100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Summary Critical quotes for My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier £5.99
Add to cart

Summary

Summary Critical quotes for My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

 0 purchase

A list of critical quotes for My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. Includes full quotes and analysis.

Preview 1 out of 1  pages

  • November 21, 2021
  • 1
  • 2018/2019
  • Summary
All documents for this subject (9)
avatar-seller
louiserowland
Critical Quotes for My Cousin Rachel.

‘Beautiful Creatures’: The Ethics of Female Beauty in Daphne du Maurier’s Fiction -
Margaret E. Mitchell.

Mitchell aims to analyse how female characters are considered beautiful in textual and
contextual ideas. Mitchell suggests that ‘du Maurier’s enigmatic beauties consistently
function as a locus of moral possibility; that beauty - whether it promotes justice or its
opposite - both delineates and complicates the moral landscape each novel explores.’
The theme of justice seems lost in the beauty of female characters like Rachel. The
moral landscape of ‘My Cousin Rachel,’ becomes confused as readers, much like
Philip, are forced to accuse and feel sympathy towards Rachel. Even the ambiguous
end of the novel leaves no clues as to whether or not Rachel intended to kill Philip.
Mitchell goes on to say, ‘Philip’s recognition of his error accompanies an infatuation
amounting to a kind of madness and initiates a never-ending process of ‘self-adjustment
that, as the opening passage suggests, becomes his dominant mode of being.’ Philip’s
error, which Mitchell explores, is his inability to recognise how Rachel’s beauty takes
hold of him. This leads to his obsession with his cousin however, this also leads to a
kind of madness. His infatuation leads to a violent outburst when Rachel decides she
will never marry him. Philip then tries to control his feelings for Rachel through
apologies and so forth but he can never remove his feeling of guilt as suggested by the
novel’s opening passage when he is, ‘burdened with the knowledge that he is
responsible for Rachel’s death.’ Philip’s lingering guilt makes the memory of Rachel’s
beauty even more melancholic.

Best Sellers and the Critics: A Case History - LaTourette Stockwell

Stockwell argues that the ending of the novel, ‘leaves both the surviving Englishman
and the reader still guessing, all enhanced with a soupcon of period flavouring. But its
suspense is hypnotic.’ The ambiguous ending of My Cousin Rachel leaves readers in a
state of which illustrates the lack of justice that is presented throughout the novel. As
readers, the only justice that is served is through Rachel’s death.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller louiserowland. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £5.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

64796 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now

Start selling
£5.99
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added