Rebecca: Context

This 22-slide lesson provides a comprehensive contextual introduction to Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’.

Students learn about du Maurier’s life and work before delving into important questions about genre - particularly common conventions of the Gothic and how du Maurier’s novel can be situated in the literary tradition of the Bluebeard legend. The significance of ‘Jane Eyre’ as a literary antecedent is also discussed.

We think about overlaps between Gothic and romance genres, and explore the significance of the novel’s famous settings - both Manderley and Monte Carlo. Students learn about the decline of the aristocracy in the 1930s and how the novel can be read as a response to the changing social landscape of this period. We also think about how the novel’s famous rivalries between women should perhaps be reframed from a modern Feminist perspective, raising questions about who the novel’s real ‘villains’ are.

The novel’s key themes are explored, and key vocabulary is introduced to facilitate sophisticated analysis of the text. The two major film adaptations are also discussed.

The lesson ends by considering the novel’s famous opening sentence, with students conducting close analysis of how it creates a powerful beginning to the story.

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