to the study’s focus
on the marginal instead, we will able to undermine
Rebecca’s power. The representative of marginality may be
found on the I. This marginal figure carries a hidden
contradiction between who is loved much by Max and not.
Although Rebecca is a perfect woman, Max doesn’t take
her for granted. “You thought I loved Rebecca? I hate her.
We never loved each other. Rebecca never loved anyone
except herself.”(p.90)
It implies his reluctance in loving Rebecca.
On the other side, I with her weaknesses on performances
and social level wins Max’s heart. He finds his true love
through her silence, naivety, and loyalty for him as the
narrator’s strengths, even when Max has almost been
prosecuted she still keeps a deep love for him. Rebecca’s
beauty is not enough to restore Max’s love. Finally, I could
reverse the hierarchy and deconstruct the ideal norm on
Max’s equal wife.
 Conclusion
 Novel Rebecca tells us about a suspense-death of
Max’s first wife, Rebecca. On the whole story, her
charming performance still shadows other figures
including Max’s 2nd wife, I.
 The difference performances and social level make
the narrator (I) falls into her inner conflict and
external conflict opposing Rebecca in loving
Maxim.
 As the marginal figure, at the end I carries a hidden
contradiction toward Rebecca instead of
appearances and wealth. These contradiction
enable her to face the conflict and get Max’s
attention. The dominance of Rebecca toward other
figures has been reversed by tne narrator (I).
 Works Cited

Barnet, Sylvan. 2003. A Short Guide to Writing about

Literature. US: Longman.
Madden, Farnk. 2004. Exploring Literature: Writing and
Thinking about fiction. US: Pearson Education.
Maurier, Daphne du. 1938. Rebecca. Victor Gollanz Ltd.
Potter, James. 1969. Elements of Literature. NY: The
Oddisey Press.
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DECONSTRUCTION APPROACH APPLIED IN
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