Summary historical context research on Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
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Love through the ages
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Daphne du Maurier's classic novel "Rebecca," published in 1938, is set against the backdrop of the late 1930s and early 1940s. To fully appreciate the novel's themes and atmosphere, it is essential to understand the historical context of the time period in which it was written. Here is a summary of...
Rebecca does share many elements of the gothic romance with Brontë's Jane Eyre. For instance, both
novels feature an innocent, orphaned protagonist; a brooding, distant leading man; a grand, isolated
estate; a mysterious former wife; and a dark secret. However, du Maurier departs from the form in
making her protagonist an insecure, nameless character; giving the main characters an ambiguous
ending; making the hero a murderer; and creating a character who dominates and drives the plot
although she is dead. Thus, some scholars have asserted that the novel contains some more modern
elements in its themes and plot choices.
For five years prior to writing Rebecca, du Maurier toyed with the idea of writing a novel that
explored the theme of jealousy. She had been dealing with her own jealousy of Jan Ricardo, her
husband's first fiancée. According to du Maurier's son, his mother had come across some of Ricardo's
letters, which had been signed with a grand and fancy letter R—a detail that made its way into
Rebecca.
Despite its success, Daphne du Maurier had an extremely slow start to Rebecca. She had been
thinking about replicating the jealousy in her marriage in one of her novels ever since 1932. She
finally signed a 3-book deal with her publisher in 1937. She admittedly had a sluggish start to the
novel and even tore up her first manuscript “in disgust.” She called this a “literary miscarriage” that
hindered her progress on the novel. She finally finished it in early 1938, however, and immediately
sent it in for publication.
During the 1800s, Britain had built its empire by adding colonies, dominions, and protectorates.
These were the great years of the British Empire: Queen Victoria, reigning for over sixty years, gave
the nation a sense of stability and progress. Her conservative social views created the stiff-lipped,
formal stereotype of the British citizen that is known today and that is portrayed in Rebecca: strict
rules of behaviour between the sexes, tea at four thirty each day, and a fascination with wealth that
was suppressed by the good taste not to talk about it. When Victoria died in 1901, her son Edward
succeeded her to the throne. The Edwardian age in England is considered a time of international
stability, owing to Edward VII's talent for negotiations. Like the Victorian era, Edward's reign from
1901 to 1910 was marked by domestic stability and social formality.
Social Context-
The 1930s are remembered for mass unemployment. However, there was already mass
unemployment in the 1920s in Britain. For most of the decade, it hovered between 10% and 12%.
Then, in the early 1930s, the economy was struck by depression. By the start of 1933 unemployment
in Britain was 22.8%. However, unemployment fell substantially in 1933, 1934, and 1935. By January
1936 it stood at 13.9%. Unemployment continued to fall and by 1938 it was around 10%. However
although a partial recovery took place in Britain in the mid and late 1930s.
In the 1920s and 1930s, a new style of furniture and architecture was introduced. It was called Art
Deco and it used geometric shapes instead of the flowing lines of the earlier Art Nouveau. The name
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